Stump Grinding Before a Fence, Pool or Driveway Install
This is the one case where standard grinding depth is not deep enough, and finding out afterward is expensive.
Free quotes, usually the same day. Tell us what you are looking at and we pass it straight to a local crew.
Standard grinding goes four to six inches below grade, which is plenty to put topsoil and grass over. It is not enough to set a fence post, pour a footing, or dig a pool.
The depths that actually matter, by what is going in. Sod or seed: four to six inches, the standard grind. A fence post: at least eighteen inches, because that is how deep the post goes and a post hole auger will not cut through buried stump wood. A patio or driveway footing: twelve inches minimum and often full removal. A pool: removal, every time, because the excavation is going straight through it anyway.
For construction you want twelve inches or more, and sometimes full extraction. Tell the crew what is going in that spot and they will grind to the right depth the first time.
Sequence it properly. Grinding happens before the fence crew, the concrete crew or the pool contractor arrives, not after they have found the problem. A fence company that hits stump wood on the day either shifts your post, leaves a gap, or stops and bills you for the visit, and all three cost more than doing it in the right order.
Contractors will usually not pour over a ground stump regardless of depth, because the remaining wood decomposes and the slab settles. If concrete is going there, plan on removal rather than grinding.
Backfill with soil rather than the grindings whatever you are doing next. Chips decompose and rob nitrogen, so grass struggles, and under anything structural they simply keep settling for years.
What it costs
Prices here are the local market range, not a quote. The full breakdown, and what moves a number up or down, is on the Woodstock stump grinding cost guide.
The four questions a crew asks before pricing this, and how the visit runs from the first pass to the backfill, are on the stump grinding in Woodstock, GA page.
Related stump work
Common questions
How deep does it need to be for a fence post?
At least eighteen inches, and say so when you book rather than after. A standard four to six inch grind leaves solid wood exactly where the auger wants to go, and the fence crew will not dig through it. Moving the post is the usual fallback, and it is the one nobody likes.
How do I measure my stump?
Measure straight across the widest point at ground level, including the flare, not the trunk higher up. People routinely underestimate by six or eight inches because they measure the wrong place, then get a quote that feels high.
How deep does the grinding go?
Four to six inches below grade is standard, which is enough to fill with topsoil and grow grass. If you are setting a fence post, pouring concrete or laying sod, ask for twelve inches or more and say what is going in that spot.
Will the crew fit into my back yard?
A standard walk-behind grinder needs roughly thirty six inches of clearance. Measure your gate before you call. If it is narrower, the crew brings a smaller machine or hand-clears a path, and that changes the price more than stump size does.
Free quotes, usually the same day. Tell us what you are looking at and we pass it straight to a local crew.