We love trees.We hate stumps.
That stump has wasted enough of your time. Stump grinding for Chilliwack and Fraser Valley homeowners, done by a Certified Arborist Technician who cares about the lawn, the fence and the garden as much as the stump.
You've mowed around it. Warned the kids about it. Looked at it from the kitchen window and thought, "I really need to deal with that thing." Getting rid of it shouldn't become another project.
More yard, less hassle, in no time.
Meet InstaStump™
Tell us what you've got and get an instant estimate for your stump in about a minute.
- No waiting days for somebody to come out just to tell you roughly what it'll cost.
- No tape-measure gymnastics.
- No endless back-and-forth.
Pick the stump that looks closest to yours, answer a few quick questions, tell us what you want to do with the space afterwards, and InstaStump gives you an instant estimate. Then Ben checks the details with you, confirms the final quote, and helps you lock in a time that works.
Quote my stump60-ish seconds. One less excuse to keep the stump.
Which one looks most like yours?
Stumps? We've got history.
Our parents dealt with them.
Their parents dealt with them.
They had shovels. They had axes. They mowed around them. Stubbed their toes on them. Told the kids to watch out.
Mostly because... what the H-E-double-hockey-sticks were they supposed to do?
But this isn't 1956 anymore.
We have the technology.
We have a stump grinder.
1957: an Iowa farmer named Gary Vermeer got sick of digging and invented the stump grinder. We think about Gary a lot.
Your children do not need to inherit your stump.
The funny thing about stumps is they're remarkably good at becoming part of the family. A stump can sit in the same spot for years, quietly stealing a perfectly useful chunk of your yard while everybody agrees they'll "get around to it."
We'd like to speed that bit up.
One minute for an instant estimate. A quick word with Ben. Then let's get rid of the son of a birch.
Quote my stumpThe whole point is to get your yard back.
The stump isn't really the issue. It's what the stump is stopping you from doing.
That's why InstaStump asks what you want to do with the spot afterwards. Grinding depth matters. The finish matters. What happens after the stump is gone matters.The job isn't finished because the grinder touched wood. The job is finished when that piece of your yard becomes useful again.
- Grass there again.
- A garden.
- A patio.
- A play area.
- Cleaner landscaping.
- Or maybe you just want to walk across your own yard without doing the little sidestep you've been doing for years.
How gone do you want it?
Not every stump needs the same treatment, and not every homeowner has the same plan for the space afterwards. Some people just need the stump ground. Some want the area cleaned and levelled. Others want the spot properly prepared for whatever comes next.
We grind the stump to the agreed depth and leave the grindings on site. Good if you're taking care of the cleanup or landscaping yourself.
We grind the stump and clean up the immediate area so you've got a tidier, more usable space to work with.
For homeowners who want the stump dealt with and the space prepared for its next life.
The point isn't to sell you more stump grinding. It's to do the right amount of work for what you actually want to do with the yard.
Gone by Ben
Before and after, shot from the same spot. The stump is the easy part to notice. Look at the ground around it.
Here's how we get from stump to yard.
No weird sales process. We're talking about a stump. Let's not make this harder than it needs to be.
Tell us what you've got.
Use InstaStump to show us the stump. Pick the size that looks closest, answer a few simple questions and tell us what you're hoping to do with the space afterwards.
You'll get an instant estimate in about a minute.
Ben checks the job.
Ben reviews what you've sent through and confirms the details. If we need anything else, we'll ask. You'll know the final number before anything gets booked.
No surprises. No mysterious stump mathematics.
Pick a time.
Ben gives you a call or a text and you sort out a day that works. That's the whole booking process.
Get your yard back.
Ben comes out, gets the stump properly dealt with, and leaves you ready for whatever comes next. Grass. Garden. Patio. Kids. Dog. Deck chair and a beer.
Your yard. Your call.
Ben gets in touch very soon.Usually within minutes.
He reads every one himself. Most people are surprised how fast their phone buzzes.
We stay until the ground is right.
Ben doesn't pack up until the spot looks the way you agreed it would. If something's off, say so while he's there and he'll sort it. Spot it after he's gone? Let him know and he'll come back.
What Ben handles
Stumps of most sizes, in most suburban yards. Here's the usual reason someone gets in touch.
The tree came down, the stump stayed
A tree service took the tree and left the stump. Ben grinds it below grade so you can plant, seed or build over it.
Old stumps in the way
The one you've been mowing around for years. Ground out, roots dealt with, the space back in play.
Hedges and small trees
A row of cedar or laurel stumps along a fence line, ready for the next planting or a new fence post.
Prep for landscaping or construction
Clearing stumps ahead of a deck, patio, shed, lawn install or new garden beds, ground to the depth the project needs.
Tight access
Side yards, narrow gates, slopes and fenced back yards. Ben will tell you up front whether the machine fits.
Chips: keep them or lose them
Grinding leaves a mound of chips and soil. Use them as mulch, have them raked back into the hole, or have them hauled away.
Know your stump
Two stumps that look the same can be very different jobs. Here's what Ben checks before he quotes, and why it's worth telling him about.
- Tree species and wood
- Cedar and softwood grind differently than a dense maple or oak. Old, dry hardwood takes longer.
- Roots
- Some trees send big surface roots out across the lawn. Grinding those is a separate decision from the stump itself.
- Access and gate width
- The machine needs a path. Gate width, steps, slopes and soft ground all affect what can be done and how.
- What's around it
- Patios, fences, garden beds, irrigation and buried utilities all change how Ben approaches the stump.
- What you want afterward
- Lawn, garden, gravel or construction each need a different grinding depth and finish.
Meet Ben
Suburban Stump Grinding is Ben Hockin: one guy, one grinder, and a habit of explaining what he's doing and why. He's a Certified Arborist Technician who spends his working life around trees, so this isn't somebody who bought a grinder last Tuesday and decided trees looked pretty straightforward.
He's also third-generation Chilliwack. His grandad drove the oil truck out to local homes and farms; his dad took over the route and ran it for 45 years. Ben went into trees instead. Same driveways, different problem.
He knows what species, root structures, access and grinding depth mean for a job. And because his own time is limited, he has very little interest in wasting yours.
Professional doesn't have to mean complicated.
"I make unwanted stumps disappear and leave the yard looking like I was never there."
A hundred years of Hockins in this valley.
Three generations, one town, and three different reasons to pull into somebody's driveway.
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Warner
Grew up in RosedaleBorn in Chilliwack, 1924
Enlisted at 18, served overseas with the RCAF, and came home in 1946 saying he was never leaving Chilliwack again. He didn't. He spent about 35 years driving the oil truck out to local homes and farms, and the rest of his time building things for his neighbours.
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Tim
Took over the routeBen's dad
Stayed in Chilliwack his whole life and ran the same fuel route for 45 years, through to Petro-Canada. Same valley. Same driveways. A lot of the same families.
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Ben
Went into trees insteadCertified Arborist Technician
Learned the trade locally, earned his arborist ticket, and spends his working life around trees in Chilliwack. Suburban Stump Grinding is the part he gets to do his own way.
What the Hockins show up to do has changed.The showing up hasn't.
And yes, we really do love trees.
Big ones. Little ones. Cedars. Maples.
The weird one your grandmother planted in 1943 that nobody can identify.
Good trees make neighbourhoods better. They give us shade, privacy and character. They give birds somewhere to live and kids somewhere to climb.
But eventually, every tree's time comes. And sometimes it leaves behind... a stump.
And that's where our relationship gets complicated.
Trees? Love 'em.Stumps? We've got history.
Because the tree had a job.The stump mostly has hobbies.
- Tripping kids.
- Eating lawnmower blades.
- Collecting weeds.
- Harbouring rodents.
- Occupying nine square feet of yard like it signed a 40-year lease.
You'll see this on the truck, on the trailer and on the back of Ben's shirt. If it's parked in your driveway, the stump's having a bad day.
IN CHILLIWACK DRIVEWAYS SINCE 1924
What neighbours say
Where Ben works
Chilliwack and the surrounding Fraser Valley. Not sure if that's you? Ask. The worst case is a quick "not this time."
That stump has had long enough.
Maybe your parents would have dug it out. Maybe your grandparents would have gone at it with an axe. Maybe everybody else just mowed around the thing and learned to live with it.
Fair enough. They had an excuse.
It was 1956.
You have InstaStump.
Seems disrespectful not to use it.
Quote my stump with InstaStump™
Tell us what you've got and get an instant estimate in about a minute. Ben will confirm the details and the final quote with you, then help you find a time that works.
Quote my stump60-ish seconds. One less excuse to keep the stump.