Quick answer
Digging a stump out costs more than grinding, which HomeAdvisor puts at $120 to $500 for a typical stump. Extraction is priced mostly by crew time; HomeBlue lists Philadelphia crews at $240 to $310 per hour. A small stump can come out in an hour or two, a big oak in most of a day.
Why some stumps have to come out whole
A grinder chews the stump into chips below grade and leaves the root plate to rot slowly. Fine under lawn. Under a slab, a deck footing or a new planting hole, that buried wood keeps breaking down for years and leaves a dip or a crack.
Extraction means digging around the stump, sawing the major roots as they are exposed, and levering or winching the root ball free, then backfilling in tamped layers. If you only need the surface cleared, grinding the stump down is quicker and cheaper; our grinding versus removal guide walks through the choice. If other trees nearby must survive the dig, fencing off root zones ahead of excavation is worth planning.
What stump extraction costs
No survey publishes a range for digging a stump out, so the grinding figure is a floor and the crew rate the yardstick. Five things move the hours.
- 01
Trunk diameter. A 10-inch cherry lifts out after a few cuts; a 36-inch oak has roots as thick as your leg.
- 02
Root habit. Silver maples spread shallow roots wide, while oaks drive thicker roots down.
- 03
What is buried nearby. Gas, water and sewer laterals or old brick slow the dig to hand tools.
- 04
Access for the root ball. A narrow gate or yard steps mean cutting the root ball apart before it leaves.
- 05
Backfill and haul-off. Hauling the spoil and bringing in clean fill adds material and a second load.
| Job | Published range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Stump grinding | $120 to $500 | HomeAdvisor, 2026 |
| Tree crew, Philadelphia hourly | $240 to $310 per hour | HomeBlue, 2025 |
Planning numbers from published surveys, not our prices. We price after seeing the tree.
Grinding or extraction, judged by what goes there next
| What goes on the spot | Grinding is enough | Dig the stump out |
|---|---|---|
| Lawn or a planting bed | Ground below grade, topsoil and seed on top | Only if the bed sits right on the old trunk |
| Patio, slab or pavers | Rarely, since leftover roots rot and the base sinks | Yes, so the base sits on solid ground |
| Addition or footing | No, footings need sound soil | Yes, roots out and the hole filled in compacted lifts |
| A new tree in the same hole | If the new tree can shift a few feet over | When it has to go in the exact spot |
Ask your patio contractor how deep they excavate. If their dig goes below the stump anyway, grinding may be enough.
Full stump extraction
You have a stump that grinding would leave a root mass under, or you want every trace of it gone. We trench around the trunk, saw each lateral root as it shows, and rock the root ball loose with bars or a winch. The pit often ends up twice the trunk width, and on a big tree the roots under the trunk let go last.
Stump removal for patios and additions
The patio or addition is marked out and the old stump sits inside the line. Ground debris left under a base compresses as it rots, which is how pavers start rocking and slabs crack. We take the stump and every root inside the footprint, then leave the hole filled and tamped so your mason starts on firm soil. Tell us their excavation depth so we dig to match.
Stump removal before replanting
Old roots hold the space where the last tree stood, and decaying wood ties up nitrogen as it breaks down. Pulling the root ball and swapping out that soil gives a new tree a clean hole to root into. If you want one set in afterward, our planting service can pick up right where the dig leaves off.
What a stump extraction covers
- Utility lines marked through 811 first
- A trench to expose the lateral roots
- Clean root cuts at the edge of the dig
- Root ball levered or winched out
- Hand digging near gas and water lines
- Root ball cut down to fit a gate if needed
- Stump, roots and spoil hauled away
- Clean fill tamped in layers
- Topsoil when the spot goes back to lawn
Sidewalks and slopes: two Philadelphia limits on stump digging
If the stump belonged to a street tree whose roots heaved the sidewalk, the City still holds you responsible for a safe walk, with no exception for root damage, and a healthy street tree has to stay. Hillsides need a check too. Philadelphia's 2012 steep slope rules, written mostly for the hills of Northwest Philadelphia such as Roxborough, Chestnut Hill and Manayunk, bar earth disturbance on slopes of 25 percent or more, so on a grade that steep we grind and leave the root plate holding the soil.
How a stump comes out of the ground
Tell us what comes next
Patio, addition or new tree decides how far the roots go.
Mark the utilities
An 811 locate requested and checked before digging.
Trench the trunk
Soil dug out to show where the big roots run.
Cut the laterals
Each root sawn through at the edge of the pit.
Free the root ball
Bars or a winch rock it loose; the last roots are cut from below.
Lift and haul
Root ball out whole or in pieces, spoil loaded behind it.
Fill and tamp
Clean fill packed in layers, topsoil last for lawn.
Stump extraction questions
Usually about twice the trunk width and a couple of feet deep. We fill and tamp it, but expect a little settling over the first few rains.
Often, by hand near the wall so the footing is not undermined. A very old stump tight to a foundation is sometimes safer ground down and left.
Rarely. Grinding removes the trunk we use for leverage, so the roots left behind are harder to pull. If extraction is the goal, do it in one visit.
Yes, along with the spoil. Root balls carry a lot of soil, so one from a big tree can fill a truckload by itself.
Once the fill is compacted, the base can go in. Some masons like the fill to settle through a few rains first, so ask yours.
More stump and root work
Stump Grinding
Stumps ground below grade, the chips raked out or left as mulch.
Root Pruning
Cutting problem roots cleanly so a sidewalk can be fixed without killing the tree.
Running Bamboo Removal
Cutting the canes and digging out rhizomes so running bamboo stops crossing the line.
Tree Removal
Sectional takedowns sized to the yard, with the wood, brush and cleanup handled.
Got a stump in the way of a project?
Call and tell us what you are building or planting. We will look at the stump, the lines around it and the access, then price the dig.