Tree Removal
Full removals and dismantles, from a dead wattle in a courtyard to a 25-metre gum over a roofline.
Learn more →What full removal actually means
Excavation means getting a machine under the root plate, breaking the anchoring roots, and lifting the whole assembly out of the ground. The stump leaves the site on a truck. The hole gets backfilled with clean fill and compacted.
It is not the default. For a backyard where you want to lay turf or plant a shrub, grinding does the job for a fraction of the price. Excavation earns its cost in a narrow set of situations, and it is worth being honest about which one you are in before paying for it.
The cases that justify it
Building over the footprint. A slab, a pool shell, a shed footing or a driveway. Rotting timber under a structural load produces settlement that shows up as cracked concrete two or three years later.
Retaining walls and services. Where a root plate is lifting a wall or wrapped around a stormwater line, the plate has to come out, not be shaved off at ground level.
Pathogen management. Some root-borne fungal problems persist in the residual root system and will infect a replacement planting. Where that is the diagnosis, the wood needs to leave the property.
Persistent suckering species. Camphor laurel and a few figs will keep pushing shoots from a left-behind root system long enough to be a genuine nuisance.
How it is done
The site is located for services first - stormwater, sewer, irrigation, electrical. Then the soil around the plate is stripped back so the operator can see what they are cutting. Anchoring roots are severed with a saw or the bucket, the plate is rocked free, and it comes out in one or two pieces.
The hole is backfilled in layers and compacted rather than tipped full in one go, because loose fill in a two-metre-deep hole will drop 200mm the first wet season. If a slab is going over it, the fill needs to be spec'd to whatever the engineer has asked for.
Traditional removal methods covers the alternatives - chemical, burning, winching - and why most of them are slower or illegal here. If the stump is small and you are prepared to spend a weekend on it, removing one by hand is a genuine option.
Booking it
Ring (07) 5408 6029 with what the stump is, roughly how wide it is at the base, and what is going in over the top. The last part is the one that decides whether you need this service at all or whether grinding will do.
More services
Explore our other services
Tree Lopping
Crown reduction, dead-wooding and clearance work done to Australian Standard AS 4373, not topped.
Learn more →Stump Grinding
Grinding the stump and surface roots 200-300mm below grade so the ground can be turfed or built on.
Learn more →
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
When do I need full removal rather than grinding?
When something structural is going over the stump - a house slab, a pool shell, a driveway, footings for a shed or a retaining wall. Decomposing timber left under a load creates voids as it rots, and the ground settles unevenly years after the concrete has cured. Grinding leaves that timber in place.
How big a hole does it leave?
Considerably bigger than the stump. On a mature tree the root plate can be two to three times the trunk diameter across, and the excavator has to get under it. Budget for clean fill and for the lawn around the excavation being churned up.
Does the whole root system come out?
No, and it does not need to. What comes out is the stump and the structural root plate - the thick anchoring roots near the trunk. Fine roots running out through the yard are left to break down, which they do without causing problems.
What does it cost compared to grinding?
Meaningfully more. Grinding is one machine and one operator for an hour or two. Excavation brings a machine capable of lifting the plate, a truck to take the spoil away and fill to bring back, so it is priced by machine hours plus disposal.
Can you do it in a small backyard?
Sometimes. A mini excavator fits through a wide gate, but the spoil still has to get out and the fill still has to come in, usually by barrow. On a tight block the cost is mostly in the carting, which is why grinding wins unless there is a structural reason not to.
Free, no-obligation