Buying vs. Hiring

USAFpj · Nov 3, 2014

I was born in Myrtle Beach when my Dad was stationed there in the early 70's as a weapons mechanic. Our entire family have always lived near Greenville, though. I just recently retired after 21 years, joining in 93.

Thanks to my Dad and Grandparents for having the vision back in the 50's and 70's to accumulate land; I would never be able to afford the taxes, much less the land, if it hadn't been for them.

I will definitely keep you guys abreast of my plans here in the short future!

mddorange · Nov 3, 2014

My son was born at Shaw AFB, Sumter, SC, in 1974. I worked with several people from Myrtle Beach back then. We would go TDY together. Wonder if I knew your Father?

tjkadar · Nov 5, 2014

I still live near Shaw AFB.

PJ - get a Timber guy to cruise your land. He will be able to determine the value of your trees and advise you on options. He will work for a percentage of the harvest, but he will also be able to get you top dollar. It might turn out that you can do a selective harvest, or perhaps clearcut a few acres to offset the land clearing costs. It might be worth harvesting 5 to 20 acres at the home site.

A good Timber guy will know what crews in your area do the best jobs with the least amount of impact on your property.

With a heavily wooded site, you're going to get a better, quicker, faster clearing with a trackhoe and dozer more than with a backhoe. A decent sized trackhoe can pop stumps in seconds to minutes while you'll be fighting with them for hours on a backhoe. A decent operator can clear you 2 acres in a day or two. If you don't mind wind-rowing or disposing of stumps, limbs, etc. somewhere on your property, you can save some money. Burn piles can also be an option.

Septic system - that will have to be hired out. DHEC requires an installer to be licensed. Additionally, you're going to need a perk test and a permit for your system. That will cost $150. If you really want to do the septic system yourself, you need to pass an exam testing your knowledge of Regulation 61-56 and pay a $100 fee for license to construct.

Think long and hard about a backhoe and what jobs you're looking at doing. A mini-excavator might be a better option.

batwing · Nov 5, 2014

I agree with hiring it out!!
Ron

USAFpj · Nov 5, 2014

After listening to everyone's input, allow me to shift fire a bit to a different topic- "Digging basement foundations for amateurs". The reason I ask is this: The general plan comes down to (2) choices- clear what I can with what I currently have available (Stihl saw, 8N, Case rubber tire FEL, JD Dozer, dumptruck) OR, just hire out the entire project, as around here, the septic guy is also the grading, clearing, basement foundation guy as well! I hear ya on the timber guy- Dad is saying that he would prefer a few more years before we go that route, as he has the land on a rotational schedule.

Everyone has given great advice, and I feel like I have some great info to work with. Your still right in the fact that I need to get my excavation guy out here to give me a quote as well; never know when I have to stop where I'm at, and head back overseas.

dave1949 · Nov 6, 2014

This is a tough call if you may have to leave and go overseas or far enough away you can't get home often. Would you be PCS'ing or just TD?

I wouldn't want to open a foundation hole and have it set idle, it would probably have some erosion that would need to be dug out. I also wouldn't want to pour a foundation and not cover it with a building. That may be different for you if you don't get deep winter frost penetration. Neither of those is a game stopper, just a preference.

Whatever happens, you will lose nothing by getting started on the clearing with what you have now. A chainsaw, tractor and dozer should take you a long ways. You have all the tools now that people had 40-50 years ago and they managed.

USAFpj · Nov 7, 2014

Whatever happens, you will lose nothing by getting started on the clearing with what you have now

The experience, knowledge, and fun that I'll gain will be invaluable! However, to clear a 2 acre portion of 4in-12in hardwood/pines, are you really saving any money in comparison to hiring a guy who will not only correctly clear the area, but do the rough grade, septic, foundation excavation??

dave1949 · Nov 7, 2014

USAFpj said:
The experience, knowledge, and fun that I'll gain will be invaluable! However, to clear a 2 acre portion of 4in-12in hardwood/pines, are you really saving any money in comparison to hiring a guy who will not only correctly clear the area, but do the rough grade, septic, foundation excavation??

Short answer: Yes. You will save money by taking working hours out of the job. "Dirt" contractors (for lack of a better term

) base their fees on how long a job will take along with what materials are going into the job. Anything you do that shortens the job time saves fees as long as what you do isn't creating a mess. :laughing:

Some things you need to decide, and maybe the first thing a contractor will ask you:
1) What will you do with the trees? Firewood. Chip the small stuff on site. Burn. Sell some decent logs. Whatever.
2) What will you do with the stumps? Pick an accessible site on your property for stump dump maybe?
3) Are you leaving any shade trees? The more you leave and the closer together they are, the longer it takes to work around them and some may die anyways from root compaction and exposure.

If you make piles of stumps that the contractor can load into a dump truck using an excavator, that will go fast and save you money. If you can get them loaded into your dump truck and haul them off, that will save even more.

4" - 12" mixed soft and hardwood stumps should not be a big challenge for a bulldozer. You could probably push the larger trees over first then cut the tree off the stump with the chainsaw before you get the trunk all dirty. Dirty logs are saw chain killers, you will be forever sharpening the saw chain.

If tree work is new to you, then start with small stuff and get some practice. Wear ear & eye protection and chaps when cutting and a hardhat all day. Pushing over trees with machines can be very dangerous. There are dead limbs that can fall on you. Trees under stress don't always do what you expect, they can split, shatter and twist in odd ways, pull other trees down, etc. A 12" tree trunk can be made to act like a very powerful and deadly spring if you get one or both ends of it trapped and start pushing on it. If things aren't going smooth and easy you are probably doing something you shouldn't be.

Grading difficulty depends on the site. Mostly you want to manage water run-off directing it away from the house and driveway. Now is the time to plan ahead for any future buildings on the two acre clearing so the basic dirt prep is done for those at the same time.

USAFpj · Apr 6, 2015

Thought I'd give an update on our land clearing job: I've been overseas for a bit, but will have (45)days off real soon. My GC gave a quick estimate for the following: $3,800 for clearing/grading driveway, no gravel, to home site (about 300yds). And $2,450 for clearing trees/brush from the (1) acre home site. The trees are about 25 Virginia Pine and Yellow Poplar, most of which are less than 12in diameter. My Uncle's JD350 crawler with clamshell loader has been offered for just the cost of fuel, and sits about 2min away from my property. I've attached a pic of the property, and I think I'm going to do it! I plan on reaching high, knocking them down, cutting off the stumps, then using the clamshell, piling the logs and stumps separately. I figure worst case, my GC charges the same amount just to fix my mistakes:laughing: