Land Clearing & Lot Prep in Cincinnati, OH

Land clearing and lot prep take raw or overgrown ground and turn it into something you can build on, farm or mow. That means removing brush, trees and stumps, dealing with the debris, stripping topsoil, and grading a pad, driveway path or yard. Around Cincinnati, a lot of land outside the older neighborhoods is wooded: in Green Township, about 38 percent of the land was still forested as of 1990, and roughly half of Colerain Township remained woodland.

Clearing methods

Light brush and small trees can be cleared with a forestry mulcher, which grinds material in place and leaves a mulch layer that protects the soil. Larger trees are cut and removed, and stumps are ground or pulled. HomeGuide lists light clearing at $1,200 to $2,500 per acre, moderate at $2,500 to $4,500 and heavy at $4,500 to $8,000, with forestry mulching at $500 to $1,000 or more per acre.

Clearing on slopes

Tree roots hold hillside soil. Stripping a steep wooded slope bare can start erosion or slides in Cincinnati's colluvium. On slopes we clear selectively, leave root systems in place where a building will not go, mulch rather than strip, and get erosion control down immediately.

Prepping a building site

For a new home, garage, pole barn or addition, clearing is followed by stripping and stockpiling topsoil, cutting and filling to a pad grade, and compacting the pad. HomeGuide puts grading after clearing for a small, mostly level home site at $2,000 to $5,000. We also cut driveway paths and lay a stone base so trucks can reach the site.

What to do with the debris

Mulch can stay on site to protect soil, logs can be cut for firewood, and the rest is hauled. Many townships restrict open burning, so we plan disposal before we start.