DIY Network

I have a small patio directly next to our house. A huge mesquite tree had grown in the crack between the house and the patio bricks. It was 2 feet in diameter. The previous owner cut it down and had it cemented over. This makes it higher than the adjacent sliding glass doors. When it rains, we can get water in the house. The companies I've contacted said the stump is too close to the house for them to do anything. My wife wants a patio she can enjoy in this spot. Any suggestions on how to get rid of the stump???

depending on how close to the house it is
burn it.start a fire on it and burn it down to below the leval. but if it is to close to the house. get you an axe and whack whack whack
or bust up the concrete and dig it out.
depending again on how close..around here we have a guy that can remove by grinding it out
but the machine is rather large 4 ft max from the house [a guess]
or...you could ruin a good chain saw and cut on it..till its gone, i think the dirt would be a little rough on it

dig holes in the stump, pour in lye, pour on water.

lather, rinse, repeat until the stump is softened and checked up enough to gouge out chunks and get at least a foot of it out.

will take quite a while.

you could also bust up concrete towards the free side of the stump, cut or drill through the back for a chain, cut as many roots off the thing as you can with a chain saw in a clear field (meaning no iron, concrete, etc. anywhere the blade can go,) then chain up to a stout truck, gear down, and pull.

you will have to replace the chain, and maybe the bar, of the chain saw when this is over because of dirt wear. again, do not even consider this unless you can get a clear working field. body parts don't replace well, and the market is, ahhhh, disreputable.

The tree is one inch from the house and is growing under it. We have no basement, so it is probably under our foundation.

Hi chaser,

Rent a jack hammer and break out part of the patio all around the tree at least 3 to 4 feet. Dig down around the tree root and cut them off. Free up as many of the roots as you can. You may have a good sized hole before you are done but you should them be able to free it up to be removed, possibly with a backhoe. Once removed fill in the hole and pack it and wet it down to help it settle. Don't put in cement until that earth is fully settled or you take steps to support the new pad adequately.

Good luck!

If I understand right, the tree isn't alive anymore. If that's so the main issue is how to get rid of a few inches of the top of the tree stump. Unless there're other issues the rest of the stump can stay where it is. I understand that Mesquite is fairly rot resistant so the remaining parts of the tree stump won't be leaving a void later on.

After taking away enough of the existing concrete patio you will have a slow tedious job. In that location I don't see any easy way to remove it other than carving off the part of the stump that's too high. There's no way that a machine can get in there to grind the stump. It's too close to the house to use a digger to remove the stump.

I wonder if an air chisel might be figured out. How about making a wood chisel for a roto hammer. Or maybe a wood chisel in an air chisel like what's used to remove mufflers and exhaust pipes. Making the tool will be the fun part of this job. I'd try to get one of my grandsons to come over and do it for me.