Big stump removal

[lennyzx11]

This is going in Projects section because it appears it's going to be a long term affair. I work when home between my road job.

After changing my 8x7 garage door to a 9x12 to avoid dropping the ROPS, I found it easy to park the boat, the Kubota, and even my truck inside my shop two at a time.
Then I drug another boat home. Wife used veto powers to parking it in her garage.

So now I must build on to my 24x30 shop.
First step was cutting down this old oak that was in the way of everything. I agonized over this for 6 months before cutting it but it was three trunks coming up from this one and two were leaning over the house corner and shop. It blocked access to the side and back of the shop without maneuvering carefully.

Comments are welcome. I know I could use a excavator or backhoe but we'll see when I get to a stopping point.

Day 1. Used box blade with scarifiers and cut on one side. Big rocks throughout. Cut roots by hand on this side down to about 18".
Tied pickup to tree with 10000 lb winch rigged 2:1 about 16 feet up and tried first pull. Yeah right. Not a budge.
Cut tree and made firewood. Got about a cord. Split about half by hand(maul) split easily actually. Stacked and cleaned up mess with bucket and grapple.
Two aww S***! Happened.
1. Tree pivoted just right to punch a 3" hole in house garage roof with a branch stob. So off to store to get repair stuff today.
2. Digging on side of tree to cut roots unearthed huge rocks. While digging around roots by hand for sawzall, I chucked rocks big and small into bucket next to me. After tree was down and limbed, I got the bright idea of jumping on tractor and pulling forward to hook chain up to lift trunk off ground to buck it. Tilted bucket forward to hook up chain before getting off and Yep. Dumped whole load of rocks and dirt on tree to be cut up. So after wiping what dirt and rocks I could off, cutting tree up, splitting and stacking. I got to pick up all the rocks again!
So list of supplies when I go to town are...
Repair materials for roof.
New saw chain.
And maybe Epsom salts to drill around bottom with a 3/4" bit for running electric Romex through walls at 45 degree angles and pack it for when I'm gone. (Does anybody think this will do any good?)

 

[Thomas]

If your oaks root system grows like ours do here excavator or backhoe will be lot easier to remove stump.

Post pics if you can.

 

[Dadnatron]

What is the Epsom Salts used for in this situation?

I have killed large trees by cutting them down, then immediately painting the bark and stump with undiluted Roundup.

You could probably do the same by injecting it into the cambium layer (just under bark), at this point.

As far as removal... you've already stated my vote. I removed a very old stump (dead for a long time) this summer with the remaining time on a small excavator rental. It took a MUCH bigger and deeper hole, than I would have thought.

 

[lennyzx11]

After pricing a full size backhoe rental for daily and weekly rates, I was surprised at the low rates.
I hate renting anything but this is not bad. I'm going to look around and find a week's worth of work around here and get it on next trip home.
I want to price somebody coming in also. I've heard that it's sometime cheaper to hire a one man show with equipment and let him do it. Though I know I can get it out as I've done some around here up to about 16" this is a time vs money thing for me. I'm definitely not going to beat the **** out of my tractor doing it though.

 

[fitter1]

Stump grinder?

 

[dickfoster]

Stump grinder?

Good if he has one but for one stump he could just hire it gone.

 

[CADplans]

I just removed a stump that size.
After digging 3 feet deep all the way around, my 10K pound tractor did nothing with a chain attached.

Out came the woodsplitter,, one side chained to the stump,,
the other end chained to a yet larger tree.

I could then repeatedly pull and release,, which did the trick.
At first I could get a very minor "wiggle"
then,, after about 30-40 cycles, the stump showed movement.

Some more root cutting, some more digging, the stump came out. :thumbsup:

 

[lennyzx11]

Stump grinder?

I'm planning ahead in possibly extending the shop forward and didn't want to leave the stump under the concrete pad if so.
For now I'm putting a carport/porch on the front of the shop.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

Since you want to remove it and as much of the material as possible, I would go with the backhoe and I would carefully dig between the stump and shop to break thru all the roots. That tree has likely grown under your shop just a bit and if you don't cut those roots you could do some damage to the shop. I'm sure there are many people here who have pulled more stumps than I have, but in the last 10 months I have probably pulled several hundred. Without digging down and tearing the roots it would take an enormous beast of a machine to just pull the stump out, and you would probably end up with a very large hole. As it is, I think the size of the hole is going to surprise you.

That is a killer view, by the way.

 

[ustmd]

Lennyzx11,

You know the rules:

"1. Tree pivoted just right to punch a 3" hole in house garage roof with a branch stob. So off to store to get repair stuff today."

No pictures, this didn't happen:laughing:

Good luck.