Service
Lot & Land Clearing
Building an addition, adding a driveway, or putting a home on a wooded lot? Your builder needs open, workable ground, not a stand of pines and a tangle of underbrush. We clear it, grind it, and haul it so the next crew starts clean.
What lot clearing includes
Clearing a lot is a bigger, more coordinated job than dropping a single tree, and it starts with a plan. We walk the property with you, and often your builder, to mark the building envelope, the access, and any trees worth keeping. From there the crew removes the trees and heavy brush, grinds the stumps so the ground can be graded, and hauls the wood and debris off site. The result is a lot that reads as ready ground instead of forest.
Selective clearing is usually the smart play. Mature specimen trees add real value and shade, so keeping the right ones while opening up the build area is common. When we do keep trees, we protect them during the work rather than beating them up with equipment. The goal is a clean site that still has the character that made the lot worth building on.
Common reasons homeowners clear
- New construction on a wooded lot, where the building footprint and driveway need to come out of the trees.
- Additions and outbuildings, which need a cleared, gradeable area behind or beside an existing home.
- Overgrown back acreage reclaimed for a yard, garden, pasture, or just to push the tree line back from the house.
- Firebreaks and defensible space, thinning dense, dead-heavy stands away from structures.
Permits and the north-metro reality
This is where a lot of DIY clearing goes wrong. In a metro this heavily wooded, cities take their trees seriously. The City of Marietta, Sandy Springs, and most north-metro jurisdictions regulate tree removal and land disturbance, and clearing a lot for construction typically triggers permits, a tree survey, and sometimes required replacement plantings or a land-disturbance permit tied to the grading plan. Clear first and ask questions later, and you can end up with fines and replanting orders.
We know these local rules and handle the tree-side permitting so your project stays on the right side of the ordinance. Combined with Georgia's red clay, which holds water and moves under equipment, getting the clearing and grading sequence right from the start saves real money down the line.
Honest price range
Lot clearing is priced by the job, since a quarter-acre building envelope and a multi-acre parcel are very different animals. Small residential clearing often starts in the low thousands and scales with acreage, tree density, slope, and haul-off volume. We give a firm on-site estimate after walking the property, always free.
Lot clearing questions
Usually, yes. Most north-metro cities regulate tree removal and land disturbance, and clearing a lot for construction often requires permits, a tree survey, and sometimes replacement plantings or a land-disturbance permit tied to your building plans. We know the local rules and coordinate the tree-side permitting.
Absolutely, and often you should. Keeping mature specimen trees for shade and property value while clearing the building envelope is common. We walk the lot with you and your builder, flag what stays, and protect those trees during the clearing work.
We chip the brush and haul off the wood and debris so your builder walks onto clean ground. On larger acreage we can discuss on-site chipping or grinding to reduce haul-off volume. Either way, the site is left ready for the next crew.
Have a lot that needs opening up?
Get a free on-site walk and estimate. Bring your builder, we will work with the plan.