How deep do you grind the stumps?

The depth of the grind is a crucial factor in the success of the removal. At Royal Lawns, our standard operating procedure is to grind the stump approximately 4 to 6 inches below the surrounding grade (ground level). We have found that this is the "sweet spot" for 90% of residential needs. Grinding to this depth accomplishes several things. First, it completely severs the trunk from the root system, ensuring that the tree (unless it is a specifically aggressive species like Crepe Myrtle) will not sprout back. Second, a 6-inch depth provides enough room for you to fill the hole with topsoil and lay sod or plant grass seed on top. The grass roots will have plenty of soil to establish themselves without hitting the remaining wood below. However, if you have specific plans for that spot, we need to know. If you plan to plant another tree in the exact same location, or if you are pouring a concrete footer for a fence post, we may need to grind deeper (up to 12 inches or more). Going deeper takes more time and produces more debris, but it is necessary for construction projects. Conversely, we are careful not to grind too deeply unnecessarily, as this increases the risk of hitting underground irrigation lines, cable wires, or gas lines that may be buried beneath the tree.

Do you remove all the roots, too?

This is a very common question. The short answer is: We remove the roots that are part of the main stump and the ones causing immediate problems, but we do not remove the entire subterranean root system. A tree's root system can spread two to three times the width of the tree's canopy. Trying to grind every root would effectively mean tilling up your entire yard, which is usually not what homeowners want. Our focus is on the root flare and surface roots. The root flare is the thick base of the tree where it enters the ground. We grind this completely away. We also target any large roots that are breaking the surface of the soil within the immediate vicinity of the stump—the ones you are likely to hit with a lawnmower. The remaining roots, which are buried deep underground, will die naturally once the main stump is disconnected. Over time (usually several years), these roots will decompose in the soil. Occasionally, as they rot, you might see slight settling in the ground, which can be easily fixed with a shovel-full of dirt. If you have specific "runner roots" ten or twenty feet away that are cracking a sidewalk or tripping you, point them out to us! We can spot-grind those specific roots to solve the problem.

Can you grind multiple stumps during a single visit?

Yes, absolutely. In fact, doing multiple stumps in a single visit is the most cost-effective way to use our service. A significant portion of the cost of stump grinding is the "mobilization"—getting the truck, the trailer, the machine, and the crew to your property. Once we are on-site and the machine is unloaded, the cost per stump drops significantly. We frequently work with clients who have just bought a property that has been neglected for years, often finding a "graveyard" of five, ten, or even twenty old stumps hidden in the backyard. We also work with homeowners who have had a tree service come in and drop several pine trees but didn't pay for the removal. If you have one big stump and three small ones, or even a line of old shrub stumps along a fence, let us know. We can offer a comprehensive package price that encompasses the entire lot. It is much cheaper to have us grind them all on Tuesday than to have us do one this week and call us back for the others next month. We can clear an entire acre of stumps in a single day, instantly transforming the land's usability.

Do you clean up the wood chips afterward?

Stump grinding produces a surprising volume of debris. When you grind a solid log, you are turning dense wood into fluffy mulch. This mixture of wood shavings and dirt creates a pile that is often 30% to 50% larger in volume than the original stump. Imagine taking a loaf of bread and turning it into breadcrumbs; the pile gets bigger. Our standard quote typically includes grinding the stump and backfilling the hole with the mulch. We rake the chips into a neat mound over the hole. We leave it mounded because, over the first few weeks, the chips will settle and the air pockets will collapse. If we leveled it perfectly flat immediately, you would end up with a depression or a hole a month later. However, we do offer complete cleanup and hauling as an upgraded service. If you want the chips gone entirely so you can immediately sod the area, we can shovel up the debris and haul it away. Please note that since the debris is mixed with dirt, it is heavy and requires manual labor to remove. Most homeowners choose to let the chips settle or use the excess mulch in their flower beds (it makes excellent, free garden mulch!). Let us know your preference, and we will adjust the quote accordingly.

Will this damage my yard?

We understand that you are hiring us to improve your yard, not damage it. We take great care to ensure that our equipment leaves the lightest possible footprint. Our stump grinders are professional-grade, but they are designed to be compact enough to fit through standard backyard gates (usually 36 inches wide, though we verify access first). They run on rubber tracks or large flotation tires. This design distributes the machine's weight over a larger surface area, preventing the deep ruts that a skid steer or a tractor might leave. Unless your yard is extremely wet and soggy from recent heavy rains, our machine will simply mat down the grass as it drives over, which will spring back up within a day or two. We also use protective measures during the grinding process itself. Grinding a stump throws wood chips at high velocity. To protect your siding, windows, parked cars, and your neighbor's property, we set up portable debris screens, also known as "curtains," around the work zone. These catch the flying debris and keep the mess contained to the immediate area of the stump. Safety and property protection are our top priorities.

Stump Grinding | Royal Lawns

Removing a tree is a major project, but the trunk is often only half the job. Once the logs are hauled away, you’re left with the stump—an obstacle that disrupts the yard, complicates mowing, and creates a tripping hazard. Across Enterprise, Daleville, and New Brockton, we see it all the time: great landscapes stalled by one rotting stump that never gets addressed.

Royal Lawns finishes the job with professional stump grinding. We don’t just cut a stump low. We grind it out using specialized, high-powered equipment that turns solid wood into chips and takes the stump well below the soil line. That means you can reclaim the space, replant grass, and enjoy a smooth, uninterrupted lawn.

As a veteran-owned company, we approach stump grinding with a disciplined, safety-first mindset. We protect your property, work efficiently, and leave the site better than we found it. You shouldn’t have to mow around an obstacle for years. We can remove it within a matter of hours.

Forestry mulching is heavy equipment work that demands a safety-first mindset. As a veteran-owned business, we approach projects with careful planning and constant awareness of terrain and hazards. We assess conditions such as old fence wire and hidden stumps, and we distinguish between invasive growth that needs to be removed and trees that you want to keep.

We also take pride in operating with control and respect for your land. Many clearing crews leave ruts or scarred trees through careless operation. We focus on selective removal, maneuvering through tighter areas and clearing around mature trees without damaging bark or root zones.

Stump grinding is a controlled and localized method for removing wood without damaging the surrounding yard. Unlike ripping a stump out with heavy excavation, grinding avoids massive craters and limits disruption to the surrounding landscape.

We begin with an on-site assessment. We look for rocks, buried metal, and potential hazards in the work zone. We also discuss access and positioning so the machine can operate safely and efficiently.

Once the area is ready, we set the grinder and remove the stump and major surface roots that create mowing hazards. If ground conditions are soft, we take steps to reduce rutting and protect the surrounding turf..

The Royal Lawns Standard:

Utility Safety: We advise on 811 utility location calls before digging or grinding.
Debris Control: We use screens to prevent wood chips from flying into windows or siding.
Depth: We grind deep enough to ensure the stump won't regrow.
Cleanup: We rake the area back into a neat pile or haul debris, depending on your preference.
Efficiency: Our commercial machines are designed to be fast, minimizing the time spent on your property.

A stump isn’t just inconvenient. As it decays, it becomes a magnet for wood-destroying insects and other pests. Rotting wood provides moisture, food, and shelter—an ideal staging ground for colonies that can grow and then spread.

If the stump is near your home, shed, deck, or fence line, pests can migrate from the stump to nearby structures. Grinding the stump removes the food source and breaks up the habitat, lowering the risk of an infestation.

Common Pests Attracted to Stumps:

● Termites: Subterranean termites thrive in the moisture of rotting roots.

● Carpenter ants excavate wood to build nests, often moving toward homes later.

● Beetles: Various boring beetles use the stump for larval development.

● Wasps: Hollowed-out stumps often become nests for yellow jackets.

Fungi: Decaying stumps can produce mushrooms and fungi that are toxic to pets..

The visible stump is only part of the structure. Root flare and surface roots can extend outward, creating raised areas, mower hazards, or uneven ground.

Before we start, we clarify your end goal. Do you want a smooth area you can mow over? Or are you preparing for a fence, planting, or hardscape work?

For standard removal, we grind the main stump, root flare, and surface roots in the immediate area. We don’t chase every underground root across the yard, because doing so would require tearing up large portions of turf. If specific runner roots are causing problems farther out, we can spot-target those areas.

What We Tackle:

The Main Bole: The central trunk mass.
Root Flare: The widening base where the trunk enters the ground.
Surface Runners: Exposed roots that damage mower blades.
Mounded Earth: The hump of soil that often surrounds old trees.

Because local trees drop their leaves at different rates, a one-size-fits-all schedule doesn’t work. Pecan trees can drop early, Oaks can hold late, and pine needles fall steadily with a spike in the fall. We offer flexible scheduling options to match your property.

For some homes, a single cleanup in January is enough. For properties with heavy tree cover, waiting that long can smother the grass. In those cases, we often recommend biweekly or monthly service during peak drop season (November through January) to keep the volume manageable.

Booking is simple. You don’t need to be home for service, as long as we have yard access. We provide digital quotes and easy billing, so you don’t have to coordinate paperwork or chase invoices.

For business owners and property managers, overgrown lots are a liability. They can signal neglect, hide signage, and obscure security fencing. Royal Lawns partners with commercial clients to manage vegetation on a recurring or one-time basis. We understand commercial needs, including insurance requirements and safety standards.

We’re equipped for challenging terrain often found on industrial sites, including retention ponds, steep embankments, and roadside frontage. We can work around operational hours to reduce disruption. Whether you need a retention pond cut twice a year or a lot maintained monthly during the growing season, we offer flexible options built for compliance and budget.

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How deep do you grind the stumps?
The depth of the grind is a crucial factor in the success of the removal. At Royal Lawns, our standard operating procedure is to grind the stump approximately 4 to 6 inches below the surrounding grade (ground level). We have found that this is the "sweet spot" for 90% of residential needs.
Grinding to this depth accomplishes several things. First, it completely severs the trunk from the root system, ensuring that the tree (unless it is a specifically aggressive species like Crepe Myrtle) will not sprout back. Second, a 6-inch depth provides enough room for you to fill the hole with topsoil and lay sod or plant grass seed on top. The grass roots will have plenty of soil to establish themselves without hitting the remaining wood below.
However, if you have specific plans for that spot, we need to know. If you plan to plant another tree in the exact same location, or if you are pouring a concrete footer for a fence post, we may need to grind deeper (up to 12 inches or more). Going deeper takes more time and produces more debris, but it is necessary for construction projects. Conversely, we are careful not to grind too deeply unnecessarily, as this increases the risk of hitting underground irrigation lines, cable wires, or gas lines that may be buried beneath the tree.
Do you remove all the roots, too?
This is a very common question. The short answer is: We remove the roots that are part of the main stump and the ones causing immediate problems, but we do not remove the entire subterranean root system. A tree's root system can spread two to three times the width of the tree's canopy. Trying to grind every root would effectively mean tilling up your entire yard, which is usually not what homeowners want.
Our focus is on the root flare and surface roots. The root flare is the thick base of the tree where it enters the ground. We grind this completely away. We also target any large roots that are breaking the surface of the soil within the immediate vicinity of the stump—the ones you are likely to hit with a lawnmower.
The remaining roots, which are buried deep underground, will die naturally once the main stump is disconnected. Over time (usually several years), these roots will decompose in the soil. Occasionally, as they rot, you might see slight settling in the ground, which can be easily fixed with a shovel-full of dirt. If you have specific "runner roots" ten or twenty feet away that are cracking a sidewalk or tripping you, point them out to us! We can spot-grind those specific roots to solve the problem.
Can you grind multiple stumps during a single visit?
Yes, absolutely. In fact, doing multiple stumps in a single visit is the most cost-effective way to use our service. A significant portion of the cost of stump grinding is the "mobilization"—getting the truck, the trailer, the machine, and the crew to your property. Once we are on-site and the machine is unloaded, the cost per stump drops significantly.
We frequently work with clients who have just bought a property that has been neglected for years, often finding a "graveyard" of five, ten, or even twenty old stumps hidden in the backyard. We also work with homeowners who have had a tree service come in and drop several pine trees but didn't pay for the removal.
If you have one big stump and three small ones, or even a line of old shrub stumps along a fence, let us know. We can offer a comprehensive package price that encompasses the entire lot. It is much cheaper to have us grind them all on Tuesday than to have us do one this week and call us back for the others next month. We can clear an entire acre of stumps in a single day, instantly transforming the land's usability.
Do you clean up the wood chips afterward?
Stump grinding produces a surprising volume of debris. When you grind a solid log, you are turning dense wood into fluffy mulch. This mixture of wood shavings and dirt creates a pile that is often 30% to 50% larger in volume than the original stump. Imagine taking a loaf of bread and turning it into breadcrumbs; the pile gets bigger.
Our standard quote typically includes grinding the stump and backfilling the hole with the mulch. We rake the chips into a neat mound over the hole. We leave it mounded because, over the first few weeks, the chips will settle and the air pockets will collapse. If we leveled it perfectly flat immediately, you would end up with a depression or a hole a month later.
However, we do offer complete cleanup and hauling as an upgraded service. If you want the chips gone entirely so you can immediately sod the area, we can shovel up the debris and haul it away. Please note that since the debris is mixed with dirt, it is heavy and requires manual labor to remove. Most homeowners choose to let the chips settle or use the excess mulch in their flower beds (it makes excellent, free garden mulch!). Let us know your preference, and we will adjust the quote accordingly.
Will this damage my yard?
We understand that you are hiring us to improve your yard, not damage it. We take great care to ensure that our equipment leaves the lightest possible footprint. Our stump grinders are professional-grade, but they are designed to be compact enough to fit through standard backyard gates (usually 36 inches wide, though we verify access first).
They run on rubber tracks or large flotation tires. This design distributes the machine's weight over a larger surface area, preventing the deep ruts that a skid steer or a tractor might leave. Unless your yard is extremely wet and soggy from recent heavy rains, our machine will simply mat down the grass as it drives over, which will spring back up within a day or two.
We also use protective measures during the grinding process itself. Grinding a stump throws wood chips at high velocity. To protect your siding, windows, parked cars, and your neighbor's property, we set up portable debris screens, also known as "curtains," around the work zone. These catch the flying debris and keep the mess contained to the immediate area of the stump. Safety and property protection are our top priorities.