You can also use a reciprocating saw. Cut into sections and then pry up with a pick axe or digging bar. Then fill with topsoil. Worked well for me

I have the same issue 20 times over in my yard from 2 massive 80' silver maples. The reason I haven't done the same thing is that those roots are anchor roots. They keep the trees from falling over in high winds. My plan is to regrade top soil around the roots. It's a lot less risky than removing the roots.

it is much faster to get a pick, sharpen it and cut off the root on both ends. Then use the pick to lift the section and lever the ground after. Works for me on cottonwoods. I removed roots 8 inches wide. Also, you can use farmer's jack and a piece of chain linked in a loop to lift the root if it is hard to lift with a pick

I would have used a bench planer. Shaves off wood like butter. Adjust your settings I used it on my deck here. It’s easy for me as a woman to use but not many people know about it. Good to know about the tool you have… now I want one.

Thanks for the idea! With this being a masonry tool, it should also help with the large protruding rocks in my yard.

South GA resident here.....alot of my cypress knees around my ponds are pretty and out of the way but some are constantly getting shaved down with my mower. Will definitely be using this method rather than risking breaking a spindle! Thanks for the idea!

Fantastic! I love it! I have always wondered what the heck i was going to do with the HUGE bayon tree roots! and here i have had all the tooling in the garage to begin with long ago. Thank you, GREAT video!

Effin genius. I have an angle grinder and a similar disc for concrete. There are a few tree roots lifting my driveway apron and I've been contemplating how to address it. Will give it a shot. Thanks for sharing.

Never thought about your application, creative...I feel the same way about trees & the mess they make for me in my pool. Have a good summer.

I am a low-tech tiller (and an older woman, so the work goes a bit slow). My tools are initially a shovel and I try to pull up the roots high as I can (if I can) and expose them as much as possible on sides and underneath. Most of the ones I am dealing with are less than an inch diameter and of course the thicker they are the harder to deal with. I have a hard mallet (of hard plastic) and a heavy butcher knife that I used in the past to open those white Thai coconuts. You set the heavy knife on the coconut and steady it and bang, bang, bang over the top of the knife blade. It works. I resorted to that on a root a neighbor was going to help me with (but wasn't sure he was going to show as he was a day late) and I tried this method and was able to cut through the root. Fantastic! I'll be doing that again in my backyard tomorrow. For thinner roots I use a pair of hedge clippers. Shocking how many roots there are to deal with! Can't afford machinery and enjoy working in the yard, so it all works out.

Here in South Texas we use the flat end of a pick axe or garden planter ($15.99 harbor freight tool). Takes 2 minutes to work on those roots you had. But this is good too.

I have had the same problem for years with a pine tree but the hurricane blew the tree down two and a half years ago so now I will deal with the root this way.

This is a great idea for the roots you just can’t get out. I use a sawzall with the new pruning blades, they don’t get wiped right away when you hit the dirt. It does a great job and then this would sure do a hell of a job finishing off the leftovers. Thanks.

What a great tool. I have 7.5 grinder I used for cleaning mortar with a diamond blade like yours. I was going to get rid of it. Thanks

That’s a great idea! I’m in south Mississippi too and I’ve got pine roots that drive me crazy in my yard too. I’ll have to give this a try.

A grinder is the most useful tool to have, I have just learn a new use for it, Thank You.

Great idea! I have a similar situation in my Kentucky yard, where a tree was removed, but not all the roots.

I use my cordless sawzall with a diablo pruning blade (9 or 12" about $2 ea. ) to cut out my maple tree roots. Works really good. You can plunge the blade into the ground to make the cuts. Then pull the root section out and backfill/seed. I've cut roots up to 5-6" diam.

this is definitely going to come in handy next month I have a few that are sticking up that I really don't want to dig out 👍👍👍

Thanks it works very well!! Stump grinder one day rental $100. Grinder attachment $65 and will last good while.

Looks like a great way to take care of a problem most people have, thanks for sharing.

I have that same problem in my yard! Thanks for posting this.

I like the way you think and talk. You’d be a great neighbor. The part about you having only one yard with thousands of exposed roots and that you wouldn’t care if you had a thousand yards with one root made me laugh out loud and I don’t do that very often. I’m gonna hang around cause you seem like a no nonsense/with humor kind of guy I can identify with. Thanks mate.

Thank you for the magnificent way of removing roots from the lawn. I am going to buy the tools tomorrow. Thank you!!!

Mildly satisfying to watch. I cannot wait to do this in my own yard! Roots be damned. I will prevail. Thank you!

Bro. This is genius. If you saw how many pine trees with roots I have in my yard and how many mower blades it has cost me in 17 years, you’d be so happy for me. I’m going to get this tomorrow morning. YOU ARE THE MAN! 👊👊👊👊👊

I like how you went straight to the root of the problem.

@Rick-the-Swift ​​⁠ I think you are right! I finally was able to get Maple tree roots off of at least three of my outdoor kennels. I used a reciprocating saw and it still took me three blades and thought I was going to die I got so hot! Hell I’m old….but Im moving soon and I need those kennels!

Thanks for the tip mate- the bit about the wife's nail cracked me up

This was a fantastic idea. I have about 30 tree roots in my front and back yard and they're tearing up my mower. Just ordered the tools for this and can't wait to finally get rid of them. THANKS!

Nice ! Not only roots but also for grinding and trimming down thick branches and shit ! Thanks !

Good approach I’m looking forward to try. Having same issue with roots uplifting my pavers. Thanks for sharing.

Nice if you like looking at them , I just used a reciprocating saw on my exposed ends, wet the ground and the ones I could not pull up by hand I used a farm jack , less than half hour easy work . and some were a foot round .

When you use the Scarifier on the Allett remove the static rake behind the front roller. Also make sure the Grass Box is resting properly on the tabs protruding from the cartridge for proper airflow and collection.

Thanks, Man! Your method safe my life today.

That Allet is nice! Here I also took the tree roots out. Well actually, I used an axe and took it all out. the whole lawn was tree roots. So when I installed the irrigation I had to cut most of the roots. And then after seeding and all, I came back with the axe to take a few larger roots I left. I was tired of hitting the roots with my mower. lol. And I didn't notice any stress on the trees. That said it was in the fall and I also trimmed the trees.

Also works great on removing paint from steps xx

Wow I will definitely be using this!!! Thanks for sharing

You got me with....."she had to get her nails done." The grinder, nice idea....thx!

I may or may never use that grinding wheel but what a fantastic idea. Cheers from Fairhope AL your neighbor!!

I am Not a tree guy , i am a grass guy. Lol

Thanks for this, I'm going to do the same thing and bring them down a bit lower and dress them with top soil and seed. Great idea!

So, the link he posted was to a $30 disk for sanding masonry. I found one for a lot less at around $10 that supposedly does the same thing. It worked "somewhat" on the roots but it took off very little very slowly so I gave up on it. Then I tried a "cut-off" wheel on the angle grinder, and it worked a little better. Then I tried my electric chainsaw and just lightly touched the end of the blade at a slight angle to "just the root" keeping it out of the dirt. The chainsaw did the trick and made quick work of the root issue. (pun intended). If you are slow and careful, the chainsaw is the way to go IMHO.

I've had the same problem for years. I'm going first thing in the morning to get one of those heads. I've chopped them with an axe and even used a wood chisel trying to get rid of these roots. Thanks for the idea and the video. Greetings from New Site Ms.!

It's essentially a hand-sized stump grinder. It works the exact same way.

Genius-thanks for posting!

I love your realness and humor you got a like and a new subscriber.. Glad I found your KZfaq account!!

Haha! Da ending!!! I thought I moved to a quiet cul-de-sac 8 yrs ago... nuthin but NOISE. 4 wheelers, motorcycles in da driveway... barking out of control dogs and fights between Father and son! He's a single father, so gave him a lot of slack... now I know he's da problem! Tree roots are the least of my worries!!! Haha... great video... gonna give it a try.

Great idea! Doing this for sure. Thanks!

A nice idea and I went out and bought a grinding wheel to try on a root that has annoyed me for years. It does work but it is much slower to achieve the desired result than expected. After a while it occurred to me that it would be much easier simply to use my Bosch three inch hand held planner. This worked spectacularly well in half the time and gave a much more consistent finish. Thanks for the video as it helped me to think about the problem and how to deal with it.

Thanks, that is a great idea, I been waiting to figure a way to lower my tree stumps.

Thanks Kevin! Always a good time.

Man, this is a great idea, just what I was looking for

Wood carving discs for angle grinders are also an option. They're a metal disc with chainsaw chain about the circumference.

I have the same issue whit my yard and I'm going to use that method , thanks for sharing this video

Good job brother. You have an excellent work ethic. Outstanding!

In the past I have used a sawzall with an aggresive Diablo blade and perhaps a little digging to get the root out. No more!! Thanks to your video.

Those blades are pretty expensive, but I can't be against your creativity. Thank you for sharing.

Friend, thanks for this tip. We took down an ancient ash tree in the front yard and even though we had the stump ground down, the darned roots are starting to surface as the ground settles. They really do play hell with mower blades.

Great alternative for the Fred Flintstone ax swinging method Barney's like me can barely swing an axe anymore haha

I don't mow trees - I mow grass 😂😂😂

Spray a little medium green paint on those roots and when the grass fills in, Bam! Looks good and no roots! Great video!

I appreciate that bit of info I deal with the same thing I’m going to lowes tomorrow and get one I’m tired of bouncing over thes toots an hanging my mower deck. Thanks again

You win the Nobel Prize for putting the coolest thing on a sander that's not sanding discs.

Great idea! I did this to all the roots I could find in my neighborhood and then finished the job with napalm and cluster bombs. Those roots are gone!

If I tried that here in Kentucky somebody would call the law and tell them a meth head is mowing his yard with an angle grinder. Good idea by the way.

Mini handheld stump grinder! Genius!

I bought a disc like yours for my 7 inch grinder, it worked, but was slow. I got out my 7 1.4 inch saw, I had the blade set to one quarter of an inch, I made a cut, and then moved the saw side ways. That worked better for me. Take it easy, so you don't cut your self. John

This a great idea. I tried using my belt sander, didn't work too well.

U did a great job and my nails look great! 😁😁😘

This is very useful got some problem roots myself from a giant sweetgum and some pines as well time to order a wheel ✌️

Yes! any saw, ax. knifed, cutting tools are always dangerous; OK so i tried this on my craftsman cordless, and it seems to grind away the Red oak/Ohia hardwood pretty nicely; these however are NOT carbide teeth but do a great job on grinding hardwood stump like a fast file; I will try it again on the wet tree roots out in the orchid and will get back to you in a few days. but for right now it seems to be working pretty well

The smallest stump grinder on KZfaq👍🏻👍🏻

I got a Magnolia growing in my yard here in Fort Worth and the roots are trying to make it to heaven. I swear those suckers don't know which way to grow its like they go straight up. Ill give this a shot.

Your work is excellent. 🙏🏼 Thank you. 🙌🏼🌱🙋

Interesting method. I had the same problem with some eastern whit pines. Dug out the turf around the roots put an ole blade on the Stijl and no more root. Did it 5 years ago a d the damn pine is healthy now with less roots. Haha.

You're a life saver

I love what you did with the grinder. Need to get me one

Mini Stump grinder. I try to axe the root somewhere close to the tree to kill the root. I’m going to get one of those grinder disks. Those Magnolias are big leaf droppers. Great tip thanks.

I had an ornamental plum tree that had roots that were ruining my lawn, dropping messy little fruit and attracting messy birds and causing me to rake a ton of leaves. I had it cu down 3 years ago. Life is so much better, my lawn looks great, no leaves, no messy birds or unedible fruit.

It's about 18 months since this video was posted. Can we get an update on how the roots reacted to the flattop haircut?

That's great information, I have hit my lawn mower so many times on my fruitless mulberry tree, thanks.

Great idea mate. Wrecked my mower twice on holy roots now.Many thanks :^)

GRAFF’s speed cutter 5” cutting disc with a wood shaping blade is also an excellent option. If the root is HARD wood it takes forever to grind it with this diamond blade. The speed blade can be extremely dangers to use so if you are not a DYI guy/gal with experience or comfortable with open blade tools, DO NOT USE, use caution ⛔️

Dude u kill me.... Deeeeewalt lmao... Keep uploading I see a Pete Denny future

I just want to thank you and appreciate you I just bought a home and there is roots sticking up out of the grass big ones

I just used my axe the other day. I had no clue if that was going to work. BAM! All three gone in 20 minutes. They were about 4 inches in diameter.

Was thinking this was the type of approach to take. Thanks for confirming. I have many more roots around my yard though. Whenever I cut a branch I typically use a pruning sealer. Was planning to seal all the roots I grind then put down sod and soil. Thinking the sealer might protect the tree if needed. 🤷‍♂️

That was great! I was going to use my chain saw to gradually shave the roots to ground level. But that grinding wheel seems a lot safer. Thanks for the tip! Also, I don’t think that would damage the tree because it wouldn’t be any different than cutting off a branch.

Good way to control roots without pulling them out and at the same time still hold the main structure of the tree ❤👍

Oh man ! This is great ! probably going to buy 2 of them I have so many roots.

Thank you Sir...you da man, cause I’ve been trying to do something bout my roots😎

Thanks good idea I have maple tree roots

Hell yes, I hate the tree roots ruining my front yard. Thank you for the video.

I love when people think outside of the box! 🤙

At least now you can run a lawn mower without hitting the roots!

Try using a B'root bar root cutting tool. It's not for everyone but it's our go to tool in the fence industry.

Great idea and useful video…thanks

Thank you! I considered trying a chainsaw to bring the roots down, but this looks much easier to pull off. It doesn't remove all anchoring from the roots too, so win-win.

Cool idea dude I just so happen to have a diamond disk from a project I did last year.. I’m gonna try this out!