Question on land clearing (mineral rights, rental, how much)

[daniellefort]

Any idea on what it would cost to grade a driveway about 1060' which right now is mostly open flat grassy field with about 100' of ridge to cut through? We got 1 estimate that was in the 5 digit range which to me seemed like a lot of money. That was clearing, putting a drain field in and crushed rock. Anyone have their own drive put in that could give me some round about estimates?

[Shenandoah]

I'm not in TN, don't know what it would cost there, but my husband does that type of work for a living here in SW PA. The 5 digit number region sounds about right. Also, the 100' of ridge to cut thru, could also drive up the cost - how hard is the rock, and how many hours to cut thru. I'll ask my hubby, Lou, what that would cost here.

No matter what, get a written contract.

blessings, Shen

[daniellefort]

Originally Posted by shenandoah

I'm not in TN, don't know what it would cost there, but my husband does that type of work for a living here in SW PA. The 5 digit number region sounds about right. Also, the 100' of ridge to cut thru, could also drive up the cost - how hard is the rock, and how many hours to cut thru. I'll ask my hubby, Lou, what that would cost here.

No matter what, get a written contract.

blessings, Shen

Thanks, appreciate it.

[Shenandoah]

Too many variables for an accurate estimate, including how much the rock is down there, how long is the drainage, drainage going crossways or lengthwise, ...

anyways, guesstimate would be in the $20k range.

But, again, that's prices around here in SW PA - get 3 bids total at the least for the job, see what happens, and if the other bids are in the same range, then you know it's a fair price range. Again, when you decide - protect yourself, and get a written contract.

blessings, Shen

[daniellefort]

Ok thank you. That was actually the high end of our estimate range. The problem was not knowing how deep the rock went but then again, we managed to get $5,000 of the price of the land just for that reason though we had to pull teeth to get that. Our only access to the property is over that ridge line.

[alleycat]

What's the ridge like? And do you have an engineer looking at this, or are you just planning it out youself?

I'm asking because I used to do this kind of engineering (I don't anymore). I'm wondering if you've looking into the "cut and fill" aspects of the job.

[Shenandoah]

I hope it works out well for you. My hubby owns a side biz of excavating, used to own the family biz of paving/excavating, installing world championship class tennis courts, etc, but too many ulcers and the receding hairline convinced him to take a break - so, he's working for someone else who is getting the ulcers and tearing out their own hair in frustration.

He'll sell his equipment before we move down there, and will buy new machines there, as hauling them from PA to TN would not be good or fun. It's handy having those machines around, tho. He has his toys, and puts them to good use.

Again, I hope it works out well for you.

blessings, Shen

[daniellefort]

Originally Posted by alleycat

What's the ridge like? And do you have an engineer looking at this, or are you just planning it out youself?

I'm asking because I used to do this kind of engineering (I don't anymore). I'm wondering if you've looking into the "cut and fill" aspects of the job.

well our driveway is 50' wide for 1060' long to the top. the ridge goes across the whole 50' in 2 separate lines. one above the other. So far we just had an excavator give us his estimate. We were on our last day there so we weren't able to do much more. what is the cut and fill aspect? the man said he'd need to go down 6" through the rock under the ground in order to make the driveway. the rocks came above the ground about 1 - 2' in places.

[SPLIT]

D. . Good luck with your opportunity. Think there is more info needed to really make a business decision. Does the extra material / fill need to be trucked OFF - SITE ? My neighbor worked SIX days 10 hours / day to re-level his back yard, keep filling Two dump trucks and moving down street. Lot more Labor than pushing to side of your drive.
You mentioned "Our last day", did you get a quote like Rush job or 1st priority. I would ask a few neighbors to recommend a friend.
Also the ROCKS or MINERALS are a hot topic now in East Tenn. Very big business to resell now, and remove or Farm from land , even state land when co's purchased the Mineral Rights. Do you need to reuse your rocks, or can they be re-sold?
Can the excavator do your work, during his Slow Season or between jobs.??

[daniellefort]

Originally Posted by SPLIT

D. . Good luck with your opportunity. Think there is more info needed to really make a business decision. Does the extra material / fill need to be trucked OFF - SITE ? My neighbor worked SIX days 10 hours / day to re-level his back yard, keep filling Two dump trucks and moving down street. Lot more Labor than pushing to side of your drive.
You mentioned "Our last day", did you get a quote like Rush job or 1st priority. I would ask a few neighbors to recommend a friend.
Also the ROCKS or MINERALS are a hot topic now in East Tenn. Very big business to resell now, and remove or Farm from land , even state land when co's purchased the Mineral Rights. Do you need to reuse your rocks, or can they be re-sold?
Can the excavator do your work, during his Slow Season or between jobs.??

We would use the fill to level off the top of the hill for the home and also use the rocks for landscaping. It was our last day in the area and we just happened to come across a rental store in town that rents small equipment and he recommended someone who did this type of work and when we called, he happened to be in the area going to another job site and came by our place to give us an estimate. Obviously, we'll get more estimates next time we are there. We weren't looking for a rush job either. We're not moving for quite some time.