I’ve gotten some widely differing instruction on this, so i thought i would run it by the good people of breaktime. I have a 1/2 acre lot that i will be building on. I am in the process of clearing the lot to get it ready for the excavation subcontractor.
Only about 1/3rd needs still to be cleared. One person recommended taking down all the trees and brush with a chain saw then using a skid steer to lift and or pull the stumps out. Another says that the bobcat wont be able to take out the larger stumps that are about 12″ to 16″. Yet another person at the rental place says the bobcat will not be usefull in taking out the top layer of ground which needs to be done to get rid of the small stumps and roots from the brush.
A friend of mine who is somewhat knowledgable with this looked over the lot with me, and suggested; use the chainsaw to take down everything that needs to go, pile up the small stuff at the front of the lot and mulch it with a chiping machine, rent a bulldozer to push move the tree trunks to the back of the lot (to be chopped up into fire wood later)which others have done, and then use the bulldozer to doze off the top layer of ground thereby taking up all that was left of the brush and stumps. This seems to make the most sense. I’ve already done a bit of work with the chain saw, leaving about 3′ high stumps in the event the need to be pulled.
Thanks
David P.
The picture shows pretty much all the big stuff. As you can see much was already done by the developer. There is also a cleared area in the back of the lot, that was done by the developer aswell.
Edited 4/3/2004 3:50 pm ET by dperfe
Replies
Excavator
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Piffin, that has to be a new personal record. <G>
You got everything the guy needed to know into one word. Even for a Mainer, that's got to re-define laconic.
DRC
well hey, a guy with 13,000+ posts to his name has to get right to the point
having cleared 3 sights myself- hire it done- do yer own painting or housecleaning or have a raffle...
sell lemonade out front-
set up a guess your weight booth-
throw momma from the train-
anything that brings in a dollar will be worth subbing that job out...
An Excavator is to site work what the Ronco is to food preparation, right?
naw, that wasn't very accurate. I didn't mean to insult all the excavators out there
;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Hopefully the mental image (emphasis on "mental") I have right now will wear off before Monday morning.
"It slices, it dices, how's that for a clever cleaver?"
Geez, thanks. ;)
DRC
I'm sorry, It just wasn't in me to stop at only one word, no matter how good it was.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Excavator with forestry grapple. Brush it, stump it, clear all the stuff to one side. Switch to a 36-inch bucket and strip it, then dig.
View Image
I thought you said you are doing this stuff in preparation for the excavator. What' s he got, a crew of pickup labor and shovels? C'mon!
Edited 4/3/2004 10:42 pm ET by Bob Dylan
The girls can have diamonds.
As far as I'm concerned, hydraulics are a man's best friend.
Okay...I admit...I like diamonds, too...if they're on a stone cutting blade or a grinding disc.
"As far as I'm concerned, hydraulics are a man's best friend. "
Roger that. I think it may cause my neighbors a certain amount of consternation that I occasionally clean my yard with track equipment, but hey, it's better than not cleaning it at all, right? <G>
DRC
Is that why the Greaseman used to talk about "manly haydraulics?"
Maybe he still does. I don't even know if he's on the air anymore.
If there's an excavator on-site, see if you can get a "Brontosaurus" attachment. No idea of cost but truly amazing results.
Now there is a tool I like. Here, when clearing, the excavator brings a forestry grapple, and can knock down and uproot most anything. But, a crew member needs to be on the ground with a chainsaw to separate the stump from the log. This thing in the pic seems to put everything in the hands of the man in the cab.
Skip all the fancy attachments and rent a big trackhoe yourself. There's nothing more fun than a giant shovel and a 1/3 acre sandbox!
PS. Just don't forget where you buried your stumps ;->
Pretty cool huh? I first heard of one of these when a large (15 acres) wetland we designed was to be built in the middle of undeveloped land. The contractor brought in one of these to clear the more heavily wooded areas (they used something like a D8 in the less wooded areas). Apparently the operator starts up top and this thing just grinds the tree into nothing right to the ground. The website for these attachments said it had a self-contained 55 hp engine.
4 out of 5 BTers surveyed say "excavator".
I had a much more densely forested acre to clear for my ocean views. I was thinking four months of weekends and I'd have it done. My excavator guy wanted $600 to clear, stack the nice stuff, toss the bad stuff and move a little dirt around.
No brainer.David Thomas Overlooking Cook Inlet in Kenai, Alaska
4 out of 5 BTers surveyed say "excavator".
and the other guy called it a track hoe.
Ground cut the brush and trees with a chainsaw.
Section the tree trunks and large branches into manageable lengths.
Use a chipper to dispose of al the small stuff.
I prefer to not frag logs through dirt, for two reasons. If you don'e bet around to sectioning the logs for a while, the dirt embedded in the bark and in the pile of stored logs can speed decomposition and cause the logs to get punky. Also, when you do cut them into firewood lengths, the embedded dirt will dull your chain quite fast. I use a hatchet to chop the bark/dirt off so the chain hits clean wood underneath the bark.
When the excavator shows up, have him move the large trunks to an out of the way spot on the lot. Or you can use a TLB.
Use the excavator to pop the stumps. Sure, an excavator might cost more per hour, but guess how much faster he's going to go. Plus, if you're going to bury the stumps, he can dig a deep enough hole. If you do decide to pop the stumps with an excavator or even a backhoe, cut the stump flush with the ground. Especially if you;re going to bury them.
Then the topsoil can be dozed into piles, and the excavator can dig the foundation hole.
It takes a long time to grow a tree, and nice trees are $$. If there are any you think you might want to save, mark them and make a no-drive zone around them so the roots don't get compacted. Down the road if the tree has to be dropped, you can still do it.
Rated #1 by the associated writers of Breaktime :
excavator
Tim Mooney
dont chainsaw the trees, track hoe with thumb. knock tree over load up with stump, haul off.
Ah , thats an excavator isnt it ? Same difference anyway.
Tim Mooney
In my region we cut the large trees and use a skidder or excevator with a thumb to move logs to a pick up area. Don't push them through the mud with a dozer, put a choker around one end and lift. Small brush is either chipped or burned. No one uses anything other than an excevator to pull stumps and peel off the top soil. I find it easier to sell the logs and use the money to buy cut and split firewood! The top soil is useless unless screened, some do it on site but most haul it off and bring back screened loam when needed. There can be environmental and code issues with stock pilling such materials on site, silt fencing is almost always required. Trying to save money on site work always has its cost. My wife and I cleared our lot, cutting large trees into 4' lengths and carrying them to a pile by hand. We piled the brush in the clearing and burned it, with a permit of course. When it came to stumpin' and strippin' we gladly paid the Hitachi owner.
No bad advice anywhere in this thread -- I'll add a few things to consider;
Mongo is of course right about keeping the wood clean, especially if you plan to cut it up with a chainsaw. Likewise only more so if you plan to chip any of it -- rocks and dirt are a bad thing.
You don't say where you are of what the soil type is, that will make a difference. Regardless of the soil or type of trees, I seriously doubt if a skid steer of any color will have the stones to pull the stumps I see in your future. And as much as enjoy chainsaws, it really is an awful lot of work for the result.
The chorus of responses telling you to hire someone with an excavator are directing you in what I also believe is the fastest, most economical, least labor-intensive direction. Judging by the photos, you'll need a pretty good sized machine. I get about $105 an hour for a machine like that, but I'd find it hard to think I couldn't be in and out in a day. We're talking trees taken down and stacked, stumps out, lot cleaned, and you're ready to go.
A good operator on a suitably-sized machine with a thumb can do amazing things.
Something nobody has mentioned so far that you might look into is a grinder. It's the same idea as a chipper, but it eats everything, stumps and all. It is normally fed by (you guessed it) the excavator. This might be a little expensive for a job this small, but it might be worth it. Judging by the look of that lot you have a big pile of material to deal with somehow.
In the best of all possible worlds, what would you want the site to look like at the end of the day?
DRC
I have just performed what you are about to do. Here is what I decided on and glad I did. By the way my lot (28 acres) resembled yours, some trees, and 30 years of brush growth, saplings 1" to 3-4". First thing I did was mark the trees I wanted to save. Next I had my buddy come in with his bobcat with the teeth (brush) attachment to remove the brush. Rather than chip all this brush up, I had him use all the brush he removed to make me a hedge row between me and my neighbors which doubled as cover for rabbits and such.
It is an important step to use this type of machine attachment or bulldozer with similar style as you have to remove all the root base. If you don't, you will be looking at new growth again very soon. The reason I did not choose a dozer with a conventional blade was that there would have been a tremendous waste/loss of good topsoil mixed in with the brush. I then cut down the trees that I did not want to keep cut them into lengths and cut my cost down as they were bartered to my buddy for some of the work. He loaded them into his dump truck with his bobcat. Finally I had him come in with his dozer to remove stumps and do a final grade. Now instead of building a house, it looks so good that I am thing about replacing it with a golf putting green. My cost: Bobcat work, clear out a 50 yd x 50 yd brush/tree area, install a used 20 ft x 18" culvert pipe at road, bulldozer work, and bring in three loads of bank run at $60 a truck load, (alot cheaper than crusher run). The pit was a mile down the road. He ended up charging me an unbelievable $420 plus the firewood. I am not saying you might get that kind of deal but there are many guys out there willing to give you a good deal when their equipment is sitting idle....I use to when I had mine...Good Luck Tom
When you say "One person recommended taking down all the trees..." I sure hope you only meant the ones in the way of the house... nothign makes me crazier than seeing a lot clear cut for no good reason other than lack of effort to mark what is worth keeping.
Most of the lots in our area similar like yours. The majority of the lots being cleared are done by the same excavator that is doing the foundation. They have the excavator, backhoe, shredder, dump truck, etc. They will burn or haul it away. By the time you rent the equiptment and pay the in/out charge, the cost runs about the same as hiring a pro to do the complete job, and his labor comes with the equiptment. All you do is point. Can't get hurt from watching
When I lived in SoCal, to rent a tractor and have it delivered, it cost around $65hr. The local guy charged $65hr, including his equiptment.
Who is digging the foundation? what kind of machine does he have? for a little extra scratch he'll be happy to uproot your stumps.
Do what you can, leave the rest for the heavy iron.
Thanks for all the good info peoples. Ok, here's the plan, opinnions/feedback are welcome. I will ground cut all the smaller stuff, and leave a 3ft stump on the bigger trees. Trees will be chopped into smaller manageble pieces, and will be pushed/carried along with the brush to the back of the lot with a rented skid steer. As I mentioned before, the lot is 1/2 acre but only 1/3rd acre or slightly more then 1/2 the lot needs still to be cleared. The developer cleared large portions in the front and rear of the lot for utilities. With that in mind, about 75% of the middle section will be pit for the foundation so the foundation excavator will remove those stumps plus the few that surround the hole. The excavator will also remove the top soil. I will rent a chipper for the brush and use to make a mulch pile on the rear of the lot. With the large tree sectons i am also considering contacting some people who sell firewood and offering it for free if they simply come and get it. If i do find someone willing to take it, i wont rent the skid steer. I'll just leave it in place and have them come get it.
David P.
Edited 4/7/2004 11:24 am ET by dperfe
If an excavator is going to pop the stumps, it's usually more managable if the stump is cut flush with the ground.
That extra 3' length of trunk you plan on leaving on the stump will add volume to the debris pile and increase your carting fees, or require a much larger hole if they're to be buried.
Just an idea...
its better not to cut the tree but let the track hoe push the tree over stump and all, then cut for firewood. If you cut, he will have to dig the stump other wise he can lean the tree over
What kind of trees are those big ones?
I'm thinking they have extraordinary shape and perhaps have considerabel value in retention.
Can your clearing plan be modified to keep as many as the job and your future usage plans allow? Trees that big take a while to get that size and will not get that same shape due to the competing foliage be removed, depending on the species.
The big one's are maples. You're right there are some very nice trees in there that i will try to keep. I'm trying to get a hold of my excavator sub to figure out what's more economical for me to do and in what condition he needs the land and trees.
David
Maples? There's people in this world that would give their firstborn for maples like that.
Now I'm no tree hugger, but the nice straight shape of those maples lead me to think in 10 to 20 years, one of those would be turned into lumber for your first grandchild's crib that you're going to make.
20 years after that, another will be your great grandchild's crib.
Having cleared a chunk of the lot really shows how nice some of these trees are. Unfortunately the big one on the right is definately comming down. I examined the trunk of it, and even if it weren't in the way it would most likely be gonner because it's very infested with bugs. Some of the lower branches are already dead.
Is there any need to keep some or all of the chipped trees and shrubs? I've got the land 90% down and am considering just having a tree service come in with a chipper and truck and just hauling it all away.
It has become clear, as some of the earlier posts mentioned, the dIY approach to clearing may end up costing me just as much. It seems there's really no getting around renting atleast 2 pieces of pricey machinery. If the truck & chipper idea doesn't save me some money, I'll just have the excavator guy come in and finish preping the site.
Thanks,
David P.
It would be cheaper yet to have the tree service come chip the stuff and not haul it away. Three advantages that come to mind are reduced erosion, less mud tracked onto the street and into the house during construction, and additional organic material in the soil will be good for whatever landscaping you eventually install.
Laying wood chips inside trees existing drip lines will protect the roots from soil compaction damage.
ANDYSZ2I MAY DISAGREE WITH WHAT YOUR SAYING BUT I WILL DEFEND TO THE DEATH YOUR RIGHT TO SAY IT.
Remodeler/Punchout
What are drip lines?
those things on the floor in front of urinals.
It is where the edge of the canopy ends overhead and it helps determine where the root system below is.
ANDYSZ2I MAY DISAGREE WITH WHAT YOUR SAYING BUT I WILL DEFEND TO THE DEATH YOUR RIGHT TO SAY IT.
Remodeler/Punchout
A landscaping guy i had look at the lot last night is telling me not to bother hauling the chippings away. He said just chip it all and leave it there. He also said it will help with all the excess water on the lot. So unless someone strongly disagrees that's what ill do.
-DP
Probably different where you are, but here the issue with that would be why feed the termites?
-- J.S.