So you want to clear your land, improve the area and make home your own creation. But clearing land can be a huge job depending on the task ahead of you.
Sizing up the situation will be your first few steps to figuring this out. But to do so, some major things need to be factored in first. And this should be long before you even plan the real work at hand.
But, have no fear, grooming your land can greatly up the value of your land. It is highly worth it and usually not as bad or hard as you may think. It's also a fun project, it can be physical at times but you will sleep well at the end of the day. If you end up needed a crew, it's still fun because you are the sculpture. The possibilities are all up to you.
But because there are some things that will make it hard on you. We narrowed down the top 5 things that are a must know before you get going.
Before you even decide to take on the job, you must inspect the land to see if there’s anything that can make clearing it hard. Such as steep hillsides or big trees. If you do not have the tools, know-how or time, it’s a job you must get experts to help you with. Large trees can be extremely dangerous to do on your own, or even with a group of friends without knowledge, you may end up with a grave situation. I think many of us have seen the youtube videos on that.
Another issues with very large trees is the root system. You can only cut the tree so low. Now you have about 15 feet or so worth of sub and roots to deal with. This takes major machinery and tools to take care of correctly. If this is the case when you walk around your land, at least you know a team will be needed.
If you are dealing with small tiny coverage trees and just general tall bushes. You may have quite an easy time doing things, even on your own.
2. Protected trees - I looked up my family tree and found out I was the sap.
Depending on where you are residing, you need to look into some extremely important things. It is rare, but some places protect very particular trees that have historic value in the county. There was a case on the news about some new home owners in a prestigious area that cut down two trees on their new land. This was the type of place where permits are needed just to walk around, but they went for it anyway. Unfortunate for them, they owed more than a million dollars just for doing that after the fact.
So it's best to talk with the county, but be relaxed, you don't have to spill the beans on your plans right away. Ask about protected trees, even protected areas or anything strange like that you might not know about the area.
3. Soil Erosion - When it Rains it Pours
This issue needs to be looked at as well, you can really ruin your own home, the next home down or have your land slide down a hill eventually. With water erosion, the plants, trees and vegetation are the ones keeping the ground solid, absorbent and without much mud sliding around. So if you clear the wrong area and some heavy rains come. You will see the rain start taking different paths, even taking parts of your land with it. This would mainly want to be looked at for those on hillsides. But every place has some sort of low to high area, even on flat land. You need to make sure that when an unexpected storm comes, mud and water won't end up in your home. But that it has a proper route to drain.
4. Utilities - The Day the Power Died
Unless your ready to deal with taking out the city water pipe, gas line or power. You better figure out what's really under the ground and over the ground on your land. Even if you are not using heavy machinery, a really good shovel dig using your foot for force, can put a hole in a pipe and flood your land. Then half of the county will show up at your door.
For this, you can get records of ground lines from the county. Also tools that can detect items under the ground. But more research needs to go into this before you get going.
5. County Rules - I fought the Law and the Law won
Well, hopefully you don't have to fight the law, but some counties have strict rules for land improvements. Some need to know everything, while others don't care so much unless something bad comes up. For some land improvements, it's not a big deal. Such as cutting down some bushes to make a garden. But when it comes to major things or even digging really deep, you would be hit with quite a fine if they found out. Especially if you hit a water pipe and they had no notification of you doing this.
It's best to at least know, go to your counties building department or call them. They should even have a list about what is required for particular things. If your basic work is missing on there, just call and ask. You don't have to say your doing anything and get on the radar. Just simply ask what is possible and if anything is required to do it.
Some Closure
After going though these things, you should get a good idea of what to expect. When it comes to getting started, you have probably heard the term "Work smarter not harder". Well that just means use machines and proper tools when it comes to clearing your land. Many tools and machines are worth the rental prices because it would take a team of 5 to do something you and a machine can do in no time at all.
TIP: A great spot to find Caterpillar machine rentals near you is by using the CAT website itself because it's verified. They have a separate nation wide rental page just for these types of jobs. Here is the link CAT RENTALS
Wait! Have You Considered Investing in Land
Did You Know You Can Get Land for Zero Down?
We Offer Low Monthly Payments, Rates as Low as 1% and No Credit Checks on LandZero.com.
