Lot Clearing for New Homes & Building Sites
You bought a wooded or overgrown lot, and the builder needs a clear, stumped site before anything else can happen. We clear the house site, the driveway and the yard, and leave the ground ready for the dig.
Lot Clearing, Start to Finish
The lot looked fine from the road. Then you walked it. Saplings as thick as fence posts, grapevine hanging in the tops, a couple of big dead ash, and brush so tight you cannot find the corner pins. Your builder wants a clear site, your septic designer needs to see the ground, and nobody can give you a real number until the lot is open. That is the point where most people search for lot clearing near me and start calling around. One call to Jeff gets you a straight answer.
We start with your site plan, or with a walk around the lot if there is no plan yet. Jeff goes over the house site, the driveway, the utility run and the trees you want kept. The CAT excavator takes down and digs out what is in the way of the house and drive, roots and all. The tracked forestry mulcher grinds the brush and small stuff on the rest of the lot so you can see what you own. Keeper trees stay untouched.
You are left with an open lot your builder can stake, a way in for trucks, and ground that is ready for the next step. That next step is often ours too: a building pad, a foundation dig, or a gravel drive. This page is the home-site side of our land clearing and brush removal work. For the full order of operations, see how to clear and prepare land for construction.
What Lot Clearing Includes
- House site, driveway and yard cleared
- Stumps dug out under house and drive
- Brush and saplings mulched in place
- Keeper trees marked and left standing
- Truck access opened from the road
- Site left ready for staking and digging
What gets cleared for a house and what stays
A home site needs more open ground than the footprint of the house. The dig needs room for the machine and the dirt pile. Concrete trucks and lumber deliveries need a way in and a place to turn. The septic area, the well spot and the utility trench all need open ground. We clear those and leave the rest. Trees outside the work zone that you want for shade or privacy get flagged and left alone, and we keep the machines off their roots as much as the site allows. Tell us early which trees matter to you. It is far easier to save one than to wish you had.
Stumps, brush and where the wood goes
Under a house, garage or driveway, stumps are dug out whole. Buried wood rots, and ground over rotting wood settles. Out in the future yard, grinding the stump is usually enough. Brush and small trees can be mulched where they stand, which leaves no pile at all. Bigger trees and dug stumps are stacked where you want them on your lot. Some owners cut the logs for firewood. Some burn the pile later. Ohio has rules on open burning that change with where you live, so read our Ohio open burning guide before you light anything.
Before the machines show up
Three things save trouble. First, have a surveyor mark the corners if you cannot find the pins. We clear to the marks you show us. Second, get your septic layout from your designer and the county health department, since heavy machines should stay off the ground picked for the leach field. Third, ask your builder about stormwater. Ohio EPA requires construction stormwater permit coverage when a project disturbs one or more acres of ground, and some counties and towns have their own site rules. A locate request to Ohio 811 also has to be placed before stumps are dug, and we sort out who places it when we look at the job.
What does it cost to clear a wooded lot for a new home?
It depends on how much of the lot has to open up, how big the trees are, how many stumps must be dug out instead of ground, how wet or steep the ground is, and what happens to the wood. A brushy half acre is a very different job from a lot full of mature hardwood. Jeff looks at the lot and gives you a free estimate, so you and your builder have a real number to plan around.
How long does lot clearing take before a builder can start?
A small lot with brush and saplings often goes quickly. Heavy timber, lots of stumps under the house site, or soft ground stretch it out. Weather matters too, since clay turns to grease when it is soaked. Once Jeff sees the lot he can talk through timing, so tell him your builder's start date.
Do stumps have to be dug out before a house is built, or can they be ground?
Where the house, garage, slab or driveway will sit, they should be dug out with the roots. Wood left under a building or a drive rots over time and the ground above it settles. In the yard, grinding the stump below the surface is normally fine and costs less. We do both on the same job and tell you which stump gets which treatment.
Can you clear my lot and leave the big trees I want to keep?
Yes. That is one reason to use a forestry mulcher and an excavator instead of pushing everything over with a dozer. We flag the keepers with you, clear the brush around them, and keep the heavy digging away from their roots where the site plan allows. A tree that sits in the house site, the drive or the septic area usually cannot stay.
Who clears land for a new house: the builder or an excavating contractor?
Either. Some builders hire it out and fold it into the contract. Many owners hire the clearing themselves so the lot is open before the builder prices the job. We work both ways, for homeowners and for builders and developers. If you hire us direct, give us your builder's site plan so the clearing matches what they need.
How a Job Runs
Talk It Through
Call or send the form. Tell us where the ground is and what you want it to look like when we leave.
We Look at the Site
Jeff walks it with you: the growth, the slope, the wet spots, the way in and out for the machines.
A Straight Plan
You get a free estimate and a plain recommendation on the approach that fits the ground.
The Work Gets Done
We bring the right machine for the job and do the work the way we said we would.
Clean and Ready
We leave the site cleaned up and ready for the next step, whatever that is for you.
Lot Clearing Near You
Based in Farmdale, in Trumbull County, Ohio. Pick your town, or call and ask if we cover it.
More services
Land Clearing
Overgrown lots, fields and wooded acreage cleared and left ready to use or build on.
DetailsForestry Mulching
Brush and small trees ground into mulch in place. No piles, no burning, no hauling.
DetailsCommercial Clearing
Site, corridor and industrial property clearing for developers, contractors and municipalities.
DetailsNeed Lot Clearing?
Call Jeff or send a few details. Estimates are free, and you get a straight answer on what the job takes.