Land Clearing Cost in Lumberton, NC

What does land clearing cost around Lumberton? Anywhere from a few hundred dollars an acre for light brush to several thousand for a wooded house lot. Acreage seldom settles the price. The bigger factors are what's growing, whether stumps come out, how wet the ground is, whether the land sits in a flood zone, how far the machine has to travel, and where the debris goes. Here are the published figures with their dates, including regional contractors' rates, what pushes a Robeson County job up or down, and how to compare quotes.

Published price ranges

Each figure below comes from the named source, with its date. Regional figures are listed first; the rest are national. We found no Lumberton or Robeson County clearing contractor that publishes prices. The nearest are Knock'Em Down Solutions, a Fayetteville-area mulcher that lists Lumberton in its service area, and Ward Excavation in Whiteville, which also works in Robeson County. Nothing here is a quote for your land.

What pushes a Robeson County job up or down

• Tree size and density. It matters most, anywhere. An old field grown up in young pine and sweetgum is a day's work for a mulcher; a mature pine and hardwood stand is a whole different job.
• Mulch or grub. Pulling stumps and roots (clearing a house site) costs far more than leaving them in the ground (mulching).
• Wet ground. In bays, bottomland, and low flats, machines move slower, need mats, lose weather days, and may wait out the wet season.
• Flood zones. Fill, elevation, and a floodplain permit add cost to a pad in the flood hazard area. More on flood zones.
• Debris. Mulching leaves it on site. Hauling means trucking to the county landfill near St. Pauls at $30 a ton for yard waste. On a big rural tract, burning under permit can be practical; in a neighborhood, the 500-foot setback usually rules it out. More on burning.
• Travel and minimums. Rural addresses far from a contractor's yard cost more to reach, and most contractors charge a minimum. A small job can cost nearly what a job twice its size does.
• Permits and erosion control. The county zoning permit is $150, doubled if work starts first. Above an acre, the state erosion plan is $119 per disturbed acre. Silt fence and quick ground cover cost real money as well.
• Timber value. On bigger tracts, selling merchantable pine or hardwood can cover part of the bill. Get at least three bids and a written timber sale agreement, as the NC Forest Service advises.

Per acre, per day, or per hour?

You'll get prices in all three forms. A per-acre number makes quotes simple to stack up, yet it's only as good as the contractor's estimate of the density. Pay by the day for a machine and operator, and any surprise is yours: a bay that's wetter than it looked, or a thicket that's thicker, adds a day. Billing by the hour suits a small or uncertain job best, though it's the toughest to plan around. Whichever you get, have each contractor tell you the number of machine days they're counting on, and list in writing everything the price includes.

What a written quote should spell out

• The clearing area, staked or drawn on a map, plus what's excluded: keeper trees, the septic drainfield and repair area, the river buffer, wetlands.
• Which method goes where: mulching, cutting and grubbing, root raking, or a combination.
• The stump plan (leave them, grind flush, grind below grade, or dig out) and who fills the holes.
• Where the debris goes: mulched, windrowed, hauled (to where?), or burned (under which permit?).
• Whether you or the contractor keeps the logs and firewood, and any credit for timber.
• Which extras are included and which aren't: grading, the pad, the drive, seeding, erosion controls.
• How many days the job should take, what extra days cost, what happens on wet days, and who repairs ruts.
• Who files the NC 811 notice, and who takes care of the zoning permit, the erosion plan, and any floodplain permit.
• The contractor's North Carolina license number if the job is $40,000 or more, and a certificate of insurance no matter the size. More on hiring.

Ways to bring the cost down

• Grub just the footprint, and mulch everything else.
• Wait for dry ground. Clearing in the wet season means paying for mats, ruts, and rain days.
• Get to cutover early, before the regrowth fills it in.
• On larger tracts, sell merchantable timber first, under a written contract.
• Hang on to the firewood, and don't pay to pull stumps where nothing will be built or plowed.
• Ask a neighbor down the road if they need work too, and split the machine's travel.

Cost questions

How much does it cost to clear an acre around Lumberton?

Ward Excavation's published figures are the nearest ones: $1,500 to $4,500 an acre for most residential clearing, and more for heavy hardwood bottoms with full haul-off. Light growth that can be mulched usually costs less. Only a contractor who has walked your acre can give you the real number.

Is there a minimum charge?

Almost always. One example: Knock'Em Down publishes a six-hour minimum on its hourly rate.

Is it cheaper to pay by the day?

It can be on a big job you can keep a machine busy on all day. On a small or uncertain job, hourly or per-acre pricing keeps you from paying for idle time.

Why are two quotes so far apart?

Usually because they're pricing different work. One quote grubs and hauls everything; the other mulches and leaves the stumps in the ground. Go through them line by line.

How we help

The ranges above can't price your land; a site visit can. Call or send a short request with where the property is, about how many acres, and the work you want done. We'll send it to one independent contractor who covers your part of Robeson County. They walk the land, put a quote in writing, and leave the hiring decision to you. There's nothing to pay for the referral.

Related pages

• Forestry mulching
• Clearing a house site
• Clearing for a mobile home
• Hiring a clearing contractor in Robeson County