Cost of Land Clearing

Submitted by intrepidated t3_10ay97v in Washington

Saw a 5 acre lot recently being cleared for development. Lot was overgrown forest before, so involved downing trees, removing stumps, clearing brush, and either shredding or hauling the debris away.

Can anyone share how much this type of work costs? Just the land-clearing aspect and not any development. I have some quotes to do similar work for a much smaller area, and the price seems pretty outrageous (over $120k for under 1 acre). I am questioning if I am talking to the right kind of contractor to do this work.

Thank you!

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Patient_Magician4142 t1_j46watz wrote

It all depends of the land and specifics but that seems very high. Land with good timber on it can actually bring $$ in as income but again, it depends on so many things

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intrepidated OP t1_j46xg02 wrote

This is all garbage trees with shallow roots - alder and cotton. No market value, unfortunately.

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nbarry51278 t1_j48jo3l wrote

Cotton wood is used for paper and has value enough to offset the cost of taking them down.

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JellyElectronic5864 t1_j4a7ddw wrote

Even if your trees are valuable (like cedar) the cost to have them hauled away eats up a LOT of that profit

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NotAHippieCrashPad t1_j46z6rj wrote

Your location is going to drastically affect the price you pay for land clearing. What part of the state are you in? How accessible is the lot? What’s the terrain of the lot like? I agree that your bid sounds high but not knowing any details makes it impossible to know. I would suspect, as you do, that there are people that would do it for a lot less.

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intrepidated OP t1_j471lp4 wrote

We're western - rural SnoCo. Lot is very accessible, as the area to clear is the property edge right along a road. It's all flat terrain.

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NotAHippieCrashPad t1_j474czo wrote

Yeah, that is way too much in my opinion. Maybe if it was in Seattle where trucking is so expensive but rural Snohomish that seems really high. A quick google search of “Snohomish land clearing” brings up some possible leads, if that doesn’t lead to anything I’d reach out to sawmills, arborists and heavy equipment operators in the area to see if they have suggestions.

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Ma1eficent t1_j4769fs wrote

For 120k you could buy a tractor (24k) and get to work yourself.

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brothers1201 t1_j48dy8a wrote

This is the answer! It goes pretty fast with the right equipment. Pay a few friends in beer and pizza and you can do an acre a weekend. Clear underbrush first then fell excessive/damaged trees site clean up isn’t bad if you find a place to take organic material for compost, or chip it yourself for landscaping. I did a similar project and it’s pretty rewarding when it’s done and then you sell excess equipment and your cost is the difference + time.

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snowleopardone t1_j47d96m wrote

LOL, sure, go for it. But clearing 5 acres isn't like working on your back yard.

Don't forget your dump truck to get the debris to the dump. And there is an art to being an operator. Plucking tree stumps particularly.

Screw it, I'll burn it! Sure. Go for it. Burn 5 acres of debris. See how that works out for you.

And I'm not sure if OP needs the lot cleared and graded. But that's a different machine. (and skills)

By the way, the Department of Ecology will come to visit. They are going to want to make sure you are in conformance with the Storm Water Management Manual for Western Washington. (I'm sure we are all familiar with that, right?)

Speaking of which, do you have any required permits from the County?

And, you'll want to secure the property. (ditches and logs typically) Because semi-rural Snohomish County will have your average nutjob with a 4x4 bombing around because they think it's fun. All good until they get stuck or hurt. Then problems.

What? Insurance? License? Bonded? Why am I being sued? What do you mean there's an eagle nest on the next property over? Why does that matter? (oh sweet summer child...)

So, by yourself save some dollars and 5-acres should take... a couple of months? Assuming one guy doing everything full time? Assuming no break downs, no issues, and no surprises.

Or you pay an experienced crew and they are done in half the time. (or less)

120K is a lot, but that is professional land development for you.

Not saying there aren't people out there that do exactly this. That's where we see projects get started and sort of stop. And then hang out sort of half done for years.

Good times...

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Ma1eficent t1_j47ocm9 wrote

Lol. This insane rant would have been better aimed at someone who didn't buy 2 acres and a tractor. You have overblown every potential issue to try and claim 120k is reasonable.

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intrepidated OP t1_j47wy6b wrote

Well, it's 1/2 acre on already-developed land that is just a 30ft wide strip along the road.

Main issue with doing myself is accidentally toppling a 40ft+ tree with a shallow root ball trying to rip the brush out of the way. Also just cutting down a few 60ft+ cottons is beyond my skill.

If it was truly clearing 5 acres at $120k I think that's a steal. $50k for 1/2 acre of shallow trees on flat land along a road seems a rip-off. The other $70k is for grading and planting a hedge row - which seems even worse. I was expecting bids to come in around $40k total for the entire job + cost of the hedges.

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brothers1201 t1_j48eh13 wrote

It’s not that hard of a skill to pick up if you learn on the smaller stuff first…just make sure you have good chain saws and sharp chains…rent a brush cutter first and clear underbrush so you can see what your doing. You got this, and you’ll have new skills when you are done.

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PerezosoRapido t1_j4896lg wrote

We’ve had 50 acres actively managed and it’s mostly break even with high quality trees to make it worth while to the loggers. This was peak lumber pricing in the summer, they’ve since fallen off a cliff.

Clearing would require a ton more work but make sure to get multiple bids. 120k / acre seems high unless it’s a ravine or something hard to work with.

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shaggy908 t1_j48btyt wrote

One thing that nobody has mentioned so far is that a major part of the cost is hauling the debris away. You could have them cut down the trees and run them through a wood chipper and leave it in piles. Cottonwood chips smell amazing!

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intrepidated OP t1_j4cvor6 wrote

Yeah, I think I'm going to just get a tree crew for chipping and hauling, but do the bulk of the clearing myself. One of those 50 cu yd dumpsters is $1k to have dropped off and picked up! I filled 3 of them last year... not cheap at all.

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shaggy908 t1_j4dokkg wrote

Be extra careful taking down those cottonwoods. They are weak ass trees and do really unpredictable things when taking em down. Alders aren’t much better but tend to be smaller.

I’d consider thinking of the wood chips as mulch for that area. You can just spread it around and it’ll decompose in a couple years and return a lot nutrients to the ground. It’s considered best practice in tree care. Just food for thought. You won’t have to pay for hauling away which is a big cost, but you’ll have the added work of spreading out the chips. It’s either your time or your money haha

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jackbobjoe t1_j48wi4t wrote

I had about an acre done, it cost $13k to be cleared and graded. First quote I got was the same price just to cut down the trees and leave the stumps, so I felt like I got a good deal since it was nice and smooth in the end. I suspect you just need to get a few more quotes.

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intrepidated OP t1_j48yie5 wrote

What kind of contractor did the work? That sounds much more aligned to what I would expect this to cost.

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jackbobjoe t1_j4a1lcn wrote

It was actually a landscaper guy that was branching out a little. He had the excavator, skid-steer, a chainsaw, and a three person crew.

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Reggie4414 t1_j47ewah wrote

are you really clearing the entire 5 acre lot? that’s like 130,000 sf of disturbed area

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intrepidated OP t1_j47g4ju wrote

Nah we have 5 acres that is mostly developed already. This is just one strip along the road that is unsightly that wasn't part of the original clearing and development. It's actually about 1/2 acre total (long and narrow).

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coolgherm t1_j47ylg6 wrote

My advice: leave the trees there. Alder and cottonwood are good native trees cleaning the air and water. If you want conifers, underplant with shade tolerant trees like western red cedar and western hemlock.

You'll also find that not only are those trees acting as a pollutant barrier, they are working as a sound barrier and wind break from the weather and road. Removing those trees is a bad idea.

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intrepidated OP t1_j48527j wrote

That's great but nature is wiping them out all on its own. Have had 20+ fall from wind or snow and a cotton just snapped 1/3 up its trunk and wiped out 7 other trees on the way down. The alders are choked out by blackberries.

The road is just a dead end to a neighbor. There's no pollution or noise where we live - this isn't a city. Houses are 1/2 mile apart at least.

The strip was left in as a privacy barrier but now it's a safety risk and impossible to maintain. I'm all for preserving nature, but this ain't one of those ecologically necessary things. I've got 1000s of other really old cedars and hemlock otherwise surrounding me.

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nbarry51278 t1_j48jdcm wrote

That’s an insane price for that amount of work. Shouldn’t be more than 30k plus permits.

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Btru2urSlf t1_j49gkze wrote

We have an acre of alder/cottonwood that we cleared with a smallish excavator. Just used the bucket to push the trees down and then snap them. We got the septic install guy to clear some of the trees, and we borrowed a neighbors excavator to clear the remainder ourselves. Total cost was a few thousand. I bet you could hire someone with an excavator to do it for under $20k. (I'm in Whatcom County).

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Capable_Nature_644 t1_j476mq9 wrote

These days it can be just as expensive to buy an already built house compared to clearing the land, prepping it for building then build. We looked into the cost of clearing a land and dumping a manufactured home on it. More expensive than just buying a new already built house.

If it is your dream location then by all means do it! In decades gone by it use to be cheaper but now it's not.

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cash4skis t1_j48bjli wrote

It depends on so many factors… location, wetlands, permitting, forest designation or not, if the wood is valuable, etc.

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cash4skis t1_j48bm8w wrote

Oh and the grade is a huge factor as well, steep or flat.

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JDR253 t1_j4h4vhy wrote

My mom had 2 acres cleared and smoothed out(not leveled) and it cost 25k

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pala4833 t1_j475de1 wrote

Elevety six.

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newAgebuilder3 t1_j46wnvk wrote

There's a lot of heavey machinery that goes into clearing up a site and those machines dont run on hopes and dreams....

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mrlunes t1_j475ksn wrote

Lmao this guy. OP was asking how much, not if someone could do it for free… you really got’m good…

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intrepidated OP t1_j46y4op wrote

Oh, they don't?

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newAgebuilder3 t1_j46yqmg wrote

No they're all diesel engines.

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intrepidated OP t1_j46z3z2 wrote

Got it. No wonder why my tractor won't start.

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newAgebuilder3 t1_j470pvn wrote

Probably cuz its got no gas...i mean diesel

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newAgebuilder3 t1_j47143m wrote

All jokes aside get three bids then you'll have a better understanding. To many variables to say yea it should be this much with not much information and pictures of the land your inquiring about.

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