Fair price to clear an acre?

[BoylermanCT]

Around me a guy with a mini excavator gets $800 a day.

 

[airbiscuit]

An 84hp TLB is not an 8n ...

 

[tjkubota93]

Are the people driving fancy new cars or old worn out wrecks?

Are they building a million dollar McMansion or moving in a used single wide?

Those questions would matter to me on pricing.

That doesn't matter. Fair price is the same to everyone.


If you are hauling it all away, then 5k seems very reasonable.

All the people I have dealt with were trying to make $2000-2500 a day. But that's with a dozer and an excavator. Can you clear what you try to make in a day?

 

[4570Man]

I haven’t seen their vehicles. I haven’t seen the house blueprints but it’s a middle end area. The debris will be burned on site.

 

[4570Man]

When you say "cleaning" an acre, does that mean getting rid of the trees, stumps and rock?

If your CTL has the flow to operate a forestry mulcher, that would be the ticket. Don't know if they rent them around you, but you could charge the cost of the rental plus a per hour charge.

Yes, but no one rents them. Since they’ve going to build a house and make yard in the area I don’t think a mulcher is a good candidate anyway.

 

[4570Man]

A 96hp tracked skidsteer is not an 8n!

I’m well aware, but most people aren’t so his bid looks better on paper to the uninformed. BTW that guy was a hypothetical.

 

[airbiscuit]

Gotcha. BTW, I wouldn't use an 8n to "pull my finger" , let alone stumps.

 

[Piston]

Are the people driving fancy new cars or old worn out wrecks?

Are they building a million dollar McMansion or moving in a used single wide?

Those questions would matter to me on pricing.

This is a good point, but probably not in the way you intended. If they are driving fancy new expensive cars, then it’s pretty likely they live paycheck to paycheck and carry a lot of debt. If not, they may be a bit smarter and have money to burn


At the absolute minimum, 2k per acre is a good starting point. This is if it’s easy to clear and your not hauling debris. I would estimate your time as best as possible, add 15%, and assume $100 per hour, then see how the quote comes out.

I would tell them a flat price with the assumption that it will take x amount of hours. This way if you run into unforeseen circumstances, you are protecting yourself from getting burnt, since you quoted the job on a specific amount of time (even though your giving a lump sum).

You shouldn’t even need your 310 if the trees are that small. Throw the grapple on the CTL and leave the chainsaw at home.

 

[Oldoak]

When it comes to pricing, Some years ago I had 3 acres of brush and tree stumps cleared for a whooping $75.00. Enough to pay for the fuel he used for his D-8 dozer.

His crew happened to be working on our township road at the time and had a new operator that need a little training. When his crew quit working on the road for the day, he had my 3 acres cleared in a few hours. All the debris was pushed off to the back side boarding our woods. I later burned most of it during the Winter time. It's been a beautiful apple and pear orchard ever since.

 

[CADplans]

I had a guy come over and re-do my driveway,,,

He has some nice equipment, two employees, and LOTS of skill,,

Before:

After (almost done):

I had just logged 30 acres,, he said that if I wanted it cleared of the remaining brush and stumps,,
the price would be about $30,000, or about a thousand dollars an acre.

I have no intention of clearing the land,, That something that came up during the week he was re-doing my driveway,,,