PIERCE
LAND
CLEARING
Ten thousand acres and counting, from one acre homesites to a 1,200 acre solar site that took ten machines and 242 days. Every job below has a written up page with photographs and a day count, and every rate we charge is published rather than quoted on the phone and revised later.
One machine grinds standing brush and small trees where they stand and leaves the material as a mulch layer. Nothing hauled, nothing burned, no truck fleet. It is how most of the acreage on this site was cleared. See forestry mulching.
Roots out, not just tops off. Required where a slab, a road bed or a tank is going in, and required on mesquite, which resprouts from the crown no matter how clean the top looks. Dozer or excavator work, quoted as its own line. See grubbing.
Cedar out, oaks left standing. The operator steers rather than drives, so it is slower per acre and there is less material to grind. It is the work owners most often say afterwards they are gladdest they paid for, and it is not reversible if you get it wrong.
Everything off and the ground shaped: cut and fill, grading, pads, drainage and access. See excavation and site prep.
| What is growing on it | Typical cost per acre | Typical machine |
|---|---|---|
| Light brush and understory, stems under 4 in | $1,300 to $2,000 | Skid steer or dedicated mulcher |
| Mixed cedar, mesquite and small trees, 4 to 8 in | $1,600 to $2,700 | Dedicated mulcher |
| Heavy cedar thickets and larger stems, 8 in and up | $2,700 to $4,000 | Dedicated mulcher |
Marginal per acre rates, and they only hold once a job is big enough to spread a machine day across. A single acre does not cost one acre of money, it costs a day. Full detail and real job numbers on the cost page.
Every card opens a full write up with acreage, machines and a day count. This is the part most clearing companies do not have.
West of I-35 the topsoil runs a few inches over rock and the problem is cedar. Ashe juniper does not resprout from a cut stump, so once the stem is off that tree is finished, but the seed already in the soil comes back as a carpet. Where ledge sits shallow across a whole tract, rock milling beats a hammer.
Waxahachie down through Temple and east of Austin. Shrink swell clay that moves inches between a wet spring and a dry August, so pads get built up in compacted lifts rather than cut into the native and drainage away from the slab is not optional.
Bastrop, Elgin, Lexington, Giddings, Smithville. Sand that drains almost too well, so the problem is not standing water but a cut shoulder sloughing and a drive rutting under a loaded truck. Yaupon under post oak is the usual understory.
West and north, from Brady to Weatherford. Mesquite resprouts from the crown below the soil line, which is why mulching alone buys a few seasons rather than a fix. On mesquite ground worth doing properly the crown has to come out.
Quote first, walk after you approve it. That order exists so you are not paying for a site visit before you know whether the number works.
Acreage, what is growing on it, and what you want standing when we leave. A photograph of the worst part is worth more than a paragraph. Most quotes come back the same day.
Machine days and machine type, with clearing, grubbing and dirt work as separate lines because they are different machines. Nothing on it is an allowance we revisit later.
After you approve the estimate we walk it with you. What stays, where the gates and water are, where the spoil goes. None of this happens before you have approved the number.
You get told when we start and when we finish. We walk the finished ground with you before the trailers load, and we tell you honestly what to expect in year two.
Pasture back into production, cedar out from under the oaks, fence lines you can see along. See pasture reclamation.
One acre to twenty, cleared for a build with the trees worth keeping still standing. See residential lot clearing.
Phased sites cleared against a release date, then graded to a pad. See developers.
Right of way, corridors and utility scale acreage on a written spec. See commercial clearing.
Had a 4 acre job with hundreds of trees and underbrush. Probably been 50 years since this property was touched. Called and scheduled Pierce Land Clearing and from start to finish was satisfied. Communication was great.
Chase Gibson, Google review
Never easy to write a big check, but well worth it. After two days they completely transformed a ten acre holly-choked mess into an open and inviting forest. Taylor bid the job and recommended the larger dozer-sized forestry mulcher.
Geoffrey Mitchell, Google review
Great family owned business. Booked months out, they showed up on time, worked a full day. Cannot ask for more.
Drew L, Google review
Preston and all the folks at Pierce were absolutely great to work with. The job was done on schedule and as quoted, and done well. Price was very fair as well. Highly recommend Pierce Land Clearing.
David Madeksho, Google review
Between roughly $1,300 and $4,000 per acre depending on what is growing on it, and that range only holds once a job is big enough to spread a machine day across. We price in machine days: a high horsepower mulcher is $4,000 per day plus transport, a skid steer mulcher is $3,000 per day with transport included, and dozer or excavator work is $3,000 per day plus transport. One day minimum on every machine.
A high horsepower mulcher covers about three acres of mixed growth in a day. Light understory runs higher and a heavy cedar thicket with eight inch stems can run under an acre. Stem count and stem size drive the day count far more than acreage does, which is why we quote in days rather than acres.
Mulching grinds the growth at ground level and leaves the roots. Grubbing takes the root balls out with a dozer or excavator. If a slab, a road bed or a tank is going in, or if the growth is mesquite, the roots have to come out. Otherwise mulching is usually cheaper and better for the soil.
Depends on species. Cedar does not resprout from a cut stump but returns from seed already in the soil, so expect seedlings rather than regrowth. Mesquite does resprout from the crown. Yaupon comes back from the base. Budget a maintenance pass in year two or three rather than a second full clearing in six years.
On rural land you own, generally no, and agricultural work is exempt from most regulation in Texas. Inside city limits, clearing tied to a build usually runs through the normal permitting process, and some municipalities have tree ordinances. Check with your city or county before you clear inside a city limit, and ask us if you are not sure which you are in.
On mulching jobs it is ground in place and stays on the ground as a mulch layer. Nothing hauled off, nothing burned, no load counts and no disposal fee. On grubbing jobs the root balls and spoil are dealt with on site rather than trucked away at your expense unless you want otherwise.
Yes, and it is a large share of what we do. An operator steers a mulcher, so heritage oaks and motte edges survive while the cedar between them comes out. Mark them or walk the ground with us. Our default is to take less and let you tell us to go further, because the opposite is not reversible.
More than 10,000 documented acres. The largest single job on this site is 1,200 acres at Rosebud with ten machines over 242 days. Every project page carries photographs, acreage, the machines used and the day count, which is worth asking any contractor for before you sign.
Statewide. Documented jobs run from Brownsville to Weatherford and out to Brady, Tilden and Rosebud, with the Austin metro and Central Texas the bulk of the work. Mobilization is a written line on the quote reflecting the distance. See every area we serve.
Send the acreage, what is growing on it and a photo of the worst of it. You get back a day count, the machine we would bring and a written number, usually the same day. Call 512-400-2693.
