Three options, not one
Grinding. A machine chews the stump into chips, usually to somewhere between 150 and 400mm below the surrounding surface depending on access and what is underneath. Fast, tidy, and the default.
Excavation. Digging the stump and root ball out whole. Needed where something structural is going on the spot, or where a palm's wet fibrous stump would clog a grinder. Slower, needs machine access, leaves a large hole to fill.
Chemical treatment and time. Cutting low, treating the cut surface, and letting it decay over several years. Cheap and appropriate where nothing is going on top and the stump is out of the way. Not a solution if you want to plant or pave within the decade.
Match the option to the end use
| End use | What you need | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Turf over the top | Grind 150–200mm below grade, backfill with grindings | Grass roots are shallow; settlement is cosmetic |
| Garden bed or replanting | Grind 300mm or deeper, remove grindings, fill with soil | Grindings tie up nitrogen as they break down |
| Paving or a path | Grind deep and chase major surface roots along the run | Roots left in place continue to lift the surface |
| Slab, footing or pool | Excavate the stump and root ball | Decaying wood under a structure creates voids |
| Nothing, out of the way | Cut low, treat, leave | No reason to pay for machinery |
What sandstone does to the plan
Across most of the Shire, rock sits close to the surface — sometimes 200mm down on the slopes at Gymea, Grays Point and the Port Hacking foreshore. A stump growing on a rock shelf has spread its roots sideways rather than down, so there is less depth available and more lateral root to deal with.
A grinder meeting sandstone destroys teeth, which is a real cost to the contractor. An honest quote says what happens if rock is struck rather than promising a depth the site may not allow. This is covered further on the stump grinding page.
Services come first
Irrigation, stormwater, sewer, gas and comms all live at grinder depth, and a grinding wheel will not notice them. Locate services before work, and make a Before You Dig Australia enquiry for anything near a boundary, a meter or a driveway crossing. This applies to excavation even more than grinding.
The settlement everyone forgets
Old root channels leave the ground soft for a season or two, and backfilled grindings compress. Expect to top up the level once after the first heavy rain, and do not lay turf or pavers the same week if you can avoid it.
Deciding
Tell whoever is quoting what the spot is going to become. That single piece of information changes the method, the depth and the price more than the stump diameter does. Call (02) 9538 7974, or see the cost guide for how stump work is priced alongside a removal.