I lost a stump grinding job because of miscommunication ...

[Cupocoffee]

I got a call from a homebuilder to grind a 2' stump to just below grade level so he could start working on a room addition. I arrived on the site within an hour to find a couple of guys digging the stump out with a Bobcat Skid-steer on tracks. The builder was not there but the homeowner thought it was up to him to get rid of the stump. The builder showed up and was as surprised as I was. I was going to grind the stump for $100 and be on my way in less than half an hour. I was amused and watched the guy with the skid-steer dig at that stump for an hour. The picture below shows what he had gotten done when I decided to leave. BTW, the builder tried to make it right and pay me since he did call me out. I didn't take the money as that is the price of doing business. Also, he told me he runs into stumps a couple of times per month and he said he will start using me. He did not know how much the homebuilder paid the two guys to come out with the skid-steer. You can't tell by the picture but they ended up tearing up the ground for about 500 sq' but since it was going to have a slab poured over it, it wasn't important. At the point you see in the picture the guy operating the skid steer suggested that I just grind the stump. I told him it was no longer a $100 job and left.

 

[troythetreeman]

funny the builder didnt just be like look, i cant wait all day here, and have you take over

 

[BlackOakTreeServ]

lol, what a mess, digging up half the yard

 

[pdqdl]

Several comments:

1. The guys with the bobcat must have been newbies looking for work. Anybody that has had one for very long knows better than to try digging up a big stump with a bobcat.

2. The builder now has a soil compaction problem. He can count on the huge hole to settle, probably causing a crack with warranty expenses. I would add to the cost of the original estimate to refill the hole with some soil compaction added.

Unless, of course, I was going to make a stack of cash on the job, regardless of adding a few hours of extra work.

 

[treemanbrisbane]

Pnie tree mess

It looks like a yard after I try grinding pine tree roots, end up chasing them all over the yard, lol. I'm a treeman, not a stumpman, though.

 

[Cupocoffee]

1. The guys with the bobcat must have been newbies looking for work. Anybody that has had one for very long knows better than to try digging up a big stump with a bobcat.

2. The builder now has a soil compaction problem. He can count on the huge hole to settle, probably causing a crack with warranty expenses. I would add to the cost of the original estimate to refill the hole with some soil compaction added.

Unless, of course, I was going to make a stack of cash on the job, regardless of adding a few hours of extra work.

******************************************************************************************

PDQDL, the guy who was operating the Bobcat was a concrete man. He knew he had gotten into a mess and that is why he asked me to grind the stump, once he got it to the point in the picture. I did see another guy, who lives near me, take out a stump the same size with a front loader on his tractor. I have no idea how long it took him. He also has another in his yard which he was not successful getting out, with his front loader, and he has a pile of brush on top of it, so I guess he will burn it out.

BTW, I like your web site. I noticed it says, "Powered by YP." I advertised with Yellow Pages for three months with no success. I was paying $125 per month (half price). I got two jobs which netted $260 total. They were very high pressure when I cancelled the ad and I explained to them that the only people who profited from my ad was Yellow Pages and I couldn't support them like that. I was hoping to get a boatload of calls with the ad but it just didn't work out. Your ad is very nice and classy.

 

[Carburetorless]

If they're pouring a slab there the stump would have to be ground down to more like 6" below ground level.

2" of gravel + 4" of concrete = 6" If it's solid, if not; Who knows?

Anyway,

If the concrete guy hadn't had his panties in such a bunch to get started and waited for you to grind the stump, he would have been hours ahead of where he is now, and he would have saved a lot of fuel in the BobCat.

 

[Grouchy old man]

the guy who was operating the Bobcat was a concrete man.

If he doesn't have a back hoe what does he dig for his footings with??

 

[Cupocoffee]

If he doesn't have a back hoe what does he dig for his footings with??

The two men with the Bobcat were going to dig the footings by hand for the room addition. From the looks of the picture, they might actually be able to dig without hitting clay.

 

[Grouchy old man]

Don't know how cold it gets there but code is you have to go below the frost line. Here in sunny southern NY that's 40". As for the clay, I wouldn't want to place footings on that loam so right there I would go as deep as necessary to get below it or the frost line, whichever is deeper. Yeah, sounds like that concrete guy is just looking for work. Sounds like a lot of digging for some illegals.

 

[pdqdl]

The two men with the Bobcat were going to dig the footings by hand for the room addition. From the looks of the picture, they might actually be able to dig without hitting clay.

I'll bet they hit plenty of roots.

 

[Carburetorless]

What did the building inspector have to say?

National building code say "If monthly mean building temp is maintained at 64 degrees, footings are not required to be below frost line if protected by insulation".

Otherwise footing must be a minimum of 12 inches below frost line. Here in Virginia, you only have to have footings under load bearing walls, and slabs are used where it's sandy soil.

Anyway,

I can think of better ways to remove a stump than with a BocCat. Lol, that's like trying to drive a nail with a screw driver.

 

[treeclimber101]

A stump that is going to be covered by a cement slab should be dug out and the resulting hole filled with subsoil and packed to the appropriate density. No roots or other debris should be under the slad as they will decay over time and settle. Sorry but grinding the stump doesn't cut it in my book and I've got two grinders. You get one chance to do a slab right.

I agree with that completely !