Tree Stumps and Concrete floor

[ph1gering]

After figuring out where to place my new pole barn, I have about 4 18" plus Ash trees i have to drop. 3 of them are where the driveway will go and 1 is in the center of barn, so it will in my concrete slab foot print.

Trying to figure out if its better to dig/remove the stumps or rent a grinder an grind them down. Then remove all the loose soil. I plan on filling in any holes with stone when i start grading/compacting/

Just not sure if i will have any issues with concrete settling after all the roots finally rot out or if i am over thinking this, just want to do this once and right.

Thanks
--Craig

 

[pattenp]

Pull the stump out whole. Quicker. Just make sure fill and base is compacted well at stump holes.






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[Jess]

My vote is to remove them, fill and compact the holes with granular material and grade to plan. If you leave them, they will rot and eventually cause problems with the floor. A qualified concrete guy might be able to suggest if lots of rebar and more concrete would save the floor as the stumps rot, but I believe it would be more expensive and a questionable practice.

Jess

 

[ph1gering]

No matter what they are gone... Its just a matter of which method is good enough.. And the cost factor..

Calling around 300 bucks for the big 16" fully hydro'd machine, it will go down 24" inches grinding..

Or i have to spend some serious time digging with the tractor or rent an excavator to remove them...

 

[theoldwizard1]

If you are going to grind, you had better go deep and remove as much of the chips as possible. Organic matter under a slab can deteriorate (rot) and the the slab will fail.

I vote pull it out.

 

[TractorJeff]

Hook on to them about 15 feet up just as the Frost goes out, then pull them over!
With a block and tackle to change your direction of pull from where the tree will fall!
Actually if you are good with a chainsaw, You can drop one tree against the other to push it over! Assuming these are 50 to 60 foot trees of course! I cut Ash for Baseball Bats and Tool Handles one winter, sure as the Devil you would get one that would fall into another, then both would go over, leaving you a stump sticking up!
These are the two quickest cheapest ways to get stumps out!
Other option is a BIG Excavator with an articulated thumb, dig a little around the base, grab the trunk, push it over, pull out, shaking off the dirt!
We clean hedgerows/fence lines like this!

 

[jkwilson]

Dig, doze or backhoe as much of the stumps out of the ground as you can get and fill the hole with rock.

 

[Falcon67]

>Hook on to them about 15 feet up just as the Frost goes out, then pull them over!
Agree. I had to remove a Mesquite for the shop here. I cut it off about 8' tall, watered the base for a couple of days, then pulled it over with the truck and cut off the roots. I also "watered" the hole with diesel just to make sure it didn't come back. Because they can come back.

 

[48fordnut]

Dig them up,push them over. The root ball will leave a depression. I am dealing with that in my yard.

 

[77thor]

Dig them up... Grinding only removes part of the stump. Whatever is left will decompose and eventually create an open cavity below the slab.

 

[LB-1911]

No matter what they are gone... Its just a matter of which method is good enough.. And the cost factor..

Calling around 300 bucks for the big 16" fully hydro'd machine, it will go down 24" inches grinding..

Or i have to spend some serious time digging with the tractor or rent an excavator to remove them...

You should be seeing a trend ..... Remove them. What you don't will rot and create a void under your finished floor.



Subgrade Failure

According to the Portland Cement Association, cracks, slab settlement, and structural failure can result from an inadequately prepared and poorly compacted subgrade.

In the case of slab on ground for residential applications, an ideal subgrade should be well drained, have a uniform bearing capacity, achieve the appropriate compaction density, have the correct slope, and be free of sod, organic matter, and frost.


Quality Is Key

Unfortunately, once the concrete has settled and shows signs of failure—whether it is 2 years or 20 years after being placed—in the form of cracks and sinking, the homeowner is stuck footing the repair bill.

More often than not, the homeowner in turn blames the concrete contractor for the subgrade failure.


Source of above @
http://www.concreteconstruction.net/sitework/proper-subgrade-prep.aspx

 

[Bondo]

No matter what they are gone... Its just a matter of which method is good enough.. And the cost factor..

Calling around 300 bucks for the big 16" fully hydro'd machine, it will go down 24" inches grinding..

Or i have to spend some serious time digging with the tractor or rent an excavator to remove them...

Ayuh,.... Grind 'em down, pull the chips, 'n put yer stone right over 'em,...

You won't live long enough for 'em to Rot,....
Without air, they'll still be there in 50 or 100 years,....

'ell,... over in the British Isles, they mined buried trees that are 10,000 years old, 'n still make Great lumber,...

 

[theoldwizard1]

If you grind, you need to remember that there are large surface roots that need to be ground out also. Maybe only 6-12" deep, but the area could easily be 6-10' diameter.

 

[Jason280]

I've always dug up around the trees (typically pine trees, a few hardwoods) and simply pushed them over with a Kubota L48 backhoe. Larger trees take a bit more digging around the base to break up the roots, but makes pushing the trees over a whole lot easier. Plus, the real benefit is it pulls up the root ball as well, making removal of all the tree a breeze.

 

[1938flatty]

I had one in my driveway. Had it ground down pretty far. Cleaned up chips and packed with stone in 3" intervals. Less then 10 years later big depression and now a hole in the middle of my drive. You WILL live long enough to see failure if you don't do it right.

Unless you want to do it twice do it right the first time.

 

[Falcon67]

Ayuh,.... Grind 'em down, pull the chips, 'n put yer stone right over 'em,...

You won't live long enough for 'em to Rot,....
Without air, they'll still be there in 50 or 100 years,....

'ell,... over in the British Isles, they mined buried trees that are 10,000 years old, 'n still make Great lumber,...

Well - he's got a point. There are Mesquite stumps around here cut off at ground level that are 14+ years old. Hit one with my 12 HP mower and it'll either stop it dead or snap off the blade. I hit a 3" one last spring that was up just a little due to ground shrink from no rain. I was skimming and hit it, thought I'd broke the mower.

 

[spotco2]

Another vote for backhoe, dig around them, push them out of the ground.

I don't know much about Ash, but here we do lots of pines. Just did about 40 last week on my property. About 10 years ago we did another 40ish and just ground the stumps down. I've been refilling those dang holes almost every year since. We actually dropped a tire off in one of those old stumps with the bucket truck and it just bottomed out. I will NEVER grind another stump again because you will eventually end up with a hole.

 

[ph1gering]

They will be dug out.. got a friend and his toy lined up to help me out.. Thanks guys..

 

[jmarkwolf]

Make sure you get it all out, and compact the hole properly. Otherwise the ground will sink slowly over time. If that happens under a driveway or a floor slab,,, well,,, you know.

 

[ph1gering]

Quick update, dug around with the tractor on one side, once the frost came out of the ground i was able to move it an 1/8 in with the tractor, so out came the truck 15 pulls later she was out.. Pads almost ready to go..

 

[ph1gering]

Root ball is the size of the back end of my truck..

 

[badss98]

nothing more fun than ripping those out, gives you a sense of pride and accomplishment. Good job

 

[brownbagg]

good way to tear up a truck too

 

[ph1gering]

4 wheel low and go... Not good for them at all, but i dont do this everyday..