Clearing lots for builders.

SeanKroll

Treehouser
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Location
Olympia, WA
I figure people have some good collective experience with clearing a lot for a builder in a neighborhood.

I've heard builders can be the worst to work for. Surely a mixed bag.

The bid I have is for a guy who says he's been building for 30 years. He's building the homes in the subdivision and needs a big mess made, for his guys to clean up.

He's got a mini-x onsite that he can use to move some stuff, mutually beneficial, but will be mostly just building, not hanging around us. 10 minutes now and again, maybe for mini-x operation.

One maple is broken badly and laying on top/ bending other maples.
One maple is cracked up one leader, but its the smaller of the two-codominants.
There are houses where you see driveways.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/2...9e67abb66f07b!8m2!3d46.9734106!4d-122.8748252

Decent amount of space, with the neighbors having a couple trees right over the property line. Some utilities near the little parking pull-out. Mostly forest trees without development.
I would probably try to rip the big maple top off, but its kind of a CF, and might lodge into other maples too hard to break off. j

I'll post pics later.
 
I worked for a number of builders and always found it a easy go. Usually made off like a bandit it seemed. Easy or no cleanup at times, or spraying the chips around on sight or in a pile, whatever. No raking usually. Wide open lot/spaces. Tear sh-t up ruthlessly with machinery/trucks. What's not to like?
 
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  • #4
I think the problem was getting paid.

I like the above mentioned stuff.


This has street trees and neighbors, but not like over a greenhouse or anything.
The badly cracked maple is the only x factor. I can bang/ pull a number over.
 
I've had mixed results with builders over the years. A few were good about paying quickly and consistently. Most were slow to pay and some never paid at all. Get some references from other contractors who have previously worked for the builder in question.
 
Ugly mess of maple. Fall them selectively from safety perspective, stay on the ground, let the crap hit wherever it must...it's a building lot fer craps sake :).
 
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  • #9
There is a good sized maple on the left, out of view, along with a small and medium cedar.

In the picture, the co-dominant maple has a big crack in the right leader, with the head going toward the neighboring lot (someone's backyard, with a few small trees along the property line, young neighborhood being built). Might have to climb it to strap the leader together then fell from the ground, not a big deal.

Small/ medium conifers in the back.

The cracked maple is bending over the adjacent maple on the right a bit, and the right-most maple is bent a lot. The split is still holding on since a spring storm, but not by much. There's a big hemlock behind it as a high TIP, to come down to the break and either attach the top of the trunk to the bottom of the top (half the leader) with some heavy rope, then notch, back-cut and high pull-point...
or
tie onto the maple top directly and pull it hard, trying to rip it off, and out of the other trunks.
I'm thinking that the weight of the spar would help pull the top free, if the trunk is connected to the top.


A 36" cedar on the right. House to the right, just out of view.




How do you find contractor pricing compared to residential, for the same Crash and Dash?
 
I really enjoy site clearance jobs,its what I have geared my company towards in the recent past.

IF you are uncertain about getting paid,ask for half up front or walk away.

I am on a five week clearance job now,the terms are certain and written down.Paid every two weeks and we do something else untill the money comes through.That way you keep your domestic clients happy and should the company be a bad payer the loss is minimized and you posess a legal doccument with which to persue the payment.
 
Lot clear

I just did one for a builder I have known for a while but contracted with the new home owner to clear the lot and to leave some selected trees. Removed over 100 trees of various sizes. About 3 dozen were pines around 60 to 85 feet tall. We hauled all wood and chip to a dump site 6 miles away and grinded all stumps. Ended up having to go back for 2 days to remove more trees to make room for the driveway and trees that would have trunks bases enveloped by dirtwork. All in all it was nice to be on the same site for a week. Got a $2500 removal job at another residence when another homeowner stopped to observe. Look forward to seeing your after pics.
 
I have never had a bad experience with builders and HO but property managers on the other hand are a different story mostly the apartment complex peeps.
If approached by a builder I also ask for the HO info and try and deal with them directly to try and get a feel for how they want the property to look after the building is complete.
 
Back when the last big real estate / building boom happened here I used to clear lots for the Excavator or Builder , they were too busy for it. Fell everything safely , breakdown and burn all the waste as we went leaving just the logs and stumps for them. Except for one time it always worked out fine. Once in awhile it involved some climb work or push trees w the excavator.
 
I’ve cleared a few sites over the years for builders. Nice work usually, no big cleanup as the diggers are coming in next day.

Done a few at the weekend in the UK to prevent LAs slapping preservation orders on the trees.

Payment can sometimes be an issue, developers are more adept at late payment than tree companies.
 
Got a 23 tree clearance coming up.
All, except one, can be felled.
Easy work.

I've never been stiffed by a builder.

But then, truth be told, I've only ever been stiffed once.
I turned about 30 balusters for a company once, to be used in a store selling , of all things, very expensive JAPANESE jeans.
Being a country boy, I didn't even know the Japs made jeans.
Never got my money.
Wrote the guy several times and tried to call him, but he never answered his phone.
Finally had enough.
Drove to his shop. walked in, grabbed the guy by the lapels, hung him up against a wall and started screaming at him about my money while the 3 guys working for him were looking on.

Turned out, they had just bancrupted.

Talk about a wasted performance!
 
A buddy removed some big trees on a contractors lot so he could start the building process. It turned out they were on a neighbors property next door. Two years of court issues later his tree insurance paid $75,000 in damages to settle.
 
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  • #20
I haven't heard on this builder's project. I did get three large Lombardi poplars to remove before site work for an acquaintance. Mostly, top the top halves, fell the bottoms. Might rent a 12" hydraulic feed, unless I can sell/ give the logs away.

Anyone mill poplar? Any hobby market?
 
Survey first. I won't clear a lot without it and diggers hot line.

Usually if I'm subbing for the builder the survey has been referenced and the needed areas for driveway , cellar hole , and septic / sewer have been accurately flagged by the engineer. View work on the other hand always includes a trip to the Town Clerk , I pull their tax map and survey ... Use my compass and engineer's tape to keep myself out of trouble. People lie when Trees block the view.
 
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  • #24
Started this job today.

Builder has a 310 tacheuchi mini. I dumped some small stuff, and limbed up some trees as much as I conveniently could. He cleared all that stuff out.

I dumped one into the street a bit, he picked it up and stacked it in the pile.

He went to a meeting.

I made a mess with a little help from a laborer.

Put on a show for some kids and parents...wraptoring, APTA to set a line for the mini to try to rip down the broken maple top. Its stuck and harder to see because of foliage. I got up a maple pretty well, and will have a better vantage point tomorrow.
 
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  • #25
Turns out this builder...




Is about the best guy around.
Both he and his wife were trafficked as children in Asia. She runs an adoption non profit for trafficked kids, and had been on Oprah.
He builds houses like their going to be his.
Got a team of quality subs. Some employees.

At the bid, he told me he's only had business cards printed once, 30 years ago.


Short day, school drop off, off to job site, back for school bus drop off.
Random maple pic. Some stuff to scare down below.
IMG_20180518_141144244.jpg IMG_20180518_141139007.jpg

These cedar and fir on the right are striped and topped. Fir untangled from the broken maple mess.
IMG_20180517_112504719.jpg
 
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