Stump Grinding and Stump Removal in Jacksonville, FL: $4.25 per Inch, Lots by the Day

Grinding vs. Pulling the Stump: Which One Your Lot Needs

Grind for turf, pull for a pad. A grind takes it 8 to 12 inches below grade and leaves the root system in the sand to decay. That is right for a front yard, a fence line or a spot you will turf. Tree stump removal with the root rake pulls the whole root ball, $165 an hour with operator, and it is the only right answer under a slab or a drive. Ground and left under a pad, the wood rots, the fill settles and the slab cracks. We are not a tree service. Full tree removal, trim work and tree trimming are not what we do; I know an arborist who does. Tell me what goes on the spot afterward and I pick the method.

How Much Does Stump Grinding Cost in Jacksonville, FL

• $4.25 per inch of diameter, measured at the widest point of the cut, including the flare.
• $160 minimum each. A 24-inch pine is $160; a 40-inch live oak is $170.
• Multiple stumps, 10 or more on one lot: by the day, $2,700 with the machine, operator and cleanup.
• Root rake under a pad: $165 an hour. Haul-off of the grindings if you want them gone: $650 to 1,200 per load.

Pricing is the same throughout Jacksonville, Clay, St. Johns, Nassau and Baker; Flagler south of Palm Coast carries a transport line. Free estimates on-site, and the written number is the invoice. Affordable is a word I only use for the $160 single. Call (904) 406-7990 with a count and rough diameters, or pick a slot on the calendar.

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Grinding Stumps in Sandy Soil, Flatwoods Hardpan and Hammock Clay

Sandy soil grinds fast and the cutter wheel stays sharp. The trouble sits 12 to 30 inches down: hardpan on the flatwoods, and clay under the live oak hammocks on the St. Johns and Black Creek. Grind to the hardpan and the hole holds water in July, so on low lots I stop at 8 inches and mound the backfill. Irrigation lines run 6 to 10 inches deep in most Jacksonville neighborhoods, right where the wheel works, and they are not on the Sunshine 811 ticket. Underground utilities are: gas, cable and the water service all get marked before the grinder leaves the trailer. I walk it with you first and flag every sprinkler head.

Pine Stumps, Live Oak Stumps and Cabbage Palm Boots

Slash pine grinds clean and does not sprout. Live oak is dense and wide, so a 40-inch oak takes an hour, and the lateral roots keep lifting the lawn for a season. A live oak stump argues longer than my old chief did. Cabbage palm has no true stump, just a fibrous boot; we grind it below grade and it is gone. Laurel oak suckers from the roots for a year. Camphor and Chinese privet come back from any root left alive unless the cut is treated the same day. A pine left in the ground invites termite colonization within two years, a hazard to the house, and carpenter ants move into oak by the second summer. The COJ Chapter 656 permit covers the tree, not the stump: once a protected oak is lawfully down, the grind needs no permit. If the tree is still standing and over 11.5 inches DBH in Duval, the permit comes before the saw, and I pull it at cost.

Grinding After Land Clearing and Storm Tree Removal

A mulched lot leaves stumps cut flush and ground over; ground you will turf wants them 8 inches down. We remove them the last day of the clearing job so the trailer leaves once. After Irma in 2017 we cleared 2 acres of downed oak and pine on a Julington Creek lot, 11 loads hauled, $9,350, and ground 14 stumps on the final day. Storm stumps come split and leaning, root plates lifted 3 feet, and the wheel takes them from the lifted side first. Branch piles and debris go on the trailer with the grindings or stay as mulch. Healthy trees nearby stay healthy if the wheel stays 3 feet off their trunks, so the crew flags them with pink tape first.

Seasonal Timing for Grinding in Northeast Florida

November to May is the season. The ground is dry, the machine does not rut the lawn, and turf laid over the backfill in spring is rooted before the June rain. June to September the flatwoods lots stand in water and a 2-ton machine cuts the grass to mud; those jobs wait for a dry week or pay for mats. Live oak is easier in the dry season too, because dry wood cuts clean instead of smearing. Seasonal demand runs the other way: everybody wants the yard done before the holidays, so book October early.

What Happens to the Wood Chips

The grindings go back in the hole, mounded 4 inches high, because they settle by a third over the first summer. Rake it flat in three months, add topsoil, then sod or seed. Grindings mixed into sandy soil pull nitrogen for the first year, so new turf goes in a little yellow and greens up by fall. Hauling the grindings off is $650 to 1,200 a load, and most homeowner lots do not need it. The mulch from a big oak is good in the landscape beds. Efficient cleanup means the lawn is raked and the driveway blown off before the trailer door closes.

Local Grinding Near Orange Park, Mandarin, Middleburg and St. Augustine

Yard in Middleburg, Clay County. Insured crews, transport included across Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau and Baker, and Flagler north of Palm Coast. The whole (904) area, in other words. The Jacksonville Southside and Westside, Nocatee, St. Johns and St. Augustine, Yulee and Fernandina Beach, Keystone Heights and Macclenny all run the same sheet. County pages: Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Flagler, Baker. Grading and excavation after the stumps come out are on the site prep page. Professional stump grinding, done professionally, is a short job; the booking is shorter. Pick a walk-through slot on the calendar or call (904) 406-7990. I text you the same evening.

Questions From Jacksonville Homeowners About the Grind