I'm dying to....

   / I'm dying to.... #1  

Runner

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May 12, 2007
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Location
Missouri
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2024 Cub Cadet Ultima ZTXS5 54, 2007 John Deere 2520, 1989 John Deere 185, 1960 Panzer T70B
...use my backhoe to take out these two stumps. The second one is hard to see, but it is mid way between the stump in the foreground and the tree in the background.

I called the dig-rite people and they marked the property as you can see. The blue lines are the water main and the orange is cable TV.

How would you guys recommend attacking this problem?

I'm thinking of digging on the three sides opposite from where the lines are shown and am hoping to be able to rip these out without having to do much on the street side.
 

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   / I'm dying to.... #2  
...use my backhoe to take out these two stumps. The second one is hard to see, but it is mid way between the stump in the foreground and the tree in the background.

I called the dig-rite people and they marked the property as you can see. The blue lines are the water main and the orange is cable TV.

How would you guys recommend attacking this problem?

I'm thinking of digging on the three sides opposite from where the lines are shown and am hoping to be able to rip these out without having to do much on the street side.

Those two stumps are way too close to the utilities. I'd rent a stump grinder and finish the job in an hour since there's only two stumps. You only need to grind the stumps down to 6" below grade and backfill. Your backhoe is the wrong tool for this job.
 
   / I'm dying to.... #3  
Runner;1483191I'm thinking of digging on the three sides opposite from where the lines are shown and am hoping to be able to rip these out without having to do much on the street side.[/QUOTE said:
That is what I would do as well. You are going to end up with big hole but take your time and dig out around the stumps. Don't be in any hurry to pull on the stump, not that it would readily budge anyway.

The roots may have been severed by the utility installation hence the dead trees to start with, maybe not. You might just have to cut some roots to avoid disturbing the lines.
 
   / I'm dying to.... #4  
Flusher said it best.

Life will bring you lots of times to play with your backhoe. Dancing with the utilities isn't where you want to start.
 
   / I'm dying to.... #5  
-------↑-------
What he said.
 
   / I'm dying to.... #6  
Also keep in mind that the marked lines are only approximately where the actual utilities are. Sometimes they are a couple feet off, especially the cable tv lines. You are supposed to dig by hand and find them before using any machinery.


Jeff
 
   / I'm dying to.... #7  
Flusher said it best. Rent a power sweeping stump grinder done in a hour or less. Some rental places are flexible with the equipment. The place I get equipment from will get me a good deal if I call about something at 3:30 pm and have it back by 8:00am the next morning. I did this with a grinder, picked it up at 4:00 pm fri. had it back at 8:00 am sat, did 63 stumps and got charged for 2 hrs rent.
 
   / I'm dying to.... #9  
Grind them.

The roots are probably wraped around the pipes to some degee. The hoe will move and twist the stump quite a bit before it breaks free and there's no way of nowing how much movement the water lines will be able to handle. Even if by some miracle that you managed to get them out and not break the water main, you could still be liable for it if it breakes in the future if they determine that your digging ruined the integrity of their line.

Which brings up the most important reason to not dig. If you cut a utility that was not marked, then it's not your fault and you are not liable for the repairs. If you cut a utility that was marked, they will send you the bill for the repairs. This can easily cost you a fair amount of money depending on the size of the line and how angry they are about your actions.

A guy that I knew in California used to do utility work with $1,000,000 in insurance. They changed the minimum to ten million since a million wasn't covering the cost of allot of the repairs that they had to pay out. That was in the SF Bay Area back in the late 80's.

Some risks are worthwhile, others are just plain foolish. I wouldn't touch those stumps with anything but a grinder, and even then, I'd probe the heck out of the area and know exactly where those pipes are before doing anything. Never assume how deep a pipe is or that it's marked correctly. Most of the time when a pipe is broken, it's because it was near the surface. Sometimes just a few inches down!!!!

Good luck,
Eddie
 
   / I'm dying to.... #10  
I agree; grind them; in Ohio, you must stay away from all marked lines by at least 18", anything inside this ; you must hand dig. Not worth it to dig, grind them.
 

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