Full stump removal takes out the entire stump, root flare and primary roots instead of grinding the top portion away. It is the right call when something is going in that spot next, a deck footing, a pool, an addition, a new driveway, or a replacement tree that needs clean soil to root into. We excavate around the stump, sever and pull the main roots, lift out the root ball, then backfill and rough grade the hole. On most jobs in Mississauga, Oakville and Brampton we use a compact machine that fits through residential side yards, and where machines cannot reach we dig by hand. Expect a bigger disturbance than grinding, that is the nature of pulling roots out of west GTA clay, but you end up with a spot you can actually build on or plant in. Pricing starts at $300 and moves with stump size, root spread and access. Every quote is written, delivered on site, and free. If the tree is still standing, we handle the takedown and any permit questions first, then the stump and roots, so you are dealing with one crew for the whole job instead of coordinating two or three contractors.
What's included
- Assess the stump, root flare and likely root spread on site, and talk through what is going into that spot afterwards, because a deck footing and a new tree need different holes.
- Arrange utility locates before any excavation, and confirm private lines like irrigation, landscape lighting and pool plumbing with you, since locates only mark the utilities' own infrastructure.
- Excavate around the stump with a compact machine sized to your access, or by hand where machines cannot reach, keeping the dig as tight as the root system allows.
- Sever and extract the primary lateral roots along with the root ball, so the whole below-ground structure comes out, not just the visible stump.
- Load and haul away the stump, root ball and excavated woody debris. A wet root ball packed with clay is heavier than it looks, and getting rid of it is part of the service.
- Backfill the hole with clean native soil where possible, top up with imported soil where the void is larger than what went back in, and compact in lifts so the spot does not sink into a crater next spring.
- Rough grade the area, clean tracked mud off driveways and walkways, and walk the finished spot with you so you know what settling to expect and when the area is ready to build or plant on.
How it works
- Call or text photos of the stump and the access route, gate widths and side yard included, because machine access decides half of how we approach the job.
- We come out for a free written on-site quote. Root extraction cannot be priced honestly from a photo, so we measure and probe before giving you a number.
- If the tree is still standing, we handle the permit check and the takedown first as its own stage, then the stump and roots come out as the second stage.
- We book utility locates, then excavate, extract the stump and root ball, and load everything out for disposal.
- Backfill, compaction and rough grading finish the job, followed by a cleanup of every hard surface we tracked over and a final walkthrough with you.
What moves the price above starting at $300
- Stump size and root architecture. Silver maples spread wide shallow root plates, oaks go deep, and the species tells us how much ground we are opening before the bucket ever touches soil.
- Machine access. A compact excavator through a side gate is one kind of job. Hand digging and winching in a landlocked Toronto backyard is another, and the access route decides which one you are buying.
- What lives near the roots. Foundations, gas services, interlock, retaining walls and trees you want to keep all slow the excavation down, because working carefully around targets is the whole difference between extraction and damage.
- Soil and season. West GTA clay grips roots hard when it is wet and digs like concrete when it is frozen, so the same stump can be a different number in April than in January.
- Haul-away volume. The stump, root ball and woody debris leave with us, and a clay-packed root ball is a genuinely heavy load, so disposal scales with what comes out of the ground.
- Backfill and finish. Clean native soil goes back in where possible, but larger voids need imported soil, and a planting-ready finish takes more material and more grading than a rough construction grade.
- A standing tree. If the tree is still up, the removal is quoted as its own line item, and municipal permit thresholds may apply before any cutting starts.
Starting at $300, quoted in writing before any work starts.
On-site visit, written quote, no obligation. Usually within 24 hours of your call.
When you need this
- A deck, pool, garage pad, addition or new driveway is going where the stump sits. Footings and base layers cannot be built over old root wood, and your contractor will send you back to deal with it anyway.
- You are replanting a replacement tree in the same spot, common on narrow Toronto and Etobicoke front yards where there is only one sensible place for a tree and the old roots are occupying it.
- Silver maple or Norway maple roots have lifted interlock, heaved a walkway or invaded raised beds, and you want the source gone rather than trimmed back every few years.
- An emerald ash borer removal left a stump in a yard you are fully relandscaping, and it makes sense to pull the roots while the grade is already being reworked.
- A ground stump keeps sending up suckers from the surviving roots, Manitoba maple and willow are the usual offenders, and you want the root system out instead of another season of mowing sprouts.
- A grading or drainage project needs clean soil to work with, and a buried root plate would leave a soft spot that settles under the new grade.
Local notes for the west GTA
Full stump removal often comes bundled with taking down the tree above it, and that is where permits enter the picture. Woodbridge and the rest of Vaughan regulate private trees at 20 cm under By-law 177-2025, with a simplified permit stream for dead, hazardous and emerald ash borer killed trees that does not require an arborist report. Brampton regulates at 30 cm under By-law 317-2012, with exemptions that include hazardous trees and trees within 2 m of an occupied building. Halton Hills has no private tree bylaw, though one is under study, and Milton has no private-tree permit for most residential lots. Larger rural properties should know Halton Region By-law 121-05 covers woodlands of half a hectare and up, plus Regional Greenlands. On the digging side, our clay soils grip roots hard when wet and shrink in drought, so the season you book affects machine time. We factor that into the written quote rather than surprising you later.
Where we provide this service
Frequently asked questions
How much does full stump removal cost? +
Full stump removal starts at $300 for a smaller stump with reasonable machine access. The price climbs with the diameter of the stump, how far the root system runs, how tight the access is, what is buried or built near the roots, and how much material we end up hauling away. A wet root ball packed with clay is a heavy load, and disposal scales with what comes out of the ground. For comparison, our stump grinding starts at $150, so if nothing is being built or planted in that exact spot, grinding is often the smarter spend. We measure and probe on site, then hand you a written quote before anything is booked. We do not price extraction jobs from photos alone, because too much of the cost lives underground where a photo cannot see it.
Should I choose stump grinding or full removal? +
Start with what happens to that spot next. If the answer is nothing, or just grass, grinding does the job for less. If you are pouring footings, laying a driveway, digging a pool, building an addition or planting a replacement tree in the same hole, full removal is the right call, because construction and new roots both need the old root wood gone. Aggressive resprouters like Manitoba maple and willow sometimes justify extraction too, when grinding alone has not stopped the suckers. We quote both options on the same visit when the choice is genuinely close, and we will tell you when the cheaper one is enough. Our blog post comparing grinding and removal walks through the decision in more detail if you want to read up before we come out.
How big will the hole be, and what does my yard look like after? +
Bigger than most people expect. To pull the root ball we typically open an area one and a half to three times the stump's width, and the hole goes as deep as the main root mass. Once everything is out, we backfill in compacted lifts, using clean native soil where possible and imported soil where the void is bigger than what came out, then rough grade the surface. You are left with a level, plantable or buildable patch of bare soil, not finished lawn. Some settling over the following months is normal even with compaction, and a single topsoil top-up usually levels it. If the spot is going under construction, tell us the plan, and we can leave the grade slightly proud or flush depending on what your contractor wants.
Can you get a machine into my backyard? +
Usually, yes. We size the machine to your access, and compact excavators fit through many standard side yards in Oakville, Burlington and Mississauga subdivisions. We measure your gate and pinch points during the quote visit so there are no surprises on work day. Where a machine truly cannot reach, tight downtown Toronto lots, shared walkways, backyard stumps behind additions, we dig and winch by hand, which takes longer and moves the price, but the stump still comes out. We also plan the route to protect what we cross, plywood over lawn and interlock, and we clean tracked mud off hard surfaces before we leave. Send photos of the access route with your first call and we can usually tell you quickly which approach fits your property.
Do I need a permit or utility locates for stump removal? +
Two separate questions. Locates, yes, always. Root extraction is excavation, so we arrange utility locates before digging and ask you about private lines like irrigation and landscape lighting that locates do not mark. Permits apply to removing the tree rather than to the digging, so they only come up when the tree is still standing. Toronto, including Etobicoke, requires a permit at 30 cm trunk diameter measured 1.4 m up, with ravine protected land regulated at any size. Woodbridge and the rest of Vaughan regulate at 20 cm, with a simplified stream for dead, hazardous and emerald ash borer killed trees. Oakville sets its threshold at 76 cm circumference, about 24 cm diameter, Burlington at 20 cm and Hamilton at 30 cm. If your project starts with a standing tree, we run the permit check as part of the quote.
Can you remove a stump in winter? +
We can, but it is the slowest season for extraction. Once frost gets into the ground, clay digs like concrete, machine time goes up, and so does the price, so unless the schedule forces it we usually book full removals for thawed ground, roughly April through early December depending on the year. If your stump has to come out mid-winter for a construction deadline, we will quote it honestly with the frost factored in. The reverse is true for grinding, which works fine on frozen ground, so a winter timeline sometimes tips the decision toward grinding now, or extraction in spring. Book ahead for spring, that is when construction projects wake up and the excavation calendar fills first.