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Hot take: stump grinding to below grade is a waste of time for most homeowners
Last month I was out on a job in Austin and the homeowner insisted I grind a hackberry stump 12 inches below the soil line. Charged them an extra $80 for the deep grind. Two weeks later their neighbor hit the same roots with a tiller and threw a chain. I usually leave stumps 4 to 6 inches below grade and cover with dirt. Never had a complaint. Anyone else think the deep grind trend is just a way to upsell?
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parkera221mo ago
Is it just me or does the whole "go way deeper than you need to" trend feel like it snuck over from other home improvement stuff? I see the same thing with fence posts and deck footings where people act like you have to dig to China just to be safe. Realistically most roots that are gonna cause trouble are in that top 4 to 6 inches anyway, and going deeper just makes more work for the homeowner down the road if they ever want to plant something new there. Feels like a lot of this is marketing making people think they need something fancy when simple and functional works fine.
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jakel361mo ago
I did the same thing with some fence posts last summer and felt like an idiot after realizing I went 3 feet down for no reason lol. My neighbor just used those spike things and his fence has been fine for years. The whole "overengineer everything" mindset makes people waste so much time for something that's just gonna sit there.
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