Lot &
Right-of-Way Clearing

Clearing a lot is falling, not landscaping. On a 5-acre parcel of Cariboo pine there's a right order to do it in, and getting that order wrong costs you money and daylight.

What we clear

• Building sites: house pads, shop sites, cabin sites, RV pads
• Driveways and access roads: new cuts or widening what's there
• Fence lines and property lines: cleared to a workable width for the fencer
• Utility and right-of-way corridors
• Selective clearing on acreage: keeping the good timber, taking the rest
• Trail and firebreak cutting

Selective vs. clean

Most people who say “clear the lot” mean it until they see it cleared. Standing timber around a house is worth real money in shade, wind break, privacy and resale, and once it's on the ground you can't put it back.

We'll walk it with you first and mark what stays. Usually the answer is: clear the pad and the access, keep a screen along the road, thin the rest to spacing. That gets you a buildable site and a property that still looks like the Cariboo.

If you genuinely want it clean, we'll do that. But we'll ask twice.

Merchantable timber

If there's saw log on your lot, that's worth having a conversation about before it becomes slash. Depending on volume, species and haul distance it can offset a meaningful part of the clearing cost. We'll tell you honestly whether there's enough there to be worth the trouble, often there isn't, and we'll say so.

What happens to the debris

Same rule as every other job, decided in writing before we start. Piled and burned in your window, chipped, hauled, or bucked into firewood. On a full lot clear the debris plan is usually the biggest single line item, so it's worth thinking about early rather than late.

Note: if your lot is in Lac La Hache, 108 Mile Ranch or Lone Butte, the Cariboo Regional District waives tipping fees on vegetative debris. That's a real saving on a clearing job and we pass it straight through.

Before you book

1. Know your property lines. Actually know them, not approximately.
2. Check whether there's a development permit, riparian setback or tree bylaw on your parcel. The District or the CRD will tell you.
3. Call BC 1 Call before anything goes in the ground.
4. Think about your burn window, it drives the debris plan more than anything else.