Complete removal of stump and major roots when you need a clean site.
Creative Tree & Stump LLC is a Brighton, CO-based tree removal company serving 22 communities across Adams, Weld, Jefferson, Boulder, Broomfield, and Denver counties. Shawn Brandau — an ISA Certified Arborist working here since 1991 — will tell you honestly when full extraction is worth the cost and when grinding will do, and the company is fully insured for the heavier equipment this work involves. Full extraction is the exception in our stump work, not the rule, and we are clear with you about when it is genuinely warranted.
The two services solve different problems. Stump grinding chips the stump down to 4–8 inches below grade and leaves the roots to decay naturally — fast, affordable and easy on the yard. Full removal digs out the stump and the major root structure entirely, which takes more equipment, more time and more soil disturbance, and leaves a sizeable hole to backfill.
Because of that, grinding is the right answer for most homeowners, and full removal is reserved for the cases where leftover roots would genuinely get in the way. We are upfront about this: if your goal can be met by grinding, we will not upsell you into a more disruptive, more expensive extraction you do not need. Grinding leaves the ground usable in an afternoon; extraction is a bigger project, and it should be chosen for a reason.
Full removal makes sense in a handful of specific situations. The most common is replanting a new tree in the exact same hole, where the old root mass would otherwise crowd the new roots. It is also the right call when something is being built over the spot — a foundation, an addition, a deck, a pool, a patio, or a driveway — where leftover roots and a decaying stump would undermine the work.
It is sometimes worth it for aggressively suckering species too, since removing the major roots is the surest way to stop a stump from sending up new shoots for years. In the established neighborhoods of Thornton, where homeowners are often reworking older yards and hardscaping, full extraction is requested more than average for exactly these reasons. We talk through your plans for the space first, so the method matches the end goal rather than the other way around.
Extraction leaves a real hole, so restoring the site is part of doing the job right. We backfill with appropriate soil rather than just dropping the spoil back in, account for the settling that always follows, and grade the surface so it sits level with the surrounding yard. Where you are putting in grass, we finish with topsoil ready for seed or sod. Skipping that step is how you end up with a sunken patch that collects water and never grows grass.
If hardscaping or construction is going in, we leave the area clear and at the right level for the next trade to take over. The goal is a clean, stable, usable site — not a sunken patch that settles into a depression a month later. We handle full stump removal across all 22 of the communities we serve.
Shawn Brandau has removed stumps across the Front Range since 1991 — an ISA Certified Arborist on site, full insurance on every job, and the honesty to tell you when grinding is the smarter, cheaper choice.
Grind it unless you have a specific reason not to. Full removal is for replanting in the same hole, building over the spot, or stopping an aggressive re-sprouter. For everything else, grinding is faster, cheaper and far easier on the yard, and it leaves the spot usable the same afternoon.
Because it is far more work. Extracting the stump and major roots takes heavier equipment, more time and significant digging, and it leaves a large hole that has to be backfilled and graded. Grinding avoids all of that, which is why it costs a fraction of a full extraction on a comparable stump.
It varies with the size of the stump and root system, but it is considerably larger than the stump itself. We backfill, account for settling and grade it level, finishing with topsoil where you want grass.
Yes — that is one of the main reasons to choose full removal over grinding. We clear the stump and major roots and leave the area at the right level for a foundation, patio, driveway or other hardscape, with no stump or roots left underneath to settle or interfere.
It is the most reliable way to stop suckering, since the major roots that fuel new shoots are taken out. For vigorous species like cottonwood, elm and locust, that can be the deciding reason to extract rather than grind, since grinding alone may leave enough root to keep sprouting for a season or two.
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