Stump grinding in Sun Valley, NV

Sun Valley's housing is different from the rest of the Reno area. About 52% of its homes are manufactured homes (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024), in a narrow valley north of Reno at about 4,720 feet. Three households in four own their home.

At a glance

• About 52% of homes are manufactured homes
• About 75% of households own their home
• Sprouting stumps: grinding is the first step in stopping them
• About 37 miles from our yard on US 50 East

Why does the stump keep growing back?

Because the roots are alive and the species is built for it. Siberian elm seeds itself along fences and ditches all over Northern Nevada, grows fast, and answers a chainsaw by sending up a ring of shoots from the stump. Black locust, poplar and cottonwood do much the same. Cutting the shoots each year only trains a bush.

Grinding effectively removes the stump from the ground while preventing new foliage from growing from the roots. Our tree guide page on Siberian elm shows how to recognize it, and Siberian elms: the tree on every old Nevada lot explains why it turns up uninvited.

A stump in the fence line

This is the awkward one. The trunk has often grown through chain link or pushed a post over, and half the stump is on each side. Two things to settle before the visit: whose tree it was, and whether the fence section is coming out. If the neighbor shares it, talk first. A machine can only take what it can reach, so wire and posts wrapped into the wood need to be cut free or removed.

Getting a machine onto a manufactured-home lot

Many lots here were laid out for a home, a driveway and not much else. Check the route from the street to the stump: carport posts, propane tanks, sheds, steps. Measure the tightest gap. Say what the stump is close to, especially skirting and anything that carries water, gas or power to the home. Those lines on your side of the meter are private and will not be marked by an 811 request, though the utilities' own lines will be if the request is made a few business days ahead.

• Tightest gap between the street and the stump
• Distance from the stump to the skirting
• Propane tank and its line, if there is one
• Fence wire or posts grown into the wood

Slopes and the edge of the hills

The valley's sides rise quickly, and lots on the edges back onto open hillside. The USDA Forest Service ranks Sun Valley's wildfire risk to homes higher than 97.7% of US communities. The 2020 Poeville Road Fire, mapped at 2,973 acres, has its center within about 6 miles in the federal record. Dry stumps, sprout thickets and grindings piled by a home are all fuel. See defensible space in Sun Valley for the wider job.

Bigger trees, bigger stumps

About a third of Sun Valley's homes date from before 1980, and some of the trees beside them are full size. If one is coming down, ask for the stump on the same estimate as the Sun Valley tree removal. It will be listed only if you want it.