Taken below the surface
The stump is ground out under ground level rather than shaved flat, which is the difference between planting over it and mowing around it.
Kia ora — we take the stump below the surface
Stump grinding across the Bay of Plenty
Stump grinding on Bay of Plenty sections, blocks and orchard rows — a shelter belt stump on a Te Puna block, a hedge line pulled out at Bethlehem, the pine the last owner cut off at knee height in a Papamoa backyard. Stump and root flare go below the surface as chip, so lawn, bark or paving sits level over the spot afterwards.
Priced on siteafter we measure the stump
- Police-vetted crew
- Ground below the surface
- Chip cleared or left as mulch
- Services checked before we grind
Photos of the stump are usually enough to price it
Stump grinding quote
The address, how many stumps, and roughly how wide.
Police-vetted crewEvery operator checked
Priced on siteMeasured, then quoted
Purpose-built grinderNot a chainsaw and a shovel
One-off jobNo ongoing contract
What you get
What a stump grinding visit covers
What the quoted job includes, from a single stump beside a Matua driveway to a row of them on an Omokoroa block.
The chip is your call
Grinding turns the stump into wood chip. Keep it for the garden beds or we load it out — say which when you book.
Services checked first
We look for irrigation lines, cables and pipes around the stump before the teeth go in, and say so if something sits too close.
The root flare too
The collar where the trunk widens into the roots is ground back as well, since that is the part that lifts paving and catches a mower.
The hole left usable
Raked back level once the grinding stops, so the spot is ready for whatever you are putting there rather than a crater.
A photo when it is done
Sent as the machine comes off, which is what an owner who lives somewhere else actually wants to see.
Grinding beats diggingDigging a stump out leaves a crater and a load of fill to buy. Grinding does not.
The gate decides a lotThe machine has to reach the stump, so tell us the narrowest point on the way in.
We quote what we can seeMeasured on site or off your photos, so the figure is not a guess at a range.
The usual jobs
Where Bay of Plenty stumps come from
Almost every call is one of these six. Knowing which yours is tells us a lot about the job before we see it.
A cleared shelter belt
Taking a row out leaves a line of stumps behind it. Booked together they are one trip for the machine rather than several.
A tree that came down
An easterly took the top out, someone cut up the trunk, and the tree stump has been sitting in the lawn ever since.
An old boundary hedge
A pulled hedge line leaves a run of woody stumps along the fence, usually tight against a neighbour’s palings.
What the last owner left
Cut off at knee height, grassed around, and now it is between you and the lawn, the trampoline or the new deck.
In the way of the next job
A fence line, a shed pad or a widened drive that cannot start until the stump and its root flare are out of the ground.
One that keeps reshooting
Cut flat and sprouting again every spring, because the collar and the roots were never taken out underneath.
Two jobs that are not this one: felling the tree in the first place is tree and hedge trimming, and the branch and trunk material left lying afterwards is shrubs and rubbish removal. If the stump sits hard against a boundary wall, a pool or a visible service, mention it with the photo and we will say honestly whether grinding is the right call there.
Pricing
Why stump grinding is priced on site
Two stumps the same width across can be very different jobs. Five things set the figure, which is why it is measured rather than read off a list:
01
Width across the cutThe first thing we ask for, because grinding time climbs with the face of the stump.
02
How far the roots runA wide, shallow root plate means grinding out well past the trunk, not just the middle.
03
How many there areOne trip for six stumps in a row costs less each than one trip for one.
04
Whether the machine fitsA stump behind a narrow gate or up a step changes which grinder comes and how it gets there.
05
What is underneathIrrigation, a cable run or a concrete footing near the stump means slower, more careful work.
Simple process
How a Bay of Plenty stump grinding job gets booked
1
Send a photo
The stump, a spade laid across it, and the way in from the street.
2
We price the job
One figure, agreed before the grinder leaves the yard.
3
Grinding day
Services checked, stump and root flare taken below the surface.
4
Chip and photo
Chip left as mulch or carted off, and a photo of the spot.
Why Lawnify
Why owners grind a stump instead of digging it
Digging a stump out sounds cheaper until you price the hole: a digger on a trailer, a pile of spoil to shift and enough topsoil to fill what is left. Grinding turns the same stump into chip and leaves the ground where it was.
Police-vetted operators
The person running a grinder beside your fence line has been checked, which is not something a hire-yard machine and a free Saturday gives you.
No surprise on the invoice
The figure is set from the measurement, so a stump that turns out harder going than it looked is our problem rather than a variation.
The right machine for the gap
Purpose-built grinders rather than a chainsaw and a shovel, matched to what will actually fit down the side of the house.
Where we grind
Bay of Plenty towns we grind stumps in
Every town below has its own page. Tell us the address and your tightest gate measurement and we will say which machine suits the job.
TaurangaCity centre & harbour
Mount MaunganuiBeaches & The Mount
PapamoaCoastal growth suburb
BethlehemRiverside family suburb
OtumoetaiHarbourside peninsula
MatuaQuiet harbourside suburb
OhauitiEstablished residential
OmokoroaPeninsula & orchards
Pyes PaGrowing northern suburb
TaurikoNew-build & lifestyle
Welcome BayEstablished eastern suburb
Te PukeKiwifruit country
Te PunaRural & lifestyle blocks
Local know-how
What Bay of Plenty ground does to a stump
Four things our operators run into often enough around the region to ask about before quoting.
Sand spreads roots wide
In the free-draining sand behind Papamoa and the Mount a tree plates out sideways instead of down, so the grinding area is wider than the trunk suggests.
Older sections hide pipes
On long-established streets in Tauranga and Otumoetai the irrigation and cable runs are rarely where anyone remembers, which is why we probe before grinding.
A shaved stump reshoots
Several species planted around the region will push new growth from a stump that was only cut level, which is the usual reason someone calls us twice.
Orchard country leaves rows
Around Te Puke and Te Puna a cleared shelter belt or block leaves a line of stumps, and a row booked together is a far cheaper trip than one at a time.
FAQs
Stump grinding questions we get asked
What people want settled on the phone before a grinder is booked.
How much does stump grinding cost in the Bay of Plenty?
It is priced on site rather than off a rate card. Width across the cut, how far the roots run, how many stumps there are, whether the machine can reach them and what sits underneath all pull the figure in different directions. One photo, with a spade laid across the cut so we can see the width, is normally enough to put a number on it without arranging a visit.
How deep does the grinding go?
Below the surface, far enough that turf, bark or paving can sit level over the spot rather than settling into it. If you are planting something new in the same place, say so when you book, because that wants a deeper clear-out than a lawn does.
Will the stump grow back afterwards?
No. Once the collar and the root plate underneath are gone there is nothing left to shoot from. The ones that keep coming back are the ones that were only cut off level.
What happens to the wood chip?
Your choice, and it is worth deciding before the day: a ground stump makes a surprising volume of chip. It can stay heaped for your garden beds, or it goes out with us.
Can I put new lawn over the spot?
Chip and soil end up mixed in the hole, and chip takes nitrogen out of the ground while it breaks down, so new grass over the top can sulk. For a lawn it is better to rake the chip out and finish with soil, which we can do if you ask when booking.
Will the grinder fit through my gate?
That is the question we ask you. Measure the narrowest point between the street and the stump, including any step or slope, and tell us when you send the photo. Which machine comes depends on that number more than on the stump.
Do you check for pipes and cables first?
Yes, before the teeth go in. If a service or an irrigation line runs close enough to be at risk we stop and tell you rather than finding it the hard way.
Can you grind a stump right against a fence or wall?
Usually, but not always to the last millimetre. Hard up against masonry or palings there can be a small shoulder the machine cannot reach, and we will say that when we quote instead of after.
Do you take the whole tree down as well?
No, felling is separate work: that is tree and hedge trimming. This page is for the stump that is already there.
Is it cheaper to do several stumps at once?
Each one costs less, yes, because most of the cost of a small job is getting the machine to the property. A row of six on one visit is far better value than six separate trips.
Do I need to be at home on the day?
Not as a rule. The operator needs a way through to the stump and somewhere to work. A photo of the finished spot goes to you once the machine comes off.
Is the figure you quote the figure I pay?
Yes. It is set when the job is measured, so one that grinds harder than it looked does not reappear as a variation on your invoice.
Which Bay of Plenty towns do you grind stumps in?
Te Puke, Te Puna, Omokoroa and Tauriko are where the rows and shelter belts are. Papamoa, Mount Maunganui, Welcome Bay, Pyes Pa and Ohauiti bring the backyard ones, and Tauranga, Bethlehem, Otumoetai and Matua are the tight-access jobs.
Booked alongside
What Bay of Plenty owners book once the stump is gone
Stump removal with a stump grinder is normally the last step of a larger clear-out, so it sits next to shrub and rubbish removal for the material above ground, or a new lawn install where the spot becomes lawn again.
Get a stump grinding quote
Send a photo of the stump and the address, and the figure comes back off those.
