Grinding or pulling
A stump grinder is a spinning wheel fitted with cutting teeth. It is swept back and forth across the stump, shaving it down to below the surface, and the roots are left in the ground to break down. Grinding leaves the lawn around the stump mostly intact, and it is the usual choice in a finished yard.
Pulling a stump means digging out the stump and its root ball with a machine. It leaves a much bigger hole and disturbs more of the yard, but it gets the wood out of the ground. That matters where something solid is going on top, such as a slab, a paver patio or a driveway, because buried wood rots and the ground over it settles.
A third option is leaving the stump a few inches high. It's the cheapest choice, but it stays in the way of the mower, and a stump in a lawn is easy to trip over.
Call 811 first
Sunshine 811, Florida's notification center for buried utilities, advises contacting 811 before using a stump grinder to clear out fallen trees, and to do it two full business days before digging starts, by calling 811 or visiting DigSafeFlorida.com. Its post-storm tips also say to make sure any contractor you hire makes that call. FPL's safety page adds that Florida law requires calling 811 to have buried power lines located and marked.
Locators mark public lines with paint and flags. They don't mark what belongs to you: sprinkler pipes, landscape lighting wires, pool plumbing, or a line run to a shed. Show the crew where those are before the grinder starts.
Stumps in the swale
A swale carries the street's stormwater. The city has owners maintain their swale, but asks that no major changes be made to it without city approval, so ask before grinding there, through Customer Service at (386) 986-2360 or a ticket at PalmCoast.gov/Connect. When the work is done, the swale needs to keep its shape so water still moves along it.
A tree that came from city property and fell onto yours after a storm is a separate case; the city's storm guidance asks for a ticket at PalmCoast.gov/Connect. See storm and emergency removal.
Gopher tortoise burrows
Gopher tortoises are a state-listed threatened species that dig their burrows in dry, sandy ground. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says disturbing a burrow includes any type of work within 25 feet of it, and a permit is needed before a potentially occupied burrow is disturbed or damaged. Its guidance treats ordinary lawn and landscape upkeep as generally exempt as long as burrows aren't collapsed and tortoises aren't harmed. If there's a burrow near the stump, point it out at the first visit and keep the grinder and the chip pile well clear. The FWC permit page explains the rules.
Chips, fill and settling in sandy ground
Grinding a stump leaves a mound of mixed chips and soil and a hollow where the stump stood. The chips are mostly wood, and wood shrinks as it breaks down, so a hole backfilled with chips alone sinks.
- Rake most of the chips out of the hole. They make good mulch for beds, away from the house.
- Fill with soil and tamp it down, mounding slightly above the lawn.
- Lay sod or plugs to match the lawn.
- Top up the spot after a few months, as the roots below decay and the ground settles.
Ask whether the quote includes raking, hauling the extra chips and supplying fill, or whether the crew grinds and leaves.
If the tree is still standing
The stump comes after the tree, and so does the permit question. In Palm Coast, removing a tree with a trunk 6 inches or more across at four and a half feet needs a city permit, and a lot that falls below one tree per 2,500 square feet owes a replacement. See tree removal and the permit guide. Grinding the stump in the same visit is common and saves a second trip.
What stump grinding costs
Thumbtack's tree removal guide, updated March 24, 2026, prices grinding alone, after the tree is already cut, by stump diameter:
| Stump diameter | National range |
|---|---|
| Under 12 inches | $267–$354 |
| 12 to 24 inches | $324–$443 |
| 24 to 36 inches | $355–$486 |
| 36 to 48 inches | $372–$494 |
The same page's text gives an overall figure of around $307 to $426, which doesn't line up exactly with its own table. Both are national, not local. Access to the stump, how many there are, surface roots and cleanup all change the number, and the contractor's written quote is what counts.
What commonly goes wrong
- Skipping 811. A grinder cuts below ground, right where service lines run.
- Private lines. Irrigation pipes near a stump are easy to chew through. Mark them first.
- Flying chips. A grinder throws chips hard. Keep people, pets and cars well back, and close nearby windows.
- Too shallow for the plan. A lawn needs less depth than a new tree or a paver patio. Agree on the depth and write it down.
- Chips left in the hole. The spot sinks as they rot.
Who this guide isn't for
If something solid will be built over the stump, ask about pulling it rather than grinding. If the tree is still standing, start with tree removal. If you're clearing a vacant lot for a new house, the stumps come out as part of lot clearing under the building permit, which is a different job.
Questions homeowners ask
How deep does a stump get ground?
It depends on the machine and what will go there next. Say what you plan, whether sod, a bed or a new tree, and get the depth in writing.
Do the roots keep growing?
Many trees die back once the trunk is gone, but some send up sprouts from the roots. Ask the contractor what to expect from your particular tree.
Is it cheaper to grind several stumps at once?
Usually the first stump carries the trip, so adding more in the same visit tends to cost less per stump. Get the total in writing.
Can I grind a stump myself?
Rental grinders exist, and the 811 call applies to you too. The flying chips, buried lines and the swale questions above don't change.
This site passes your request to one independent local contractor. It does no tree work itself.
- Sunshine 811, post-storm clean-up tips, June 1, 2025. FPL, Power line safety.
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, gopher tortoise permits.
- City of Palm Coast storm debris and tree guidance, October 3, 2022; help center tree permit answer; swale maintenance pages.
- Thumbtack, cost to remove a tree, updated March 24, 2026.