Grinding is the default for yards
A below-grade grind with chips raked or hauled is the usual residential fix. It is faster, cheaper, and kinder to irrigation and fences.
Set depth before the wheel drops. Replant, sod, and new beds need different leftover root.
When the stump has to come out
Building pads, utility trenches, and gravel roads fail when a hidden root ball rots or sits proud. Those jobs are excavation, not a grind.
Full removal means a hole, backfill, and compaction. Price that as dirt work so the stump line item is honest.
- Grind for turf and landscape resets.
- Remove for pads, trenches, and structural work.
- Locate utilities before either option.