Building your dream home has so many benefits. You can choose your ideal location, customize your floor plan, and prioritize the features that are most important to your family.
While you may have found the perfect Central Florida lot, land isn’t always ready for new construction. Clearing land is an important pre-requisite for building a new home. If your lot is full of trees, brush, or debris or it needs to leveled to support development, you’ll need to ensure it’s properly cleared and graded before you can begin to build.
Land clearing is the process of removing trees, brush, and vegetation from a piece of land and performing any necessary grading prior to building a home. It’s a highly important step in the homebuilding process, because if land isn’t properly cleared and graded, issues can arise during construction. The key to ensuring land clearing is done correctly is choosing the right contractor to do the work. In this article, we’ll review the importance of land clearing and share tips on how you can select the right company for the job.
When Is Land Clearing Is Necessary
Some degree of land clearing is usually required before any residential construction project. If you don’t clear the land, you’re likely going to have obstacles in the way. Even if a property looks ok, chances are some degree of land clearing will still be required. Hazards aren’t always visible, and land clearing isn’t just about removing trees — small plants, rocks, or uneven surfaces can create issues too. Dense patches of grass or vegetation often harbor pests, which can wreak havoc on new homes. By clearing the land, you can be completely confident that your property is completely read for building.
You’ll want to make sure the land is properly prepared before you begin to build.
What Does Land Clearing Consist Of?
Clearing land involves uprooting and eliminating trees, vegetation, rocks, and hazards from a property. The objective is to eliminate anything that might impede or delay construction. There are a few different techniques companies will use to clear land:
1. Bulldozing
Also known as the “pushover” method, bulldozing involves eliminating large quantities of vegetation with a bulldozer. It’s one of the fastest and easiest land clearing strategies; however, it comes with a couple of downsides. For one, bulldozing generally doesn’t eliminate plant roots, so it’s likely vegetation will grow back quickly. Second, bulldozing can actually damage soil. Bulldozing is usually a good option for smaller sections of land; however, exclusively relying on this tactic isn’t always effective.
2. Pulling
Instead of leveraging a bulldozer to “push” vegetation, you can use chains and vehicles to “pull” or uproot vegetation from the ground. This is a bit more involved and requires more time, but it tends to be more effective as it eliminates the roots. Pulling is a better strategy when preparing land for residential construction.
3. Cut And Grind
This method involves cutting vegetation down and grinding it with a mulcher. This is also a common tree removal method. Cutting and grinding makes sense when you’re dealing with a limited number of trees or smaller amounts of vegetation; however, it’s also time consuming, so it’s usually not the best for larger projects.
The size of the land, the intended use, and the type/quantity of vegetation on property will influence which combination of techniques your land clearing company will use.
How Long Does It Take To Clear Land?
The length of time it takes to complete a land-clearing project will be highly contingent on the type of vegetation, the company you choose to do the work and the equipment they have at their disposal. For example, trees often take longer to remove than other types of vegetation. Also, companies that have to rent their equipment from third parties will likely require more time to complete. Land clearing requires many different types of equipment including front-end loaders, excavators, bucket trucks, mulchers, skid steer loaders, and tractors. A company that is well-equipped with the right vehicles and equipment should be able to clear one acre in two to four hours.
If you’re looking to have land cleared as quickly and efficiently as possible, it’s best to work with an experienced contractor.
Choosing The Right Company For Your Land Clearing Project
If a company does a poor job clearing the land, construction results can be disastrous. Clearing land isn’t a DIY project or a job that is best left for to an inexperienced contractor. You must make sure to work with the very best land clearing contractors to ensure the best results. Choosing a good land clearing company isn’t always easy. Here are some things to look for when selecting the best company to clear your land.
- Experience – Choose a contractor that has been working on Central Florida land for a long time. Experienced contractors should have many positive online reviews and be able to offer testimonials from satisfied customers. They should also be able to perform the work quickly and efficiently.
- Customer Service – Delays in the land clearing process can disrupt other parts of the homebuilding process. You want a contractor who will do the work when they say they will do the work. Customer service is key.
- Licensed And Insured – Clearing land is dangerous work, so make sure your contractor is fully-insured. Otherwise, you may be responsible for an accident that happens on your property. Also make sure your contractor is licensed to do business in the state of Florida.
- Price – Price is always an important consideration, but when it comes to clearing land, it shouldn’t be the only factor. The cheapest contractor is usually not the best. Preparing land for development is an area where you want to sacrifice quality to cut costs.
If you need land cleared in Central Florida, don’t wade through dozens of potential contractors. Choose CFB Outdoors to do the job. We’ve been clearing land in Central Florida for decades. We work with landowners and homebuilders to get the job done right. Our team will visit your property and conduct an initial assessment, and then we’ll provide an initial quote and estimated timeline. We’re highly flexible and can adapt to your construction schedule when needed.
