A full-coverage system means lines everywhere, not just near beds
Estate properties built with irrigation as part of the original design tend to have zone lines running under the lawn itself, not just through planting beds the way a retrofitted system often does. That means a stump sitting in what looks like open, unremarkable turf can still have a supply line or a zone valve buried a few inches beneath it. We ask that the system be run briefly before we start so we can mark head locations and get a sense of zone boundaries by eye, since Tennessee's 811 utility locate service doesn't map private irrigation - that's information only the property or its landscaping crew has.
Brick and stone edges are more fragile than they look
A mortared brick border along a drive or a dry-laid stone edge around a terrace can look solid enough to absorb a grinder's vibration, but repeated impact and the machine's weight nearby can loosen mortar joints or shift individual stones out of alignment over the course of a longer grind. We keep the machine's tracks and working radius a set distance back from any hardscape edge, sacrificing a little reach on the stump's outer roots rather than risk stonework that took real time and money to install correctly the first time.
Circular drives change the approach angle, not just the clearance
A stump near the inside curve of a circular drive often needs the grinder approached from a specific direction to avoid working the machine's counterweight or discharge chute toward the drive surface itself, which can chip brick or asphalt edging if we're not deliberate about it. We plan the approach angle during the initial walk-through rather than figuring it out once the machine's already positioned, since repositioning a loaded grinder near stonework is exactly the moment small mistakes happen.
What to flag before we arrive
If your property has had irrigation work, lighting installed, or stonework added or repaired more recently than the original construction, mention it when scheduling - newer additions aren't always reflected in whatever original landscape plans exist, and a recently added line or edge is one we'd rather know about in advance than discover with the grinder already running.
The short version
Full-coverage irrigation and mortared or dry-laid stonework both sit closer to a stump than they appear, and protecting either one means running the system beforehand, keeping a set clearance from hardscape edges, and planning the machine's approach angle in advance.