Tree Removal
Full removals on tight coastal blocks, including dismantles by rope and crane-assisted lifts.
Learn more →Why the stump is a separate conversation
A removal leaves a stump because taking the stump at the same time needs a different machine, and that machine has to get onto the site. In most of the Eastern Suburbs it cannot simply drive in. The practical options are a narrow-access grinder walked down the side path, a larger grinder where there is driveway frontage, or hand excavation where nothing fits.
Doing the grind on the same visit as the removal is cheaper because you pay for one mobilisation. Booking it later is fine too, and sometimes necessary when the council approval covers only the tree.
Ground conditions here are two different problems
On the sand — Bondi, Maroubra, the dune country behind the beaches — grinding is fast and clean, and the main risk is the hole collapsing wider than expected because sand will not hold a face.
On the sandstone — Randwick, Coogee, Vaucluse, the Woollahra ridges — the shelf is often within 300mm of the surface. Teeth find rock quickly, and there is a real limit to how far below the surface anything can go. We will tell you at the quote if the block looks like rock, because "grind it out completely" is not always a promise anyone can make there.
Old harbourside and terrace gardens add a third complication: buried services. Unmarked water and stormwater lines, ancient clay sewer, telecoms run through a garden bed in the 1970s. Anything close to a building line gets located before the grinder starts.
Full stump removal
Where a slab, a footing, a pool or new drainage needs genuinely clear ground, the stump and root plate are dug out rather than ground. That means an excavator if one can get in, or hand digging if not, plus disposal of the root mass and clean fill to bring the level back. It costs noticeably more than grinding and is only worth it when the ground has to be used.
What it costs
Stump pricing follows diameter, access and ground type. The cost guide sets out the ranges, and the general questions are answered on the FAQ page. If the tree is still standing and you are weighing up whether it has to come out at all, start with pruning or an arborist report instead.
Call (02) 9538 7842 with the stump diameter and a photo of the access, or send the details through. If you are in a specific suburb, the area pages cover local ground conditions in more detail.
More services
Explore our other services
Tree Lopping & Pruning
Crown reduction, deadwooding and clearance pruning done to keep the tree alive and stable.
Learn more →Palm Tree Removal
Cocos, Bangalow and Canary Island date palms cleaned up, reduced or taken out section by section.
Learn more →Emergency & Storm Work
Fallen limbs, split trunks and trees on roofs after a southerly or an east coast low.
Learn more →Arborist Reports
AQF Level 5 reports for council applications, development consent and neighbour disputes.
Learn more →
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
How deep can you grind a stump?
Normally 250 to 400mm below the surface, which is enough to turf, pave or plant a small shrub over. Across much of Randwick, Coogee and Vaucluse the sandstone shelf sits close to the surface, and grinding stops at rock. If you need a deeper clearance for footings or a pool shell, that becomes an excavation job rather than a grind.
Do you fill the hole afterwards?
The grindings are raked back into the void as standard, which settles over a few months and is fine under turf or a garden bed. If you want the site finished flat straight away, or the chip removed and clean soil brought in, say so at the quote — it is an extra charge because it means carting material in and out.
Can a grinder fit into a courtyard?
Narrow-access machines get through a gap of roughly 750mm, which covers most side paths and terrace gates in Paddington and Bondi. Below that, or where the only route is through the house, the stump is removed by hand with a chainsaw, mattock and axe. That is slower and priced accordingly, but it is usually possible.
Will the roots keep growing after grinding?
The roots die, but they do not disappear. They break down over several years, and while that happens the soil above them settles, so expect to top-dress a lawn once or twice. Some species — camphor laurel and privet especially — can throw suckers from remaining root material, and those need pulling out as they appear.
Free, no-obligation