Overpay for land clearing?

[JMER]

I have two heavily wooded acres. I got 2 quotes from two companies. In both cases, they will clear most everything but leave a few scattered hardwoods and push the refuse up into piles. This is being cleared to be a homeplace and lawn with a couple small wooded areas (total maybe 1/4 acre)left untouched. There are maybe a total of 40 trees larger than 12" in diameter. If anything, there are less than that.

1st guy - 10-12k to clear and haul the mess away
2nd guy - 4k to clear and $700 to burn it. Said it would take 2 days to clear and pile it up. There would be 2 of them there working on it.

This would obviously take out stumps, rootballs and all.

My other plan is to have a guy w/a mulcher come in and do it. I've been talking with cbturf on this and he has been very helpful. Only thing I don't like about the mulching is that the poison will keep trying to grow back. We've got some serious poison here in Ala.. vines up to 3" thick. Also, I worry about the larger trees. I have some trees that are up to 3' in diameter... not sure if a mulcher can take these down?

I started out thinking I would do this myself, but now realize the heavy machinery is the best way to go to do the bulk of the clearing work. I guess my question is, do the quotes up top sound reasonable? And can the mulchers handle these larger trees? (1'-3' diameter). I'm in North Alabama... and can't stop reading these dang forums!!

 

[deniscimafinc]

Hello JMER,

The industrial "tree-mower"-types will cut the trees, but mulching them will take more time. However, most drum-type mulchers will be ok with 3"-dia trees. Of course, some technologies are better than others rolleyes so who you'll hire will depend on the result finish you want, the amount of time in which you want the job done, if you want the mulching to go underground or not...

How soon do you need this lot be cleared?

 

[JMER]

Hi and thank you for your reply. I assume you meant 3' instead of 3" when you said: "most drum-type mulchers will be ok with 3"-dia trees". I would like the mulcher to get down into the soil enough to shred up the poison ivy roots. Lot doesn't have to be cleared in any time frame, but I would like it cleared within the next month. we won't be building on it for at least another year.

 

[Terra Firma Scott]

1 to 3 inch NO PROBLEM with a mulcher....Poison is another story-I dont think even IF you cleared with the guy1 or guy 2 youd get rid of that stuff...Even so, youll have to implement some sort of mowing plan for your 2 acres...If you keep it cut down it shouldnt get to be as bad as it is now...Herbicides are great...

 

[cbturf]

I forgot to mention the poison ivey thing in the email. Scott is right it will most likely try to regenerate. Once you get it cleaned up initially you will be able to spot spray a Roundup type product to keep it dead. We have the same climate here in Nashville that you have in Huntsville and we can easily get rid of the stuff but it takes a couple of tries sometimes. Big trees are just matter of time to grind them...wood is wood and a big tree just takes me longer to grind.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've found that areas with poison ivey that are wooded, don't have poison ivey after the woods are removed. If it's there, mowing it on a fairly regular basis will take care of it. I don't have any poison ivey where the trees have been removed and I have grass growing. I did nothing about the poison ivey, so I might have just gotten lucky.

Eddie

 

[JMER]

that does make sense about it not regrowing as thick once the woods are cleared.. diff micro climate after trees are gone I guess.

good call on the Roundup. I use that at our current house and yeah, it needs a few applications!

I think my plan now is:

1. Hire mulcher to clear and grind all but scattered trees

2. buy a CUT w/fel, bh and bushog to do finish work and maybe dig out a couple of smaller stumps. Also to do landscaping and seeding. Won't need as beefy a CUT as before now that I won't be doing the heavy clearing work myself. that'll be my next dilemna.. which CUT. will be tough to tell my dad 'no' to New Holland! I've heard great things on the Kubota BX24.

3. wait till i know exactly where house, driveway and septic will go before I rent a large backhoe to dig out the big stumps in the way of the house, etc.

Man, I've learned a ton over the last couple weeks about this stuff.. having a ton of fun and haven't even started doing the work yet! thanks for the email cb.

 

[Robbie Hegwood]

Hire a mulching guy with the biggest equipment you can find. CB's will work and mulch all you can. Then you will be able to SEE where you would like your home site to be and can clear only what is needed. This should help control cost and work toward the desired result.

 

[Eagleview]

That's why i like the vertical tree extraction grabs below . You can walk through the scrub and pluck the trees out of the ground , shake the dirt out of the roots back into the hole and throw the tree onto a pile . Then follow up with the mulcher which makes it like a park land . Unfortunately mine is the one still sitting on the pallet waiting for me to modify the hitch so it will fit my 23 tonner .

 

[Western]

I agree with Eddie, I haven't had a problem with poison Ivy after clearing land, a few spots persist that can be mowed.

Last summer I hired a busy dozer guy to clear 1 1/2 acres, took him about 12 hrs with a D6, trees ranging up to 14" very very thick. He charged $80 hr.
he even used his 18 rippers to dislodge some persistant roots.

I also got a price for renting a D6 at Sunbelt, I think (Nations rent), for $1500 for 40 hrs and delivery, may be another option if you feel up to it.

 

[JMER]

wow Western... that's quite a bit cheaper than I've been looking at. Both mulchers and dozers.

those vertical tree extraction grabs look exactly like what I need for the pines I have. Up to 3' diameter... don't want to pay a mulcher to grind each one of those up. still looking for a lumber co to either take them out for a small fee or just do it for free. Got about 20-25 of them. Going out today to tape off the trees I want to keep! Planning to hire a mulcher, but man.. the cost is more than I had planned. Thanks again for the info on the tree grabs.

 

[Eagleview]

Just one thing with taping trees . Make sure the dozer guy knows the tape means trees to be kept and not trees to be taken , i have heard of the latter happening . Yes the tree grabs are good , you can reach in between keeper trees and pluck out the ugly ones without damage to the rest . They are also compliant with removing trees beside live power lines . Re. the pine trees , if you employ someone with a portable saw mill to cut them up , you will have all the lumber you need for your house , bearers , joists , rafters etc . The money you will save on buying timber will pay for the clearing . I would not let those trees out of my sight .

 

[sunspot]

In Alabama, a logger should get $50 a ton for log trees. You should get $25 a ton, or half, for letting him log your land. Anything over 11" at the small end is lumber. The rest is pulpwood that pays lots less. I got $1,000 for a little less than a acre. They do leave the stumps and tops.

 

[cbturf]

I am convinced that mulching is the best way to clear land, so convinced that I have spnt over $200k on machines and trucks and I am spending another $400k as soon as my machines are ready. So remember that what I am saying is from a slighlty biased viewpoint. When you hire a guy with a mulcher you are clearing your land from start to finish with a low ground pressure machine that does not harm your topsoil or your septic drainfield. Before I got into the business a friend of mine hired a dozer to clear a few lots of 9 acres each, and when he was done he had a huge pile of brush and trees to get rid of. Even worse when he was done he had 27 acres that he could no longer get a septic system permit! I do not know all of the rules everywhere but here in Davidson coounty TN if you push the trees over and disturb the soil they will reject your permit for septic system (check with your health department before you jump). Once again do not forget all of those lovely slash piles and scarred topsoil dozers leave that still have to be dealt with. If you can get the large trees cut you may make a buck or two and even save the time of the mulcher you hire (save me time and you save money). Tops and stumps are no problem, the stumps can be ground down to the dirt or grubbed with an excavator or backhoe then ground up and tops can be processed with the rest of the small stuff.

 

[JMER]

Yep, I also agree on going with the mulcher over a dozer. I'm ready to get started CB. Found a company a few miles from my lot that specializes in pines on smaller parcels. gonna call them Monday morning. Thanks for the dollar amount estimates, Sunspot.

 

[Ryker & Ryker LLC]

I have mulched 40" oak trees with my track mulcher before. I like the mulching best because it clears, (burns) and levels at the same time. When your finished mulching your ready for grass seed.

The 4K and 700 to burn is a good price, I just prefer mulching because you dont loose any top soil. If you have a good mulching operator that will grind a couple inches in the top soil, you shouldn't have any problem with wild vegitation growing back if you seed right away and implement a consist mowing schedule. The more frequently you mow, you will eventually kill the unwanted weeds/etc. You may have to herbicide in a few areas, worst case.

Give you an idea on price. I'm located in central Florida. I did a job in north GA a couple of months ago. It was 8hrs one way to mobilize. The customer had 3 acres in which we mulched 2. It was extremely steep terrian, heavily wooded, trees ranging from 1"-12" it took me 14 hrs. I charged $250/hr and 1300 to mobilize for the 16hr drive and 2 nights in a hotel.

When I completed the job he spread grass seed while I was loading up my equipment. It looked awesome.

I have no work down here right now and am willing to travel anywhere.
I can be contacted at rykerandryker@tampabay.rr.com if you have any questions about mulching.
Thanks and good luck with your property

 

[D7E]

I'm weary of contractors....?
3 years ago i decided to clear 90 acres of big poplars and maples (pops up to 100ft) and had 2 different guys in with reasonably new CAT D6-8's and cleared land fast but made a mess ...Stumps sheared off at ground level,Tonnes of dirt in fires and so on .
So i stoppd them after 20 acres and bought an old CAT D7E (1967) Very cheap because she was pressurising the rad.
Little winter project...Rebuilt the motor..
And continued to clear myself ...Much better job and started skidding and selling firewood to cover the cost of the cat .
Some land is now growing crops in 2 years...When i finnish sell the dozer .(Like i'll sell it now)....But for more it cost me ...?

 

[tlbuser]

I have two heavily wooded acres. I got 2 quotes from two companies. In both cases, they will clear most everything but leave a few scattered hardwoods and push the refuse up into piles. This is being cleared to be a homeplace and lawn with a couple small wooded areas (total maybe 1/4 acre)left untouched.

1st guy - 10-12k to clear and haul the mess away
2nd guy - 4k to clear and $700 to burn it. Said it would take 2 days to clear and pile it up. There would be 2 of them there working on it.

This would obviously take out stumps, rootballs and all.

My other plan is to have a guy w/a mulcher come in and do it. I've been talking with cbturf on this and he has been very helpful. Only thing I don't like about the mulching is

I think the second guys quote is too low and have a bad feeling he'll not show, leave early or will want more $$ midway through. Get a couple more quotes, that's a wide gap. With mulching, you'll end up hiring another guy later to remove stumps for foundation and...........

Do you have perc sites done yet? Installing septic, sand mound or public sewer? Locally, a sand mound site can only be worked by hand, no machinery on the site period. Well water site? Personally, I would wait until you know where the house site, well, and septic locations are before deciding on any type of clearing work. There are pitfalls to everything and you may end up wasting big money now.

 

[mouse]

being in australia, i'm not following you on the septic requirements.

what are your regulations regarding soil disturbance and septic systems there? how does one affect the other?

i assune by septic you mean what we mean - an oniste sewerage system?

 

[tlbuser]

Yes, septic and sand mound are two different on-site sewage systems. In my area, after determining the percolation rate of the site's soil, the health dept. determines whether you use a traditional below grade septic system or above grade sand mound.

Septic - usually one ~1000 gallon holding tank (for separation of liquids and solids) outflows to a distribution box which is then sent to a leach field. The field normally has 100 feet of pipe per bedroom of dwelling. We use the number of bedrooms to approximate the number of people in a household. Depending on lot size will help determine the leach field. The filed can be setup like a T or like the fingers on a hand with a minimum of 5 ft. horizontal separation.

Sand mound - at least 2 ~1000 gallon tanks, first one used to separate liquid and solids, the second one used as a pumping chamber to send the liquid out to the above ground leach field. This leach field is made with a clay base, gravel and sand to simulate a leach field.

A septic site needs to cleared of vegetation and stumps.
A sand mound, we are only allowed to remove vegetation and trees, not the stumps. And this can only be done by hand so as not to compact the soil.

Some parts of the US use an aeration system also, but I'm not familiar with those.