After the Tree Comes Down: Planning Your Stump Work

When a tree comes down, whether a storm took it or you paid to have it removed, the tree crew leaves with the trunk and the brush. The stump stays. Plenty of people assume that's the same crew's department. It usually isn't. A tree company cuts and hauls. A stump company grinds. Knowing that split early saves you a few awkward phone calls.

Tree companies hand stump work off

Tree companies are among the customers Tree Stump Masters works for, alongside landscapers, builders, golf courses and country clubs, and schools. Some homeowners reach the company through those referrals, too. Shari Greer wrote in a Google review: “I had 40 very large trees removed from my property and needed all the stumps grinded.” She says the tree removal service recommended Tree Stump Masters, and she wrote: “He had them all done in two days!”

That's an unusually big job, but the sequence is the same for one tree: the tree crew takes the tree down, you or they call the stump company, and the grinder comes in behind. Ask your tree company who they send stump work to, and compare that name against the reviews you can find yourself.

After a storm

Storm damage changes the order of things. A fallen tree on a fence or a shed gets handled first by the tree crew and, if needed, your insurance contact. The stump may be the last thing on your mind, but it's worth a phone call early, because once the trunk is cleared the stump often sits in the way of the repair: the new fence line, the driveway, the spot where a replacement tree will go.

Tell the tree crew how you want the stump cut

Before the saw runs, ask the crew to cut the stump as low as they safely can. A lower stump means less wood above the surface to grind, and it leaves a cleaner cut face for the cutter wheel. Ask them, too, not to leave logs, limbs or chunks of trunk piled on top of the stump, since the grinder operator needs to see and reach it.

Photos help. A quick picture of the stump and the path to it, texted to 770-378-4701, tells the estimator more than a description does.

Call 811 before anyone grinds

This is the step people skip. 811 is the national call-before-you-dig number, and it gets the public utilities in your area to mark what's buried near your work spot. Grinding the stump is digging work, and cables and lines don't announce themselves from the surface. Call, wait for the markings, then schedule the grinder.

Keep in mind that the marks cover public utilities, not what's private. Irrigation lines, invisible dog fences and landscape lighting wiring belong to you, so show the crew where they run. One reviewer, Steve Trocano, put the sequence in a single line, writing: “Came out the same day locates cleared!”

A checklist before the grinder arrives

• Have utility markings in place, and point out any private lines you know of.
• Clear the path from the street or driveway to the stump.
• Move cars, toys, furniture and planters out of the work area.
• Make sure the crew can get through any gate, and tell them if it sticks.
• Decide what you want done with the chips, and what you want planted over the spot.

When it can't wait

Sometimes a stump has to go right away: a tree came down on a fence line, the stump is blocking a driveway or a gate, or a storm left a mess that's a hazard. Tree Stump Masters provides 24/7 emergency service. Andy Panjic, in a review on the company's own site, wrote: “We had an emergency need for his services on a huge oak tree and he responded faster than expected.”

Regular hours are Monday to Sunday, 7am to 7pm, and the office line is 770-815-TREE. For something urgent, call or text 770-378-4701.

Planning the sequence

If you know a tree is coming down, set up the stump work before the crew arrives, not after. Book the estimate, call 811, and tell the grinder company when the tree work is scheduled so the two visits fit together. If the tree has already come down, you're only a phone call behind.

If you manage a property, the same logic applies. Schools, golf courses, country clubs and builders deal with trees coming down on a schedule, and lining up the grinder for the days right after the tree crew leaves keeps a site from sitting half-finished.

Whether it's one stump at the curb or a whole property of them, Tree Stump Masters has been grinding around Atlanta since 2009, and it's licensed, insured and bonded. The estimate is free. Call or text 770-378-4701 and say where the tree was.