Trees are Cheap, Stumps are Expensive

I had a massive pine tree in my front yard. It was so big it eclipsed the yard. Its roots were coming out of the ground and getting unruly; it would drop sap on our cars; it would block the sun from melting snow on the driveway; it had to go.

A couple things I learned about tree removal: it's generally cheaper during the offseason and stumps are expensive to remove. I got an estimate in August and was surprised how much it would cost (about a 1000) for the tree remove and stump grinding. The stump removal was half the cost of the removing and disposing of the entire tree. I didn't get it done at the time since I had lot of remodel activities that were taking priority.

Then, in January I got another estimate, this time putting an ad on Craigslist and collecting offers. I stipulated that only licensed and bonded tree companies would be considered (I didn't want some DIY'er looking for extra cash to drop a tree on my house or cut their leg off). The estimate I got was $600 total, so 40% less!

The tree company owner told me he discounts until things pick up, around March. He said some deciduous trees (honey locust), are too difficult to trim in the winter. And, about the stumps being so expensive, and he told me that it takes a lot of time to grind them and the equipment is expensive. I opted to have just the stump removed and to leave the surface roots. I will start to attack the surface roots with stumpout, which is essentially a fungus that rots the wood over time.