Houston Stump Grinding and Tree Stump Removal in Harris County, TX: What We Grind and the Price per Stump
A stump in Harris County costs $150 to $400 to grind, by diameter, and the clay under it decides how long it takes. South of FM 1960 the ground is gumbo clay that packs the wheel when wet. North of it the sand lets the teeth run clean. We grind to 8 inches below grade in a yard and grub the whole root ball when a slab is going over it. Fifteen stumps or more go by the day. Call (713) 587-6978 or send a photo with a tape measure across the top. Janine will have a number back to you by tomorrow.
COUNTY FIELD GUIDE
Stump Grinding vs. Stump Removal in Gumbo Clay Soil: Grind It or Remove the Root
Grind it if grass or a landscape bed is going over it. Dig it out if a slab, a driveway or a fence post is. That is the whole rule, and the soil changes the price of both. Gumbo clay holds water in the top two feet, so a tree stump ground in January leaves a wet hole that heaves when the clay swells in May. We grind 8 to 12 inches down, rake the mound of chips into the hole, spread the rest thin, and tell you to wait a season before you seed, lay sod or mow it. Full stump removal means the excavator pulls the root ball, which on a 30-inch live oak is a hole the size of a hot tub. On our jobs in Cypress we see tallow roots running sideways just under the surface, and tallow left in the ground sprouts a dozen stems by fall. Tallow gets ground deep and the surface root grinding runs out ten feet. Safe stump removal next to a house means a smaller machine, a plywood shield and a call to 811 three days ahead, because the gas line is not where the homeowner thinks it is.
- Under 12 inches across: $150, 20 minutes.
- 12 to 24 inches: $250 to $300, under an hour.
- Over 24 inches: $400, or full root removal by the day.
- Fifteen stumps or more: by the day, $1,200 to $1,500 minimum trip charge.
Stump Grinding Cost in Harris County, TX: Per Tree Stump and by the Day
Numbers first. The lot decides the final price.
The price is $150 to $400 per stump, measured across the widest point of the cut at ground level. Pine grinds faster than oak of the same size because the wood is softer, but tallow takes longer because the roots run wide and shallow and all of them have to go. Grinding in wet clay adds time, not dollars, as long as the trailer can get to the yard without rutting your lawn. Multi-stump lots go by the day. A cleared lot in Spring with 20 pine stumps is a day, and a wooded half-acre in Humble with 40 is two. We cleared one like that off Aldine Westfield last fall and ground 38 stumps in two days. Wood chips stay in a mound where the stump was unless you want them hauled, and haul-off adds $600 to $1,200 a load. I price from a photo with a tape across the top, and the estimate is the invoice unless I find concrete or a steel fence post inside the wood. Call (713) 587-6978 or send the photo. Janine will have the number back by tomorrow, and the on-site free estimate is free anywhere in Greater Houston.
Single stump
Illustrative range by size, access, and depth.
Multiple stumps
Same trip. Better to see them all before we roll.
Changes the day
Access, moisture, and what must leave the lot change the real number.
Tree Stump Removal After Tree Service Work, Tree Removal and Root Grinding
Half the stumps we grind in Harris County were left by somebody else. Any tree service of northwest Houston will drop the tree and leave you the base, because emergency tree removal after a storm is paid by the hour and stumps are slow. I don't offer professional tree care services, trimming or planting. I grind what the tree man leaves. On our own land clearing jobs the stumps come out with the mulcher or the excavator the same day, because one left in a build pad rots, settles and cracks the slab in year three. A stump left to decay feeds termite and carpenter ant colonies for a decade, and the beetle larvae that follow move into the fence next. A rotted one is also a tripping hazard the day the grass hides it. That is the pest problem. Unsightly stumps in a front yard are an aesthetic problem. One under a new patio is a structural one. Tree stump removal on a lot we did not clear costs the same as on one we did, and the debris goes out with the same trailer.
The right equipment matters. A rental grinder from the hardware store has a 13-horsepower engine and a 9-inch wheel. Ours has the power of 60 horses, carbide teeth and a hydraulic swing, so a 24-inch one that would take you a Saturday takes us 40 minutes. We specialize in what rental machines cannot touch, and a professional stump removal service should be able to remove a stump of any size without tearing up the yard around it.
Professional Stump Grinder and Grinding Services in Houston, Katy, Cypress and Harris County
Our equipment yard is in Hockley. Send the address and Janine will confirm the route.
We grind stumps in Houston, Katy, Cypress, Spring, Tomball, Humble, Crosby and Huffman. Inside the Loop, from West University to Highland Village to the streets around Memorial Park, the lots are small and the live oak stumps are huge, so the machine goes in through the side gate and the trailer stays on the street. West Houston and Katy are tallow and hackberry on clay. North of FM 1960 in Spring and Tomball it is pine stumps on sand, and a woodland lot there grinds twice as fast as the same count in Pasadena. Two inches of rain saturate Houston's clay and it stays soft for a week, so I schedule yard work for the dry stretch and the mulcher for the wet one. Grinding stumps in Houston is a year-round job. A tree needs twenty years to grow a $400 stump.
Residential and commercial work runs the same way, same machine, same rate. Commercial properties with a row of parking-lot stumps go by the day. We are stump grinding specialists second and land clearers first, and the grinder rides on the same trailer as the mulcher. My father ran a dozer for the Harris County Flood Control District, and he left me one rule: fill the hole before you leave.
Get a Free Quote for the Stumps in Your Front Yard, Driveway or Fence Line
Get a free quote by sending a photo of each stump with a tape measure laid across the top, plus your address. Janine will have a number back by tomorrow, and the on-site look is free inside Greater Houston. Tell her what is going over the hole, grass, a slab or an irrigation line, and whether you want the chips left as mulch or hauled. Call (713) 587-6978. I will not call it competitive. I will call it $150 to $400 a stump, in writing, before the trailer leaves the yard.
Tell Janine about your lot.
The address. The growth. Three honest photos.
Design preview. This form does not send or store information until a backend is connected.
Plain answers.
If your question is about wet ground, Janine will ask me.
How much to grind one stump?
For planning, many stumps fall in a $150–$400 range, but the size, roots, depth, and access decide the quote. Send a close photo and the diameter.
Is stump grinding the same as removal?
No. Grinding takes the visible stump down into chips. Full removal takes out more root mass. A lawn and a slab need different results.
Do I need a permit to clear my lot?
It depends on the address and scope. Grading, floodplain work, drainage changes, wetlands, and local tree rules can trigger approvals. We check the jurisdiction before any regulated dirt work begins.
What happens to the brush?
Forestry mulching leaves chips on the ground. Full clearing can include piles or haul-off when the next use needs a different finish. Tell us whether you want mulch, a clean pad, or both.
Who answers the request?
Janine reads the web forms and handles the schedule. She usually responds within the hour during working hours. Hollis reviews the ground and takes responsibility for the scope and number.