Land and Lot Clearing in Charlottesville, VA
Land and lot clearing in Charlottesville rarely means a flat, easy acre. Most wooded lots around the city sit on a slope, under mature oak and tulip poplar, with rock a couple of feet down. Griffith Excavating clears those lots for homeowners and small builders, and our lot clearing work is built around keeping the hillside in place once the trees are gone.
We come over from Mineral on Route 22 and Route 250 and work all over Albemarle County: Keswick, Earlysville, Free Union, North Garden. If you searched lot clearing near me and found mostly tree services, the difference is that we also handle the excavating that comes after.
Clearing Steep Charlottesville Lots Without Losing the Hillside
Charlottesville and Albemarle both regulate steep ground. The city's critical slopes rules cover land at 25 percent grade or steeper, and the county has its own steep slopes overlay. If your lot has ground like that, plan on a review before clearing and expect conditions on how the work gets done.
On the ground, land and lot clearing in Charlottesville means working in stages, leaving roots in the bank until we're ready to grade, and getting silt fence up before the first hard rain. Hardwood stumps here are big, and the rock under them makes them stubborn. We follow clearing with grading that holds the slope.
Lot Clearing Services Around Charlottesville and Albemarle
Hardwood Lot Clearing for Albemarle Homesites
Mature oak, hickory and poplar mean big trunks and big root balls. We fell, cut and haul or chip, then pull stumps with the excavator. Logs worth keeping get stacked for firewood. The house site ends up open to daylight and ready for basement excavation.
Clearing Driveway Corridors Up Charlottesville Hillsides
Long gravel drives climbing to a ridge-top house are common around here. The corridor has to be cleared wide enough for ditches on both sides, or the first storm cuts a gully straight down the middle. We clear it, shape the ditches and can build the driveway itself.
Brush and Land Clearing on Overgrown Keswick Acreage
Former horse pasture gone to autumn olive and briars is a regular job east of town toward Keswick. Brush and land clearing on that kind of ground is mostly mulching. It's quick, and the mulch helps hold soil on the slope while grass comes in. If an old run-in shed is in the way, our demolition service takes it down.
Erosion Control and Drainage After Clearing in Charlottesville
Bare slopes move. We set silt fence where it's required, stabilize disturbed ground and, where runoff now heads for the house, put in trench drains or other drainage before you seed.
Why Charlottesville Homeowners Hire a Family Excavating Crew
Griffith Excavating has been family owned since Dwayne Griffith started it in 2004. There's no call center between you and the people running the machines, and that matters on a hillside job where decisions get made on the spot.
We answer every call we can and return messages by the end of the day. Bring any license or insurance questions to the walkthrough, and you'll have a free estimate before anything starts.
One Crew From Clearing to Grading on Your Charlottesville Lot
One crew clears, pulls stumps, sets erosion control and grades, so nothing sits half done waiting for the next contractor while the slope washes. That is the main reason to hire land clearing contractors who also excavate.
Debris leaves the site or gets mulched in place. Stump holes get filled and compacted. The ground is shaped for whatever comes next.
Albemarle Communities Where We Clear Land
We clear land in Charlottesville and across Albemarle County, including Crozet, Earlysville, Keswick, Free Union and North Garden, and back east to Louisa.
Charlottesville Land Clearing Service Map
Charlottesville Land and Lot Clearing FAQs
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Often, yes. The City of Charlottesville regulates critical slopes of 25 percent or more, and Albemarle County has its own steep slopes overlay. Check your parcel with the city or county before trees come down. We clear to whatever conditions the approval sets.
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Price depends on tree size, stump count, slope, rock, how far debris has to go and how much grading follows. Our land clearing services are priced by the job after we walk the lot, and the estimate is free.
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Yes. We flag the trees you want to keep before any cutting starts and keep equipment off their root zones. Mature oaks are worth protecting, and they are a big part of why people buy wooded lots out here.
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On ground that will be built on, we dig them out with an excavator, because ground-down stumps leave roots that rot and settle under footings and driveways. Grinding can make sense in a lawn area you are keeping.
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Logs can be cut and stacked for firewood or hauled off with the rest of the debris. Brush is chipped or mulched. Nothing gets left in piles at the edge of the woods unless you want it there.
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We keep our work within about 50 miles of Mineral, and Charlottesville and most of Albemarle fall inside that. If you're searching land clearing near me from a farther corner of the county, call and we'll tell you whether we can take it.
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Not if the work is staged right. We clear in sections, get silt fence in place, grade promptly and leave ground ready to seed or mulch, so bare soil is exposed for as short a time as possible.
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Yes. We do residential lot clearing for owner-builders and for contractors. Give us the site plan and we'll clear to it, pull the stumps and leave the pad ready for your next step.
Schedule Land and Lot Clearing in Charlottesville
Call (540) 717-5979, Monday through Saturday, 7am to 6pm, or request an estimate online. You can also meet the Griffith family before we come out. We'll walk your Charlottesville lot, look at the slope and the trees, and tell you what it takes.