Tree Removal
Whole-tree takedowns and sectional dismantles, including trees with nowhere safe to drop a stem.
Learn more →What full removal involves
The stump is excavated rather than ground. Machinery digs around and under the root plate, the roots are cut, and the plate is lifted out whole or in large pieces and carted away. What is left is an open hole, which gets backfilled with clean sand or fill compacted in layers so it will carry load.
That is a materially bigger operation than grinding, and it costs accordingly. It is also the only correct answer for some jobs.
When it is the right job
- A slab or footing is going over the spot. Ground chip and decaying roots settle unevenly, and a slab over them cracks.
- A pool is going in. Excavation will hit the root plate anyway; better to deal with it deliberately.
- A retaining wall or driveway crosses the line of the stump. Same settlement problem.
- A builder or engineer has specified clear ground. Their specification, their call.
- You are replanting a significant tree in the same position. A new tree does not establish well in a hole full of decaying chip.
- The species suckers from roots. Some figs and palms will keep producing shoots after grinding.
When it is not
If the ground is going back to lawn, a garden bed, or paving on a properly compacted base, grinding does the job for a fraction of the cost. Paying for full extraction so the yard is "properly clean" is money spent on something nobody will ever see.
Access is the constraint
An excavator has to physically reach the stump. On a new block or a cleared site that is nothing. On an established garden with a 900mm side gate, a paved courtyard and a pool between the driveway and the stump, it may be impossible without removing fencing or paving first.
This is the strongest argument for sequencing: if landscaping or building work is planned, get the stump out before the new work goes in, not after.
Soil, spoil and backfill
Perth's Swan Coastal Plain sand makes extraction genuinely more practical here than in clay-soil cities — root plates lift cleanly and the hole holds its shape while it is being worked. The local version of this is on the stump removal Perth page.
Two practical points. First, the spoil is stump, roots and contaminated sand, and it has to go somewhere — that is a line item, so check whether it is in the quote. Second, backfill has to be compacted in layers, not tipped in and levelled, or the ground will drop within a season.
Getting it priced
Stump diameter, root spread, species, soil, access and what the ground has to do afterwards. The cost guide sets out how those interact, and if the tree is still standing, start with tree removal so the whole job is quoted as one.
Call (08) 9516 2804 for a free onsite quote.
More services
Explore our other services
Tree Lopping
Height and spread reduced where a tree has outgrown its spot, cut to a lateral rather than a stub.
Learn more →Tree Pruning
Deadwooding, crown thinning, crown lifting and roof and powerline clearance on established trees.
Learn more →Stump Grinding
Stumps ground below grade so you can turf, pave or replant over the top. Fast work in Perth sand.
Learn more →
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between stump grinding and stump removal?
Grinding chews the stump into chip in place and leaves the deeper roots to decay underground. Removal excavates the stump and the root plate and takes them away, leaving a clean hole to be backfilled. Grinding suits lawn, garden and general tidy-up. Removal is for ground that has to carry a structure.
When do I actually need full removal?
When a slab, footing, pool shell, retaining wall or driveway is going over the spot, when a builder or engineer has specified clear ground, when you are replanting a significant tree in exactly the same position, or when a species that suckers from roots means grinding alone will not settle the matter.
Does it wreck the yard?
It is more disruptive than grinding. An excavator needs to reach the stump, and the hole left behind is larger and deeper. On a finished garden the access route matters as much as the stump. It is far easier done before landscaping than after.
What fills the hole?
Clean sand or fill, compacted in layers rather than tipped in. Grindings and green waste should not go back in a hole that will carry a structure, because organic material keeps breaking down and the ground keeps dropping. If the hole is just going back to lawn, sand and topsoil are fine.
Is it much more expensive?
Yes, generally several times the cost of grinding the same stump, because it involves machinery, spoil removal and backfill rather than one grinder and an operator. Perth's sandy soils narrow the gap compared with clay-soil cities, but the gap is still real. Only pay for it if you need it.
Free, no-obligation