Why DIY Stump Removal is Not a Good Idea

Spending time in your garden is great. Planting, mowing, and weeding can be therapeutic, and enjoying the fruits of your labour is highly rewarding. But remember, while there are many things that you can do in the garden yourself, there are some tasks that are not suitable DIY projects. Certain jobs are best left to the professionals.

Stump grinding can be dangerous

Stump grinding may look like a simple job on the surface but there are many hidden pitfalls. Just because stump grinding equipment can be rented are your local hardware store, does not mean that everyone should be using them. A stump grinder is a specialized piece of machinery with complex hydraulics, and blades with multiple sharp teeth that are used to grind stumps into small pieces, above and below the ground.
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Stump grinders come in various sizes and you need to know what type of grinder is best for your job. If a stump is over 12” in diameter, you will probably need to hire a large stump grinder that is towed behind a vehicle or on a trailer, and these are not cheap. If you are dealing with a stump that requires that level of equipment, then this is not a project for the weekend warrior, it is a major undertaking and it may actually be cheaper, quicker and safer, to hire a professional company, like Martin’s Tree Service, to deal with the problem.

Always put your safety first

Operating a stump grinder without proper instruction can put yourself, your family and your property at risk. You could be struck by flying debris, or worse, the incorrect use of a stump grinder can lead to life-changing injuries or even death. It’s just not worth taking that risk to try and save a few dollars.

Stump grinders can damage your property

It is not only your personal safety that you need to be concerned about when using a stump grinder. There are numbers of potential risks to your property that make stump grinding a job for the professionals. The average gardener is concerned with the aesthetics of their garden but they have no idea what is going on under the ground. Before you attempt to grind back a stump, you need to realize that most root systems run much deeper and further than you might imagine.

There are also gas lines, water pipes, electrical wires and various other utility cables running under your property, and if you don’t know where they are, your DIY stump grinding project could easily turn into a disaster. You could hit a water pipe and flood your property. Even worse, you could damage gas pipes, presenting a fire hazard, or hit an electric line and electrocute yourself. A professional tree service company will contact the local utility services to find out where all the cables run before they grind your stump.

Remember that grinding the stump is only half the job. If you do it yourself, you will have to clean up your yard and get rid of the debris. Depending on the size of the stump, you could be left with a sizeable hole and a lot of debris in your garden. Over and above the cost of the stump grinder, you may also have to hire a bobcat and a trailer to get rid of the debris, and this makes the project far more expensive than you first anticipated. But when you hire a professional, they will take care of everything for you and leave your garden clean and neat.
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Working in your garden is a great way to spend the weekend but leave the big jobs to the professionals, like Martin’s Tree Service, who have the experience and training to get the work done quickly and safely.