Land Clearing

This is the process of clearing the land of obstacles like bushes, uneven dirt, trees, rocks, and other debris. This can be accomplished by using various equipment such as chainsaws, backhoes, big bulldozers, excavators, and other heavy machinery. In some land clearing jobs the homeowner can do themselves if it is a small job and does not require move large trees and big rocks. If homeowners cannot do the job themselves, they will hire a professional land clearing company to do the job. What actually will be removed will depend on the type of clearing selected. If you want it cleared to make it possible to walk around the property, fire safety, or to restore overgrown views a person would have selective land clearing. This would remove all of the debris and underbrush but would leave any desirable and established trees alone. Everything will be removed if the land clearing is for farmland or pasture. If it is for residential or commercial building everything would be removed and just leave he hind leaving an area of dirt.

Cost of land clearing

What the actual cost for this job would depend on the company you hire and what you needed to clear out. It also depends on whether the land is grassy, sloped, brushy, flat, heavily or lightly wooded or a combination of any of these. The company will also figure in how accessible the land is and local regulations. They may even charge an hourly rate.

• Few trees and light vegetation–$20 to $200 per acre
• Sloped land with few trees and overgrown brush–$500 to $2,000 per acre
• Forested or heavily wooded–$3,000 to $6,00 or more per acre

In most states you will have to have a permit to do land clearing unless it is included as part of an approved building permit. A separate permit could cost $50 to $200 or more.

Types of land clearing

• Controlled burn-this is one of the most dangerous methods and involves starting and maintaining a controlled fire. This will need to be done until all the brush and trees are burned down. Once the fire is extinguished then the land clearing can be done using construction equipment like a bulldozer
• Pushover-this involves using construction equipment to push the trees over. They will haul off with the roots intact. All of the trees will be moved to a location to be processed for mulching material or sale.
• Cut and grind-the trees on the land are cut down and moved to a processing location. The stumps are left behind in the ground where they can later be pulled out of the ground or grounded into mulching material.

You’ve kept a part of your property idle for a while now. But then you suddenly have an idea on how to make it productive. What do you do to prepare the land? Whether you’ll use it for residential or agricultural, you need to do one thing first – clear the land.

Land clearing is not an easy job. You’ll need all the time for preparation and cleaning up, and you’ll need the money to invest in the right equipment. If you think you can’t do it on your own, then it’s always best to hire a professional.

Before doing this task, here’s a checklist that you might find useful:

· Since land clearing requires a particular type of equipment, you need to find the suitable one to ensure that you’ll get the job done accurately. Before using the equipment, make sure that you study how the equipment functions. Knowing this will help you handle the equipment well and avoid accidents. If you can’t do it on your own, you could ask someone to operate it for you.

· Get your property surveyed first. This is important because you’ll know what types of trees you have. Some trees have more value than others. If your trees have great value, then you can sell it for income. When you hire a company to clear the land for you without knowing what type of trees you have, you can lose a potential income.

· Talk to authorities about your property. Not all property owners are allowed to do whatever they want. There are properties that actually require paper works and other necessary permits. You don’t want to get in trouble for clearing out your land. So make sure that before you do that, talk to authorities first and find out if you need to secure a permit or not.

· If you’re doing this on your own, make sure that you have a systematic approach. For example, in cutting down trees, you need to have an organized method to do so, in order to avoid clutters all around your property. Making a mess could endanger you and your neighbors.

· Get as much help as you can get. Doing this task alone is not easy. You need to plan everything, operate equipment, and of course clean up afterwards. Having a few set of hands can make it faster and easier.