Where we live, work, and play in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, land is expensive. There is no other way to put it. Land clearing and reclamation is probably the fastest growing part of our business. Blackberries, brush, saplings and hardy weeds dominate Fraser Valley land and properties, if not properly maintained. They thrive in our climate!
Having more than a cookie cutter city lot, row home or a condo is a desired option for a lot of Fraser Valley residents. Whether you live in Maple Ridge, Mission, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Agassiz or Hope, you likely know someone that sold their home closer to Vancouver, and used that money to purchase a property in the Valley with some land.
I’ve heard it over and over again. “We have all this land, but we can’t use it for anything”.
When the time comes to sell your home, having potential buyers being able to walk the property and dream about its potential will yield a much greater return than when the prospective buyer is looking at half an acre of 12ft. high blackberries, saplings and brush.
Where to start…
One of the most common comments we encounter is “we’re overwhelmed”, or “we don’t even know where to start”.
There is a solution for every problem. Following are a few suggestions on how to deal with problems affecting your land.
We’ve had many clients call us soon after they’ve spent a few days clearing blackberries, saplings and hardy weeds by hand, defeated. Trust us, for anything but a 20’x20’ patch; this is NOT the way to go.
Compact equipment along with the proper attachments and a skilled operator will be able to do the job for you. Quite honestly, the cost of a contractor with the right tools for the job is very reasonable, given the production rate. Although just about all rental yards will rent you an excavator or a skid steer, most do not rent the necessary attachments to do the job right. There are a few reasons for that. Good quality attachments are expensive and without an experienced operator they can be damaged within minutes. As well, they’re quite dangerous to use. The equipment they’re mounted to should be modified to ensure safe operation.
Common equipment and attachments used in the Fraser Valley to cut or remove blackberries, brush, saplings, and hardy weeds:
There are a few things to take into consideration when choosing the right equipment for the job.
Skid steers and compact excavators are the most commonly used pieces of compact equipment for these types of jobs. Whether you’re dealing with a residential, small scale commercial or a farm site, they’ll get the job done.
Although track skid steers have a much higher operational cost per hour in comparison to their wheeled counterparts, they are the primary choice in the Fraser Valley. Much better flotation, better traction and less rutting are the primary reasons. They are great for clearing flat (ish), non-swampy pieces of land, with limited amounts of trees and stumps to navigate. They have a fantastic production rate because of their speed.
The most common attachments used by skid steers to manage land are brush cutters or brush mowers as some like to call them, and grapples The process is pretty simple, cut it down with a brush cutter to smaller pieces and if you want to clean It up, use a grapple to pile it or load it out. You can also just leave it on the ground as “mulch” which will de-compose over time.
Brush cutters for skid steers come in many shapes, sizes and levels of quality and productivity. They’re hydraulically driven. The purchase price can be anywhere between $2,500.00 for an off shore unit that will cut 1” material to $12,000.00 for a robust unit that will cut material to 6”. Consequently when you’re hiring a brush cutting contractor, ask about the unit and what it’s rated for. We run a high flow mower that will do 6” material. A high flow machine will chew through the brush faster, consequently giving you better value for the dollar.
If a grapple bucket is required to pick up and move the cut brush, the type or brand is not as important. Our hydraulic grapple bucket has 2 clams and approx. 1.5” spacing between the tines. The benefit of having this type of spacing is that the mulched material won’t fall through, but the majority of the dirt will.
There are 2 main types of mowers on the market that are used by excavator carriers to mow brush, blackberries, grasses, branches and weeds; a flail type and a rotary type. They both have pros and cons. Although skid steer brush cutters are much faster, they’re limited as to the terrain they’re able to access. This is where excavators excel. Because they’re able to reach up and out, working around bodies of water, ditches, hill sides, back sides of fences etc. they’re the right tool for the job. They’re also much better for overhead clearing. They’re much slower than a skid steer, but due to the typical Fraser Valley terrain, they tend to be more applicable than skid steers.
Another excellent tool for the job that uses an excavator as the carrier is a clearing rake. Using a clearing rake, ideally a custom made one where the tines are 4” apart or less, allows for the tines to penetrate the ground and actually snag and remove the roots. This prevents future growth. However it’s a pretty slow process. To reclaim your land and allow it to become a natural, user friendly extension of your home or business, it’s the best tool for the job. Using our custom made clearing rake, we’re able to remove between 80 to 95% of root systems in most cases.
Brush cutters on the other hand, make the land walkable and usable for certain applications, for the short term. They do not prevent future growth. However, once the heavy lifting (removals) are completed, many home owner type implements can be utilized with ease for the long term upkeep. Cutting or mowing will provide you with a good starting point. The up keep will be much more manageable and make your property much more presentable and eye pleasing.