Tree stump removal

[TechnicAl]

I heard what I thought was a helicopter landing on the field at the bottom of my garden.....i went round to take a look and it was something like that and a tree shredder...

 

[Climber]

I heard what I thought was a helicopter landing on the field at the bottom of my garden.....i went round to take a look and it was something like that and a tree shredder...

Big stump grinders can be noisy beasts. I was once asked to stop for an hour because the people a few doors down were having a wedding reception in the garden and i was drowning out the speeches. .

 

[anto]

This is the job here!

Like taking a tank to a knife fight lol

 

[bigegg]

I have about 13 nr tree stumps to remove from my garden

His main problem is roots.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

As @mtt.tr quite rightly points out, tap routes are a myth. Most roots will be quite close to the surface, usually extending just beyond the drip line (an imaginary verticle line to the ground from the furthest reaches of the canopy).

There will be shorter anchor roots, but most of these won't be underneath.

Interesting. IME,[ and I've had to contend with things like this on a golf course after a storm, although mostly pine trees, but they're no different] the root 'ball' extended to roughly 1.5 times from the centreline of the trunk to the outermost edge(s) of the canopy

Google would seem to confirm my rough calculation [I was too busy to take measurements ]

"Studies have shown that roots actually grow laterally to a distance equal to the height of the tree. One report from the University of Florida extension says "Roots on trees and shrubs planted in a landscape grow to 3 times the branch spread within 2 to 3 years of planting." [not my emphases]

It's amazing how quickly, unless you're VERY careful and assess the tree thoroughly before trimming brash & lopping the trunk, the weight of the root ball will return the rest of the tree to the perpendicular - I have seen one guy thrown in the air through standing in the wrong place. He was lucky he wasn't seriously injured....

 

[Climber]

Interesting. IME,[ and I've had to contend with things like this on a golf course after a storm, although mostly pine trees, but they're no different] the root 'ball' extended to roughly 1.5 times from the centreline of the trunk to the outermost edge(s) of the canopy

Google would seem to confirm my rough calculation [I was too busy to take measurements ]

"Studies have shown that roots actually grow laterally to a distance equal to the height of the tree. One report from the University of Florida extension says "Roots on trees and shrubs planted in a landscape grow to 3 times the branch spread within 2 to 3 years of planting." [not my emphases]

It's amazing how quickly, unless you're VERY careful and assess the tree thoroughly before trimming brash & lopping the trunk, the weight of the root ball will return the rest of the tree to the perpendicular - I have seen one guy thrown in the air through standing in the wrong place. He was lucky he wasn't seriously injured....

Dealing with windblown trees is one of the more dangerous aspects of the job. There have been cases of people being killed by sheltering under the root plate whilst others are taking weight from the canopy.

Actually, pines are one species that do follow slightly different patterns as far as root spread is concerned.

There are no hard and fast rules with tree roots, as each one is a different living organism planted in a unique (ish) location. Where and how the tree is planted can have quite an impact on root structure and pattern.

Trees are actually fascinating 'creatures'.

 

[bigegg]

Interesting. IME,[ and I've had to contend with things like this on a golf course after a storm, although mostly pine trees, but they're no different] the root 'ball' extended to roughly 1.5 times from the centreline of the trunk to the outermost edge(s) of the canopy

Google would seem to confirm my rough calculation [I was too busy to take measurements ]

"Studies have shown that roots actually grow laterally to a distance equal to the height of the tree. One report from the University of Florida extension says "Roots on trees and shrubs planted in a landscape grow to 3 times the branch spread within 2 to 3 years of planting." [not my emphases]

It's amazing how quickly, unless you're VERY careful and assess the tree thoroughly before trimming brash & lopping the trunk, the weight of the root ball will return the rest of the tree to the perpendicular - I have seen one guy thrown in the air through standing in the wrong place. He was lucky he wasn't seriously injured....

that has been my experience, as well: with leylandii.
there will be 2-3 huge roots that grow laterally, usually about 1-2ft under the surface, but run for *at least* the height of the tree (or as high as it would have grown if not hedgetrimmed).
there are usually a few "feeder"(?) roots as well, but they break easily and rot down quickly.
the stump seems to only go down about 3-4x the diameter of the ground level stump, sometimes running sideways for a couple of feet.

source: 40 odd leylandii my dad planted as a hedge, and i spent 3 months pulling out one at a time with a crowbar, pickaxe, and hard work.

 

[Climber]

He's ground the stumps low enough for the roots to be the main problem, IMO

 

[anto]

He's ground the stumps low enough for the roots to be the main problem, IMO

Il maybe have a wee dig around one this evening to confirm, if SWMBO lets me out of the house lol

 

[mtt.tr]

We used to have 9" stump grinder hard work but it could get everywhere.

 

[Climber]

Il maybe have a wee dig around one this evening to confirm, if SWMBO lets me out of the house lol

If you've ground down far enough so you can see where the buttresses really flair out and turn into roots, you've got most of the stump. If you dig down one side you should be able to find you can start to dig soil out from underneath it.

 

[anto]

That's what I used @mtt.tr it was slow going though.
Hired out of HSS and the teeth were just blunt to be honest. I've no doubt it would have went much faster with fresh teeth.

 

[Climber]

We used to have 9" stump grinder hard work but it could get everywhere.

https://images.app.goo.gl/msaunEp9Z2ukpJRV6

I had one almost identical to the above. Would have made short work of the op's stumps.

 

[mtt.tr]

That's what I used @mtt.tr it was slow going though.
Hired out of HSS and the teeth were just blunt to be honest. I've no doubt it would have went much faster with fresh teeth.

Good teeth make the. Difference we converted our to a better tooth cant remember the brand.

 

[mtt.tr]

https://images.app.goo.gl/msaunEp9Z2ukpJRV6

I had one almost identical to the above. Would have made short work of the op's stumps.

We had a smaller one than that
Guy i worked alongside had a driven rayco awesome machine

 

[sako243]

Is that the thing you want me to make remote controlled?

 

[8ob]

Is that the thing you want me to make remote controlled?

No Ed, thats going to be bigger

Bob

 

[8ob]

Interesting. IME,[ and I've had to contend with things like this on a golf course after a storm, although mostly pine trees, but they're no different] the root 'ball' extended to roughly 1.5 times from the centreline of the trunk to the outermost edge(s) of the canopy]

John dealing with stuff like this in open areas is easy, we can bowl over hundreds of trees a day, grub out the stumps with a big excavator ,doze them them up in a heap with the telehandler and burn them. Stuff in back gardens is a nightmare

 

[Parm]

Big stump grinders can be noisy beasts. I was once asked to stop for an hour because the people a few doors down were having a wedding reception in the garden and i was drowning out the speeches. .

Worse than the noise (incidentally easy to control exposure) is the hand transmitted vibration. It seriously damages people in quite a short space of time, can be found in almost every hand held machine with an engine or motor. There are folk that sell anti vibration gloves, they do not afford any control against exposure

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

@Parm

What is the view of the HSE when dealing with transmitted vibration from machines to humans?