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Stump grinding in the Chattanooga area

What to expect, how to get your yard ready, and how to get a quote from a local stump grinding pro.

What stump grinding is

A stump grinder is a machine with a spinning wheel of carbide teeth. The operator sweeps it back and forth across the stump, chewing the wood into chips until the stump is below ground level. The roots left underground slowly rot away. It is much faster and cheaper than digging a stump out, and it leaves the area ready for topsoil and grass.

When grinding is the right call

  • You want to mow, seed or sod over the spot.
  • The stump is a trip hazard or is sending up new sprouts.
  • You are clearing an area for a garden bed, play set or shed.
When it may not be enough: if you are pouring a slab, building a foundation or working near a septic field, ask about full stump and root excavation instead of grinding.

How to get ready

  1. Measure the stump. Measure across the widest point at ground level. Most pricing is based on that number.
  2. Check the gate. Note your narrowest gate width. Many compact grinders fit through about a 36 inch opening, but tell the pro up front.
  3. Mark what is nearby. Sprinkler heads, invisible dog fence wire, landscape lighting and buried lines near the stump should be flagged.
  4. Call 811. Tennessee 811 locates are free. Ask the pro whether they will place the locate request.

Who does the work

Stump grinding requests from this site currently go to Precision Stump Grind, a locally owned Chattanooga-area stump grinding company. They quote you directly and you decide whether to hire them. Read how referrals work.

Common questions

How long does stump grinding take?

Most single residential stumps take well under an hour of grinding once the machine is in place. Big hardwood stumps or many surface roots take longer.

What happens to the wood chips?

Grinding turns the stump into a pile of chips and soil. Most pros will rake them back into the hole or haul them away for an added fee. Ask which is included.

Get a free quote

Takes about a minute. A local pro will reach out, usually within one business day.

By sending this you agree we can share your request with the one local pro who handles each part of the job. See how this service works. No spam, no selling your info to lists.

Wide patch of freshly ground stump chips in a lawn in front of a long one-story building
A large stump area ground down below grade

Before and after: real stump grinding jobs

These are recent jobs by Precision Stump Grind, the local stump grinding company that handles stump requests from this site. Locations are not shown to protect customers' privacy.

Sprouting stump by a backyard fence

Before: stump covered in leafy sprouts in a backyard next to a chain-link fence
Before
After: the stump ground down to a patch of fresh soil, with the red stump grinder parked beside it
After

Overgrown stump beside a house

Before: stump with a thick bush of sprouts growing from it in the side yard of a white brick house
Before
After: the sprouting stump ground out, leaving a patch of bare soil in the lawn by the white brick house
After

Stump next to a backyard fence

Before: weathered tree stump in a grassy backyard next to a wooden privacy fence
Before
After: the stump by the wooden fence ground down to a mound of wood chips
After

Large stump in an open lawn

Before: very wide, split-top tree stump sitting in a lawn
Before
After: the large lawn stump ground away, leaving a broad pile of wood chips with a house and shed behind it
After
See more jobs (3)

Stump in a round front-yard bed

Before: small cut stump in the middle of a round, paver-edged mulch bed in a front lawn
Before
After: the same round, paver-edged bed with the stump ground out and the soil leveled
After

Stump in a bed by the driveway

Before: cut stump in a mulch bed beside a driveway, edged with tan pavers
Before
After: the mulch bed by the driveway with the stump ground away and the area raked smooth
After

Overgrown front-yard stump

Before: low stump overgrown with weeds and sprouts in a front yard near a driveway
Before
After: the weedy stump ground out, leaving a patch of wood chips in the lawn near a birdbath
After

Fresh grindings are usually raked back into the hole or hauled off, then the spot can be topped with soil and seeded.

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