Unpopular opinion: Stump grinding to soil level is a waste of time

I tried leaving stumps 6 inches high on a job in Portland last month. Homeowner was happy. Saved 3 hours per stump. Everyone says grind them flat for safety but I never had a trip hazard complaint. My mower clears 6 inches fine. The extra grinding just makes more mud and mess. Has anyone else left stumps higher on purpose?

2 comments

2 Comments

luna5501mo ago

Ha, that's honestly refreshing to hear someone admit it. It's like when everyone insists on vacuuming every single corner of a room but the dust bunnies behind the sofa don't actually bother anyone. We've all got that one thing we do the "right" way that just wastes time and makes more work than it saves.

faith_torres831mo ago

People act like leaving a stump 6 inches up is gonna cause some kind of catastrophe. Mowers clear that just fine, it's not like you're leaving a foot tall spike in the middle of the yard. The whole safety thing feels like a cover for people who just want everything flat for no real reason. Mud and mess from grinding is a real pain, and trying to clean that up takes way more time than just leaving a little nub. Sometimes the "right way" is just the way people are used to, not actually better.