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Lot Clearing in Washtenaw County, Michigan
Building lots and farm splits cleared to a chip layer, the trees you flag left standing, ready for the surveyor and the builder.
A lot in Washtenaw County is usually one of a handful of things: a wooded building lot in Dexter or Chelsea, a split off a farm parcel near Saline or Manchester, a lot on the river or a lake around Whitmore Lake, or a parcel somebody has held for years and is finally selling. They share one problem. Between the road and the building site sits an understory of honeysuckle, buckthorn and grapevine that has been closing in for a long time, and neither a surveyor nor a buyer can see the real lot.
We open the lot with a high-flow tracked skid steer and a FECON mulching head. Brush and saplings are ground into a chip layer in place, the trees you flag stay, and the lot is ready for stakes the same day. The new home site and lot clearing page lays out the whole job, the guide to clearing a lot for a new house walks through what to clear and what to keep, and the forestry mulching in Washtenaw County page covers larger acreage in the county.
Most Washtenaw County lots are 40 to 70 minutes from the shop in Royal Oak. The lot and the drive are covered by one written project price, quoted from photos and the plot plan. Send the address and the plot plan through the quote form, or call. Calls are answered 8 AM to 8 PM, seven days a week, and every form and text gets a reply within one business day.
What we clear
- The house site and the room the builder needs to work around it.
- The driveway line from the road to the house, wide enough for delivery trucks.
- The septic area, left as an open chip surface for the installer.
- Honeysuckle and buckthorn under the trees you are keeping, so the lot reads as woods instead of a thicket.
- Road frontage and the sightline at the driveway approach.
- Brush down the slope toward a river or lake, with the shade trees and the bank left in place.
What you get
- Every tree you flag still standing, with the woods outside the working lines untouched.
- A chip layer the builder can stake, grade and drive on, with no stump field.
- A lot that is open the same day, with no brush pile waiting at the road.
- One written price covering the clearing and the travel.
Where Lot Clearing Comes Up in Washtenaw County
The kinds of lots people in this county call us about.
Wooded building lots around Dexter, Chelsea and Lima
Hilly oak lots in the lake country are opened for the house, the drive and the septic area, with the big oaks and the woods edge kept. The builder gets a lot that can be walked and staked. New home site clearing →
Splits off farm parcels near Saline and Manchester
A split usually arrives with a hedgerow on one side and a woodlot corner on the other. We open the building area and the drive, take the hedgerow back to the line, and leave the field around it as it is. Site preparation →
River and lake lots at Dexter, Chelsea and Whitmore Lake
Brush comes down toward the water while the bank and the shade trees stay. We walk the slope with you first, since where the machine goes depends on the grade. Lakefront clearing →
Backyards and side lots in Ann Arbor and Saline
A side lot or a teardown lot that has gone to honeysuckle and grapevine is a short job for the tracked machine. We come in by the access you show us in photos, and the mulching vs excavator clearing guide explains why a mulcher opens a tight lot with less mess than digging it out. Vacant lot cleanup →
How the Job Goes
Send the address and plot plan
Photos from the road, the plot plan if there is one, and the builder's contact if you want us to coordinate. That prices most lots.
Mark the working lines
On site we agree on the house, drive and septic lines with you, and every tree that stays is marked before the head starts.
Open the lot, then stake it
The mulcher clears inside the lines to a chip layer, and the surveyor sets stakes on open ground.
The excavator finishes the footprint
When the foundation is dug, the builder's excavator lifts out whatever stumps sit under the house, as part of the dig.
When to do it
Clear the lot ahead of the stakes, in any season. Frozen ground suits wet lots and river-bottom corners, and a lot opened in late winter is ready for a spring dig. If you have a closing or a dig date, send it and we work back from it.
How it is priced
By the project, from photos or a walk-through and the plot plan: how dense the growth is, how many lines are being cleared, the grade, and how the machine gets in. You get one written price with the travel included, and the pricing guide explains what moves it.
The Ground This Work Happens On
Ground like this is where Washtenaw County lots start.
Lot Clearing by Township in Washtenaw County
Each page covers the local ground and the jobs that come up there.
Lot Clearing Questions We Hear in Washtenaw County
Can I keep the oaks and clear only what the builder needs?
Yes, and that is how most wooded lots here go. We mark the working lines with you, clear inside them and leave the trees outside standing. Honeysuckle and buckthorn under the keepers can come out too, so the lot looks like open woods.
What does the builder need from the lot before the dig?
The footprint open, the drive line open and the septic area clear, with the stakes set on open ground. Stumps under the footprint are left for the builder's excavator, which lifts them out as part of the dig.
How do you handle a lot with neighbors close on both sides?
The tracked machine works in a narrow lane and everything is ground in place, so no dump trailer crosses the neighborhood. We mark the property lines with you first so the clearing stops where yours does.
What does a split from a farm parcel usually need?
The building area, the drive from the road and the edge where a hedgerow or woodlot meets the field. We take those to a chip layer and hand the surveyor open ground, and the field itself stays as it is.
What does the lot look like the day you leave?
A chip layer over the cleared ground, the trees you flagged still standing, and no piles, stumps or ruts in the area you are keeping. The surveyor can stake it and the builder can drive on it.
Related services
Ready to Open Up Your Washtenaw County Lot?
Use the quote form for the address and a few photos or the plot plan, or call. The price is one written number for the clearing and the drive of 40 to 70 minutes from Royal Oak.