Here at Mark’s Stump Grinding we hear a lot of questions and comments at each clients house we go to. After we go and quote a stump removal job some clients have mentioned that they have considered renting a machine themselves before committing to the project with us. These days everyone loves a good do it yourself project and we will gladly give our clients time to give the stump removal a try themselves, however we strongly recommend you leave stump grinding and stump removal to the professionals.
A stump removal may seem like a straightforward job but there is a wide variety of things that can go wrong and lead to some very costly property damage or serious personal injury. Here are a few issues we have seen in the past:
- Ruptured, broken, or cut underground lines and cables.
There are a wide variety of lines and cables running through our yards today. They range from water lines for irrigation systems to cable and fiber optics for t.v. and internet services. Unless you are the first owner of your home there is a good chance you may not know exactly where all of you underground utilities are. These types of lines are not designed to take a beating so even a small rental stump removal machine can easily damage them.
- Broken windows on your home or vehicle.
All stump grinder and stump removal machines work using the same basic principle, multiple small blades or hammers are attached to a wheel that spins at very high speeds. When the hammers come in contact with the stump they carve out a small piece each time they make a full rotation. If they happen to come in contact with a rock,it can throw the rock in almost any direction at speeds fast enough to easily shatter a window on a house or car. We have protective screens we place around the job site to prevent accidents.
- Destroyed flowers and shrubs.
When a stump removal machine is grinding the stump the wood shavings from the stump are thrown out away from the machine at extremely high speeds. If the machine operator is not experienced or familiar with the process of stump grinding the chips can end up destroying the flowers and shrubs you may have surrounding your tree. We take steps to protect the surrounding area.
- Personal Injury- Legs, Face and Eyes
With all of the debris being thrown around during the stump removal most people will think to protect their eyes and face by wearing at the very least a good pair of safety glasses. However we have found that our legs tend to be the most vulnerable area while grinding a stump. The majority of the stump grinders today have chip guards in place to help direct the flow of stump grindings, but this does not mean that wood chips, and small rock cant be thrown in your direction. When this happens you quickly realize that the jeans you are wearing are no where near thick enough! For the homeowner to purchase effective forestry safety gear to wear would be very expensive and cost prohibitive.
If you are still interested in attempting a stump removal yourself please use this as a checklist of things to look out for and as always it is better to safe than sorry!
If you have any questions about the article or would like to get a free quote for a stump grinding project email us at Mark@MarksStumpGrindingNC.com or call 704-661-0947