Professional Land Clearing in Harris County, TX: Houston, Katy and Cypress Lots, Pads and Pond Sites
Harris County is tallow country. South of FM 1960 your lot is Chinese tallow, yaupon and privet on gumbo clay that holds water a week after a rain. North of it, scattered pine on better ground. We clear both. A skid steer mulcher runs $3,000 a day with transport and takes a half-acre tallow lot in one day. I've cleared lots from Crosby to Katy since 2018. Call (713) 587-6978 or send three photos of your place. Janine will have a number back to you by tomorrow.
COUNTY FIELD GUIDE
Professional Land Clearing Services in Harris County, TX: Site Prep and Dirt Work Services
Services planned around Harris County soil, brush, and access.
Five kinds of land clearing, one yard, one sketchbook. A land clearing service removes what stands between you and a buildable lot, and here that is mostly brush under 8 inches. Our crews do this in Houston, TX and the surrounding areas:
- Forestry mulching and brush clearing, $3,000 a day for the skid steer.
- Lot clearing and site clearing for new homes, priced by the acre.
- Tree clearing and tree removal, stumps ground or left as you choose.
- Stump grinding with carbide teeth; one tallow lot and I flip them.
- Dirt work services: rough grading, site prep, light excavation for a pond or ditch.
Residential and commercial land clearing projects get the same pencil sketch first, and the sketch and the invoice are on the page when we finish. I do not pour concrete, install septic or demolish houses. I know people who do.
Land clearing
Brush, timber, stumps, and a clear route to the next job.
See the work ↗02 / FORESTRY MULCHINGForestry mulching
Grind brush in place. Keep the soil covered.
See the work ↗03 / LOT CLEARINGLot clearing
Open the ground for a home, shop, or building pad.
See the work ↗04 / STUMP GRINDINGStump grinding
The tree is gone. Finish the job below ground.
See the work ↗Residential Land Clearing and Lot Clearing for New Homes in Houston, Katy and Cypress
Harris County pulled 16,940 single-family permits in 2025 by the Census Building Permits Survey, and most of those lots were under two acres. That is residential land clearing: a half-acre of tallow behind a Cypress cul-de-sac, a woodland acre off FM 2920 near Tomball, TX. Small residential lots are tight on access, so the skid steer goes through a 10-foot gate and the fence stays. The Katy half-acre in my Field Sketches, tallow and yaupon for a custom build, was one day, one machine, $3,000, and I sketched it before the first cut. For site clearing before a pad we mulch, then rough the pad in 6 inches above base flood elevation and leave the fill to the builder. By the second afternoon you see the lot line in open daylight.
Forestry Mulching Services and Brush Clearing in Harris County: Mulch Stays, No Burn Piles
Forestry mulching is the right tool for nine of ten Harris County lots. The head grinds trees and brush into a mulch layer two to four inches deep and leaves it on your ground. No burn piles: open burning is not allowed inside Houston, and TCEQ rules and county burn bans cover the rest. Our mulching services take undergrowth, privet and tallow of any age. Clearing brush along a fence row needs a corridor 8 feet wide. Underbrushing a wooded acre, keeping the oaks and removing vegetation below them, is one day on the skid steer. Tallow doesn't die. It waits. Its roots run 3 feet down and sprout from every cut, so we grind it to the dirt and you mow the sprouts before they overgrow the mulch. It is the cheapest way to reclaim overgrown land in this county.
Land Clearing Cost in Harris County, Same Price Sheet as Conroe and Montgomery County
Numbers first. The lot decides the final price.
Light brush runs $1,500 to $2,000 an acre in Harris County. Medium growth, meaning yaupon, tallow thickets and small pine, runs $2,500 to $3,500. Dense timber or a clear-cut with haul-off starts at $4,000 an acre. Those are the numbers for clearing land here; site conditions move them one way only.
- Skid steer mulcher: $3,000 a day, transport included, anything under 8 inches.
- Big mulcher: $4,000 a day plus transport, 11 feet wide, anything.
- Stump grinding: $150 to $400 per stump by diameter.
- Haul-off: $600 to $1,200 a load. Mulching means none.
- Minimum trip: $1,200 to $1,500, one machine, one short day.
Wet ground adds a day, and gumbo clay stays wet from November into March because its particles pack too tight for water to pass. Tallow thickets add a day. The Crosby storm job in my sketches, 1.5 acres of downed hackberry and tallow after a May storm, mulched on site for $3,200 with no haul-off. Call (713) 587-6978 with the address so I can check the ground before I quote.
Skid steer mulcher
Per day. Transport included. Trees under 8 inches.
Dedicated mulcher
Per day. Transport is additional. Large timber and dense ground.
Changes the day
Access, moisture, and what must leave the lot change the real number.
Expert Land Clearing on Harris County Acreage: Terrain, Soil and Vegetation on Clay and Sand
Harris County has its own mix of chinese tallow, yaupon, privet, hackberry, scattered pine north of fm 1960. We walk the plan through access, soil, and drainage. If a mapped floodplain or waterway is involved, we check the required approvals before dirt moves.
Gumbo clay is the fact of life south of FM 1960. It drains slow, holds a dozer track for a month, and grows Chinese tallow faster than anything in Texas. Your lot in Houston, Pasadena or Katy is tallow, yaupon, privet and hackberry. North of FM 1960, through Spring and Tomball toward Conroe, the ground turns to sand and your acreage is loblolly pine with hardwood underneath. Pine and hardwood mulch differently: pine shreds fine, hackberry leaves chunkier wood that takes two seasons to break down. Tallow lots overgrow in two growing seasons if nobody mows. We remove unwanted vegetation and leave the mulch to hold the clay against erosion. Walk your lot after a rain and note the soft spots. They decide the schedule.
The growth decides what can be mulched and what needs more than one pass.
Wet ground and access change the number before work starts.
Janine checks the route and schedule for each address.
The point Hollis checks first
gumbo clay; slow drainage; Harris County Flood Control District jurisdiction, floodplain development permit required in mapped floodplain. A clean lot is no use if water gets trapped against the next building pad. Tell us if the ground stays wet after a rain.
Harris County Land Clearing Rules for Property Owners: HCFCD Floodplain, MUD Fill Rules and HOAs
In the FEMA mapped floodplain, Harris County requires a floodplain development permit before dirt moves. Harris County Engineering issues it in the unincorporated county, and the Harris County Flood Control District owns the channels your ditch drains into. I spent 19 years on HCFCD detention-pond jobs, so I read those maps before I quote. Outside the floodplain, property owners clearing their own land usually need no permit. Inside Houston, protected trees on commercial development sites fall under the City's tree ordinance. MUDs in Cypress and Katy set drainage rules on fill, and HOAs in master-planned communities like Bridgeland set tree and setback rules for new builds. Property development with a pond means excavation, grading and a drainage plan from an engineer, not from me. Pull your FEMA panel and HOA covenants before you call.
Our Land Clearing Service Area: Areas We Serve in Harris County
Our equipment yard is in Hockley. Send the address and Janine will confirm the route.
Houston, Katy, Cypress, Spring, Tomball, Humble, Crosby and Huffman, plus the unincorporated pockets between them. Our yard is in Hockley, so Cypress and Tomball along Highway 290 are the shortest haul; Crosby and Huffman on the San Jacinto River are an hour on the Grand Parkway. The same crews work north of the county line. Land clearing in Montgomery County's pine sand runs off this same price sheet, and across Montgomery County the per-acre numbers hold; the machine changes, not the number. Conroe and Magnolia, near Lake Conroe off I-45, are an hour from the yard. North Houston lots straddle both counties. Our land clearing service area ends at the lines of seven counties in Texas.
Ready to Clear Your Harris County Lot? Selective Clearing, Fence Line Work and Pond Sites
Send three photos of your place and the address, or call (713) 587-6978. Janine will have a number back to you by tomorrow, usually within the hour on weekdays. Over two acres or in the floodplain, I come out and walk the property with you. The on-site visit and the free quote cost nothing inside Greater Houston, and our crews are insured. Get an estimate before the next rain closes the ground. I don't sell comprehensive land clearing solutions. I clear tallow and hand you a sketch. The lot doesn't transform. It gets cleared, and you see the back fence.
Tell Janine about your lot.
The address. The growth. Three honest photos.
Design preview. This form does not send or store information until a backend is connected.
Harris County Land Clearing Questions: Land Clearing Projects, Commercial Land Clearing and Cleanup
If your question is about wet ground, Janine will ask me.
How much does land clearing cost per acre in Harris County?
$1,500 to $2,000 an acre for light brush, $2,500 to $3,500 for tallow and yaupon thickets, $4,000 and up for timber with haul-off. Most Harris County residential jobs are under two acres, so the day rate governs: $3,000 for the skid steer, $4,000 plus transport for the big mulcher.
Who do I call to clear a wooded lot in Houston?
Call a land clearing service, not a landscaper, once the brush is over head high. A homeowner with a half-acre woodland lot needs a mulching head, not a chainsaw crew. Expert land clearing is equipment and expertise in one cab: the equipment to handle 8-inch tallow safely and efficiently, and a foreman who read the FEMA panel first.
Do I need a permit to clear land in Harris County?
Not outside the mapped floodplain, on your own land, for brush. Inside the floodplain you need a floodplain development permit from Harris County Engineering before dirt moves. Agricultural land outside city limits has the fewest rules; a commercial site inside Houston has the most because of the tree ordinance.
Can you do selective clearing and keep my trees?
Yes. Selective clearing is most of our work north of FM 1960: underbrush out, oaks and pines kept. The mulcher head works around a trunk with a foot to spare if the operator feathers the drum speed. I mark keepers with orange paint and the crew clears to the paint.
How long does site prep take, and how do I get a number?
One day for clearing a half-acre, one more for site preparation if you want a rough pad graded. Storm cleanup, downed trees and branches after a Gulf squall, is usually one day with mulching on site. Call (713) 587-6978 or send three photos. Our experience and equipment are the same on every job; the dirt decides the days.