Lot clearing in New Jersey

When you need this

• You are preparing a lot for a house, addition, garage, pool or driveway.
• A back lot has gone to brush and overgrowth.
• You want sunlight, sight lines or space for solar.

What happens

1. Someone walks the lot with you and marks what stays and what goes. Mark the boundary lines too, so clearing stops at your property.
2. The company checks access for heavy equipment and plans where trees will fall or be lowered.
3. Crews cut the trees, then brush and smaller growth is cleared, often with machines.
4. Wood is chipped, hauled or milled, depending on the agreement. Stumps are ground, pulled or left. Get this in writing, since it changes the price a lot.

What affects the quote

• Acreage and how dense the trees are. One guide we read prices clearing by the acre rather than per tree.
• Whether stumps are ground, pulled or left, and whether the wood is chipped, hauled or milled.
• Slope, wet ground and access for heavy equipment.
• Permits and approvals, which can add time and fees before any cutting starts.

We set no prices. For published national cost ranges and where they come from, see the pricing guide. A real price needs someone to look at the job.

Questions to ask the company

• Do I need a town permit, a soil erosion plan or planning board approval before clearing?
• What happens to the wood and the stumps, and is it in the price?
• Who is responsible for replacement trees or fees the town requires?
• How will you keep equipment off the neighbor's side and protect the trees that stay?

We are a referral site, not the tree company, so we cannot answer these for the company that calls you. Ask them.

Permits

Large clearing is where town tree rules most often come into play, and a project may also need other approvals such as soil erosion or planning board review. Wetlands and stream buffers have separate state rules. Check your town page and call the town before any work starts.

Choose your town to see its permit note.

Other services

• Tree removal
• Tree trimming and pruning
• Stump grinding
• Emergency storm tree work