LESLIE: Jane in Missouri who’s dealing with some tornado damage. How can we help you?
JANE: Well, we have – we lost all three of our big trees. They were, I don’t know, probably 50, 60-foot-tall trees.
TOM: Wow. OK.
JANE: And there was a little bit of tree left; they were 85 percent on the ground.
TOM: OK.
JANE: And we had an arborist come and tell us that the tree is going to get diseased and die if you try to save the – what’s left of it. And we had them cut down.
TOM and LESLIE: OK.
JANE: But now we want to replant and there are a lot – there are probably 59 different people coming through here and going, “Can we grind your stump?” And I’m wondering, is it worth the extra money to pay for a backhoe to come and dig it out before I try to replant?
TOM: I don’t think so. I think if you just grind it below to the surface of the ground and then replant around it, you’ll be fine. I don’t think you have to go through the destruction of having a backhoe come in and totally tear up your yard just to get rid of those tree stumps out in full. If you get it just ground down to within a foot – a few inches to a foot or so – below the surface of the ground, Mother Nature will do the rest.
JANE: OK.
LESLIE: Alright? And good luck with everything you need to do.
TOM: Yeah, Jane. I guess you consider yourself lucky, though, if all you lost was a few good trees.
LESLIE: Trees are the issue. You’re fine.
JANE: Yes, we had to have a new roof put on but that’s been done and we have other little minor damage. But we consider ourselves very fortunate that we still have our home and all of our family.
LESLIE: Great.
JANE: And everyone in Joplin cannot say that, so we are very fortunate.
TOM: Yeah. Alright. Well, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT and if you need any more repair help – you and your neighbors in Joplin – don’t be afraid to call us again.
JANE: OK. Thank you very much.
TOM: You’re welcome.
