Stump grinding in Mogul, NV

Mogul is a compact neighborhood west of Reno beside Interstate 80, about 1,050 people on under 1.5 square miles at about 4,705 feet. About 92% of its homes are detached houses, and the median was built in 1985 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024; a small place, so the figures are approximate).

At a glance

• Median home built in 1985; few homes newer than 2000
• Mature yards: lawn, shrubs and paving close to every stump
• About 44 miles from our yard on US 50 East
• Work area cleaned up before the crew leaves

Why are so many trees coming out at once?

A neighborhood built in one stretch gets planted in one stretch. Fast-growing shade and screen trees chosen in the 1980s gave quick cover, and many fast growers are not long-lived. Three or four decades on, they are dropping limbs, crowding roofs or dying back, street by street.

Every one that comes down leaves a stump in a yard that has grown up around it. That is the Mogul stump job: not huge, not small, and surrounded by things you want to keep.

Working inside a finished, mature yard

A forty-year-old yard has lawn right up to the trunk, shrubs that have filled in, edging, a patio. The grinder has to cross that to reach the stump and work without wrecking it. Tell us what matters most to protect.

Clean-up comes up in our Google reviews. One reviewer (location not stated) wrote: "The work was quick and efficient and they cleanup like they were never there!" (Heather M., Google review). For a stump job that means the grindings dealt with the way the estimate says and the lawn around the hole left tidy.

Surface roots in the lawn

Mature shade trees in irrigated lawn keep many of their roots near the surface, where the water is. After the tree is gone those roots are still there as ridges under the grass. Grinding the stump does not remove them unless you ask. If they catch the mower, say so and the estimate can include chasing the worst of them.

What is buried in a 1985 yard?

The original sprinkler system, probably repaired and rerouted more than once, plus whatever has been added since. An 811 request made a few business days ahead gets the utilities' own lines marked. The sprinklers are yours to find. Run each zone and note which heads and pipes are near the stump. Our guide to calling 811 before stump grinding has the details.

Choosing what comes next

Stump grinding lets you plant grass, shrubs or even new trees where the tree stood. Mogul is in hardiness zone 7a. The nearest NOAA precipitation station, Reno 3.4 WSW, averages about 10.8 inches a year, so a replacement will depend on irrigation as the old tree did. The 1996 Belli Ranch Fire, mapped at 6,724 acres, has its center under 2 miles away in the federal record, which is a reason to set the next tree farther from the house. If the tree is still standing, start with tree removal in Mogul.