How Much Does It Cost To Clear Land
Before this article discusses the land clearing cost, it would be helpful to know what this operation is all about. As a basic reference, the process of land clearing pertains to the removal of trees, weeds, brush, vegetation, boulders, stones, and other obstructions from a piece of land. It can be done on both small scale areas like driveways and garden and large scale lands such as the sites where commercial and/or residential properties are constructed.
Most of the time, landowners set a budget to cover the land clearing prices whenever they need to use their lands to build different types of properties. With this being said, how much does it cost to clear land?
The land clearing cost for an acre of land ranges from $20 to $6,000 or higher, depending on the current condition of the area – whether it is brushy, grassy, flat, heavily forested, lightly wooded, sloped, or a combination of the said land conditions. Aside from the present state of the land, other factors that affect the land clearing prices are the accessibility, local rates, local regulations, and the size of the land being specifically cleared.
Price Ranges According to the Conditions of Land
It has already been mentioned that the current conditions of the land significantly affect the prices to clear the area. To give you an idea how much it costs to clear a land, here are the price ranges according to the land’s present state before the clearing commences.
*Flat Land with Light Brush and Vegetation
How much does it cost to clear land if it is flat and does not have so many plants? The price range for this type of land is around $20 to $200 for one acre of land, which is equivalent to 43,560 square feet. The costs vary according to the current amount of vegetation on the parcel of land.
*Slope-sided Land with Overgrown Brushwood and a Few Trees
If the land has these said conditions, then the land clearing cost can run from $500 to $2,000 per acre, which depends on the manpower and equipment used to get the job
done.
*Forested Land
Evidently, it means the land has so many trees that need to be chip or cut. As such, the land clearing prices are higher than the first two conditions, ranging from $3,000 to $6
,000 or more for an acre of land. But the costs highly depend on how forested or h
eavily wooded the land is, and whether the debris will be hauled out from the site, piled up in a particular area for a convenient disposal, or burned, which happens to be illegal in many places and highly regulated in other areas.
Do-It-Yourself Land Clearing Cost
If you wish to do the land clearing work by yourself, then you have the liberty to do the task. Yes, it is definitely possible. However, a DIY land clearing needs a lot of work and actually requires you to use heavy equipment. Here is the DIY land clearing cost that you must know.
– You need to have a heavy-duty gas chainsaw that costs around $200 to $500 or higher if it is equipped with special features.
– A backhoe, which is primarily used to excavate or dig the land, is also needed in land clearing. But it is a very big equipment (having a similar size with a bulldozer) that costs about $10,000 to $100,000 or more. But you don’t really have to buy a backhoe, especially if you don’t have enough money. You have the option to rent it for only $100 to $350 per day.
Taking all the costs, how much does it cost to clear land if you do it yourself? Without a doubt, the land clearing prices are very much lower. You only need to spend for the chainsaw and the backhoe rental, costing a maximum of $850 for the first day and $350 (only for the rental) for the recurring days. It does not matter how small or big the parcel is. You have the option to clear a specific area of the land at your most convenient time.
Reasons Behind Land Clearing Activities
There are many reasons why the process of land clearing is being done. Here are some of them:
1. When a land needs to be developed for a specific purpose, a land clearing operation is needed to take out all kinds of debris that can obstruct or cause delays in the site development.
2. Another case when land clearing must be done is when urban areas are built with different types of construction projects. Furthermore, the clearing of the land is also needed when a certain government agency authorizes a project to convert a land and use it for something else.
3. The impact of natural calamities, such as floods and earthquakes, brings so many debris that definitely causes obstruction. To take them all out conveniently, a land clearing operation is highly recommended.
