stump grinding opinion

[intheelements]

Looked at a job today that has a 60 inch maple stump. Situation is: The stump is along side a building and the roots have pushed the cement block foundation of the building inward. The span of the foundation affected is about 25 feet and the center is pushed in the full width of the blocks. The wall has somewhat been shored. On the other side of the stump, the roots are under a walkway that holds the support uprights for an overhang of another building. I'm afraid that when it comes to grinding the root area, the vibration will collapse the foundation wall and or crack the walkway. Anyone have ideas or alternatives

 

[stumpy66]

grind it....and wear a hat......

 

[Freakingstang]

got any pics?

 

[intheelements]

Sorry no pictures, not sure if I want to take the chance on this one. Insurance is high enough with out having to pay for a collapsed building

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Sounds like you need:

1. A frank discussion with the involved parties. Warn them of what might happen.
2. A signed release of liability.
3. Consultation with a construction firm that can shore things up.

That, or walk away! If you SUSPECT a problem, and don't WARN anyone, you are in deep doo doo if anything goes wrong. And if anything goes wrong, you can expect to be deposed under oath. Then, you can decide if you are going to hang yourself by admitting you had concerns but kept quiet, or play around with perjury charges. Not a good choice to have to make!

 

[clearance]

Sounds like you need:

1. A frank discussion with the involved parties. Warn them of what might happen.
2. A signed release of liability.
3. Consultation with a construction firm that can shore things up.

That, or walk away! If you SUSPECT a problem, and don't WARN anyone, you are in deep doo doo if anything goes wrong. And if anything goes wrong, you can expect to be deposed under oath. Then, you can decide if you are going to hang yourself by admitting you had concerns but kept quiet, or play around with perjury charges. Not a good choice to have to make!

Have to agree with Mark. Have worked construction too, sounds like unreinforced (not re-barred) blockwork. 8"x8"x16" block? That stump has to go and the foundation has got to be fixed, "somewhat shored" how about big I-beams and Acrow jacks? This calls for experienced construction people, not treeguys.

 

[stumpy66]

Sorry for my flippant advice in my earlier rely. Surely if the building is in such a state a chat with the person consulting you about the stump will understand your concerns and sort the issue out. as for worrying about the building collapsing, sod that, worry about your own life.....
clearance gives a good way forward with the paper work.
At the end of the day, if you are not happy to do the job, then don't do it...or put the price up to where it is possible to afford to make things safe and get the money that the extra hassle is worth.

 

[Ekka]

Sorry for my flippant advice in my earlier rely.

Haha, well I thought it was funny and got a laugh out of it.

But like the other blokes said, a common sense chat and agreement.

The other thing is, whilst the wall is there you cannot grind right up to it or under it etc.

Maybe they want to just skim the top off to hide the stump and patch the wall and paint? That's what a lot of the dodgey buggers do here.

 

[stumpy66]

Haha, well I thought it was funny and got a laugh out of it.

Thanks Ekka, you have to keep a sense of humour don't you.

as for the grinder causing vibration, if you have your teeth setup correctly, have them nice and sharp and grind steady. i wonder how much vibraton will actually be caused. Not much in my experience.
(Just go steady and don't get all the way to the wall with a successful grind, breath a sigh of relief then ram the wall with your cutter wheel guard when you get your levers mixed up, trying to withdraw....)

To answer your question fully we need to know exactly what the customer wants from you and why he wants it. Pics would be good also.

 

[stumpy66]

Thanks Ekka, you have to keep a sense of humour don't you.

as for the grinder causing vibration, if you have your teeth setup correctly, have them nice and sharp and grind steady. i wonder how much vibraton will actually be caused. Not much in my experience.
(Just go steady and don't get all the way to the wall with a successful grind, breath a sigh of relief then ram the wall with your cutter wheel guard when you get your levers mixed up, trying to withdraw....)

To answer your question fully we need to know exactly what the customer wants from you and why he wants it. Pics would be good also.

 

[intheelements]

Customer would like the stump removed because it has sprouts, but the stump is in an ally between two buildings and about the only machine that well fit in the ally is a grinder. Grinding is for removal of most of the stump and roots so that the wall can be fixed.

Stumpy 66 I did appreciate the humor in your first post.

BlueRidgeMark's advice was my first thought also and is the most prudent way to go. I still am looking for any alternatives to grinding that may help the customer with this problem

 

[Dadatwins]

Sounds like you need:

1. A frank discussion with the involved parties. Warn them of what might happen.
2. A signed release of liability.
3. Consultation with a construction firm that can shore things up.

That, or walk away! If you SUSPECT a problem, and don't WARN anyone, you are in deep doo doo if anything goes wrong. And if anything goes wrong, you can expect to be deposed under oath. Then, you can decide if you are going to hang yourself by admitting you had concerns but kept quiet, or play around with perjury charges. Not a good choice to have to make!

Ditto this again, if this is an occupied building even more of a reason to get property owners involved. Good luck.

 

[stumpy66]

if he just wants to get rid of the shoots, it sounds like he wants it dead, well just poison it...and recheck it in a month and next year....sounds like no one is gonna be tripping up it...get your poison tickets and kill the stump. if you charge him enough to cover some of the poison exam it might be money well spent.

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

If it looks or feels like i'm going to do damage to either my machine or a structure of some kind I simply don't grind it or I do it and get the customer to sign a disclaimer,and if I damage my machine my tough luck

 

[howel07264]

maple roots

Looked at a job today that has a 60 inch maple stump. Situation is: The stump is along side a building and the roots have pushed the cement block foundation of the building inward. The span of the foundation affected is about 25 feet and the center is pushed in the full width of the blocks. The wall has somewhat been shored. On the other side of the stump, the roots are under a walkway that holds the support uprights for an overhang of another building. I'm afraid that when it comes to grinding the root area, the vibration will collapse the foundation wall and or crack the walkway. Anyone have ideas or alternatives

Lifes to short to worry and work stressed out. i would pass up this job without hesitation. even if the odds were 100 to 1 no damage, its still not worth the risk. it seems every time i have a gut feeling and go ahead anyway it ends up biting me in the butt. big maples are a bugger to grind anyway even in the best of circumstances. to many easy,no risk jobs out there to worry with this one. listen to your gut feeling and pass....regan

 

[mattgus5]

agree

I agree with Howel, pass this one up. Sounds like a PIA to do anyways. By the way, where are you in Ma.? I am out by Springfield.

 

[intheelements]

After seeing the responses here and spending some time thinking about it, I passed up the job. Going to keep an eye on the situation and see what the customer does with it. I did advise the customer that he should contact the mason that he is going to use and see exactly what he needs to have done so that the wall can be repaired and hopefully there may be an easier fix.


Mattgus5: I'm in Southeastern Ma near the plymouth area

 

[mattgus5]

way out

Thats a ways away from me. Just out of curiosity...what are you charging for jobs out there? I know from reading posts on this site that they are different methods for pricing out jobs. Basically i am just measuring the stump across the top....if its like 30 inches for example....90 bucks. Of course more if there are a ton of roots. Also if there are multiple stumps, the price of the entire job will be less. You can explain to the customer that he is getting a good deal because he has more work for you to do. I guess this seems to be working out good for me so far. Sometimes if I get a call for a job, and its kind of a distance away, I will tell the customer to go ahead and measure what he's got so he can have an idea of how much it will be. Then he can call me back, or I will call him, and we can set up a time when I can go out there with my machine and give him an exact price and I can do it then and there. I saves me a trip to bid on the job and him not accepting the bid because of the price being too high (in his mind). Some people want a big job done for 75 bucks, you take the time to go out there look at the job and give a good price, and he looks at you like you have three heads. Anyways...what are you getting and how are you determining the price?

 

[Ekka]

If you are stuck between walls and stuff chances were you wouldn't get a 100% grind anyway, you'd have that 1/4 moon looking stump against the wall.

Headaches. Who needs them, keep an eye on the joint to see what does happen and if another mob grind it just suss it out to see what happened.

So, you'll get to try out your hat elsewhere.

 

[intheelements]

Thanks to all of you for your opinions. Its good to have a place to go to get other opinions. The stump is still there and when or if it gets removed I well let you know how it was done


Mattgus5 The answer to your questions are in your private messages