Stump Grinding in Akron, OH

Stump grinding uses a machine with a heavy spinning wheel set with carbide teeth to chew a stump down into chips, usually several inches below the surrounding soil, so the spot can be filled, seeded or replanted. It's faster and far less destructive than digging a stump out with a backhoe, and on most Akron lots, where stumps sit between a fence and a garage or along a narrow side yard, it's the only practical option. Many homeowners in Akron have a stump or two left from ash trees taken down years ago; those can be ground out at any time.

Why bother removing a stump

A stump left in the lawn is a mowing obstacle and a trip hazard, and it takes years to rot on its own; a big oak stump can last a decade or more. As it decays it can draw carpenter ants and fungi. Some species, including maple, boxelder and tree-of-heaven, send up sprouts from the stump and roots for years. Tree-of-heaven matters more now: it's the spotted lanternfly's preferred host, and the pest has been seen in Summit County, so getting rid of its stumps and sprouts helps.

How deep the grind goes

For lawn, grinding a few inches below grade is usually enough for topsoil and seed. If you're planting a new tree in the same spot, laying pavers or building over it, the grind needs to go deeper and wider, and some of the larger roots near the surface may need to be chased out as well. Tell us what's going in, and we'll grind to suit.

Call before you grind

Grinding goes into the ground, and gas, water, electric and cable lines can run close to a stump, especially along the front of an older house in Akron, where service lines run under the devil strip and lawn. Ohio811 marks public utility lines for free before digging. Private lines, such as a buried line to a garage or a sprinkler system, aren't marked by 811, so point those out to us before the work starts.

The chips

Grinding leaves a pile of mixed wood chips and soil, often more than people expect, roughly filling the hole and then some. You can keep the chips to fill the hole and settle over the season, or we can haul them off and the hole can be backfilled with topsoil. Chips from a fresh stump aren't ideal to mix into garden beds right away, because they tie up nitrogen while they break down.

Stumps from city trees

If the stump is in the devil strip, it's from a city tree in the right-of-way, and the City of Akron handles street tree work there. Call 311 before paying to grind it.