When you have a tree cut down, a stump will be left for you to have to deal with. They vary in terms of how easy or difficult they are to remove. Certain factors influence the type of equipment needed and how long the removal will take. If you’re planning to have a stump removed, here’s what you need to know about why some stumps are much easier to grind up than others.
Harder Wood
Some tree species have harder wood. Those are going to take longer to grind up because the grinder has to work harder to chew through the wood. Trees like hickory, walnut and oak are all very hard woods with dense fibers that don’t make it easy for the grinder.
Sometimes a tree can be so dense that grinding just isn’t cost-efficient. In those cases, the tree service will need to dig up the entire stump. If it looks like that’s going to be the case with the stump in your yard, the arborist will let you know what the next steps are.
Fibrous or Extensive Root Systems
Tree roots fall into two general categories. Some spread out in a fibrous network, while others are taproots that have only a few small lateral branches. The fibrous, spreading ones can be very difficult to completely grind up, especially if the stump is old.
The older the tree, the more time it had to send roots growing in several directions. Those roots also had more time to grow bigger and denser. All of that equals more time spent trying to grind them up.
Limited Space Around the Stump
Grinding equipment has to go somewhere, and it has to reach the stump somehow. If the stump is in an area that’s compact or not easily accessible, that affects how easy it’s going to be to grind it up. The tree service may have to bring in equipment that’s smaller than normal just to reach the stump’s location, and smaller equipment will take longer to work.
Healthy vs. Decaying Wood
You can grind up a stump right after removing the rest of a tree. However, a new stump will have denser, harder wood than an old stump. The decaying process that makes stumps to bad to leave in the yard will also make that stump easier to remove.
If the stump you’re trying to have removed is of a species with very hard wood, you might not want to arrange for same-day stump removal. Speak with the tree service to find out how long you should wait. If the stump has to go right then, however, the tree service can give you an idea of what removal would require.
If you need to arrange for stump grinding in Sterling Heights, MI, call the Turbo Tree Care now. We’ll help you get rid of stumps no matter how difficult it will be.
