Tree stumps

[adamcolly]

Just moved into a new property and have cut down six trees. Their stumps are still there. Does anyone know of any fancy tricks to get them out or cut them right down to the ground. I know you can hire a machine to grind them down and I know you can drill holes in them and kill them off but was looking for other suggestions thanks.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Cut them low to the ground, cover in charcoal and burn them out.

Andy

 

[nickjb]

Best to dig them out. Not fancy, just hard work, but quite satisfying. Dig a circle out about a foot bigger than the stump. Any roots cut them near the stump and at the edge of the hole and remove the section. Small roots can be cut with long handled loppers, larger roots with a sabre saw. You can plunge the sabre saw into the soil so you don't need to fully dig it out. Once the root is out carry on digging and repeat. A pick mattock is the beat digging tool. Too late now but if you leave a good few feet of trunk you can push the stump over to snap the last few roots. If you cut it short you need to cut pretty much all of them.

 

[Nozzle]

If you had left a metre of the trunk you can use that as a level against the other trees with a ratchet strap. Un-cover the roots, use an axe, uncover, axe, pre-load strap, un-cover, axe etc etc.

Nozzle

 

[FrodoOne]

Best to dig them out. Not fancy, just hard work, but quite satisfying. Dig a circle out about a foot bigger than the stump. Any roots cut them near the stump and at the edge of the hole and remove the section. Small roots can be cut with long handled loppers, larger roots with a sabre saw. You can plunge the sabre saw into the soil so you don't need to fully dig it out. Once the root is out carry on digging and repeat. A pick mattock is the beat digging tool. Too late now but if you leave a good few feet of trunk you can push the stump over to snap the last few roots. If you cut it short you need to cut pretty much all of them.

I agree with most of the above.

However and in addition, after you cut the roots on one side (at least), dig under any solid part of the stump sufficient height to insert an hydraulic car jack.

You can then "jack" the stump up to the limit of the jack,
pack timber, bricks etc. under the lifted stump,
compress and remove the jack,
pack the base, reinsert the the jack and
re-lift the stump.

You can continue this process, breaking small roots as you go and sawing larger exposed roots where necessary.
This is less work than digging all around and it is sometimes is not easily possible to dig the far side of a stump - against a wall etc.

I have used a 4 tonne jack for this purpose on several occasions -
(all the while humming
"When an irresistible force, such as you
Meets an old immovable object like me
You can bet, as sure as we live,
Something's gotta give, something's gotta give, something's gotta give."

 

[bernardgreen]

cover in charcoal and burn them out.

Even better, drill two holes into the stump at an angle so they meet as far down in the trunk as possible. put lit charcoal in one and then blow hot air from a heat gun into the other hole to feed oxygen to the charcoal burning deep in the stump.,

 

[r896neo]

If they are bigger than about 14" diameter hire a stump grinder. Digging out stumps is one of the most frustrating and exhausting tasks you will ever do in a garden.

Smaller than 14" it's worth a try but prepare for all out war. Man vs stump

 

[angelboy]

Digging out stumps is one of the most frustrating and exhausting tasks you will ever do in a garden.

Because the roots don't just fan out horizontally - you just think you've got it and will it chuff shift - till you realise there's loads more roots heading straight down - arrrgh!!!

 

[Keithmac]

I dug 4 out when we moved in, what a job!.

Leaving 1 meter of stump is an excellent idea (can't believe I didn't think of that!).

As everyone says dig deep and all around, pruning loppers/ saw through the roots and lots of swearing!.

 

[Doggit]

I came across a couple of guys with the proper gear, offered them cash, and they came along and did 14 leylandi stumps (about 12" each)for £120, and then munched them down as well, all in 2 hours. It's amazing watching the experts do it.

 

[geraldthehamster]

This is how they do it in Australia

 

[Doggit]

Not fair, those damned Aussies have much more fun than we do.

 

[Alec_t]

Years ago I heard of a farmer who decided to blast a stump out. Dug down under it, inserted an explosive charge, infilled the hole, fired the charge. Problem was, the stump had partly rotted. The central core was ejected and shot skywards, but the bulk of the stump was untouched and remained firmly in the ground!

 

[mwatsonxx]

till you realise there's loads more roots heading straight down - arrrgh!!!

Old wives tale, disproved in the storm of 87, I've removed loads of trees and they have minimal (if any) roots going straight down.

To remove a tree up to 200mm diameter, remove all upper branches and leave trunk at least 2000mm high, dig circular hole about 600 to 800 diameter and cut through roots, removing them in chunks 100mm ish long. Its slow and tedious, but eventually using the trunk as a lever it will pop out.

 

[cwhaley]

I did the same in my garden. The last few leylandii I removed I decided to leave a 5' high trunk so I could swing it side to side to loosen the shallow roots.

Unfortunately the first large leylandii was cut down to a stump around 4-5" tall. As previously suggested, dig around the stump to expose it and then cut through the roots connected to it. In most cases I could pull the roots up once they were disconnected.

Was bloody hard work, even at my tender age of 27. I tried thinking of anything to get around it (raised flowerbed, covering it up, pebbles, etc.) but in the end just got on wi' it.