GROUND WORK
Stump Grinding
A stump left in the ground keeps growing back and keeps getting in the way. Ultimate Tree Service grinds it to ground level with the Rayco RG100, sized to fit through a standard backyard gate.
Chapter 01
What a Stump Left in the Ground Costs You
A stump does not stay quiet once the saw work is done. Cut and left to its own devices, the roots keep pushing and the trunk throws up suckers around the base within a season, especially on species like maple and locust that are common across Howell yards. What was a clean removal turns into a patch of resprouting growth that needs cutting back year after year, right where the tree used to be.
Past the regrowth, a stump is just in the way. It sits at mower height, which means either steering around it every week or catching a blade on it once and finding out the hard way. For homeowners in Freehold or Jackson planning a new patio, a shed pad, or simply a lawn that runs level again, the stump sits directly in the path of that plan until it is gone.
Skid-steer grapple gripping a cut log outside a porch
The Rayco RG100, Ground Level, Through a Standard Gate
Ultimate Tree Service runs a Rayco RG100 4x4 for this work, a self-propelled grinder built to go where a trailer-mounted machine cannot. It is sized to fit through a standard 36 inch gate, so a fenced backyard in Howell or Point Pleasant is not a reason to skip the stump or pay extra for hand digging. The crew walks it straight to the stump and works it down in passes.
The grind goes to ground level, not just flush with the surrounding soil, cutting the wood and the top of the root flare below grade so nothing catches a mower blade or a bare foot later. Every truck on the job carries NJ Tree Care license NJTC 768877, and the crew treats a backyard grind with the same care as any tree removal: fences, sprinkler heads, and garden beds worked around, not through.
Chapter 03
After the Grind: Chips, Backfill, and a Yard You Can Use Again
What is left after grinding is a pile of wood chips and a shallow bowl of loosened soil where the stump used to be. The crew backfills that hollow with soil so it does not settle into a hole after the first hard rain, leaving the spot level and ready for whatever comes next, whether that is new sod, a reseed, or a fresh bed for planting.
Chris V.'s review describes exactly that kind of job: a tree estimated at 125 to 150 years old, tried first with trimming once it became a storm-damage risk to the house, then removed with the stump ground out afterward, and the yard, gardens, and beds treated carefully the whole way through. Call (732) 905-0554 for a free estimate, or ask about a stump while the crew is already on site for a removal.
Chris V., Howell NJ: a 125 to 150 year old tree removed and the stump ground, with the yard and gardens treated carefully the whole way through.
More from the crew
Tree Removal
Dead, leaning and storm-split trees taken down in sections, by bucket truck, by climber on a rope, or by crane when the tree hangs over a house.
Pruning and Trimming
Dead, dying, diseased and hazardous limbs cut out of the canopy for the tree's health, the roof's safety and the look of the yard.
Lot Clearing
Heavy brush, overgrowth and trees cleared, then graded and levelled with a Bobcat soil conditioner, ready for a build or a pasture.