Foundation and Basement Excavation
A cleared lot needs a pad and footers or a basement next, and we dig them without moving the machine off the lot. See our foundation and basement excavation services.
View Foundation & Basement Excavation
Land Clearing
Lot Clearing in Knoxville, TN
Closed on a wooded lot and the builder wants a start date? We clear the house site, drive and septic area, pull every stump under anything you build, and leave the ground ready for footers.
Google ReviewsLot clearing is the first real work on a new home. Superior Land Management is a Knoxville land clearing and excavation company based in north Knox County, and our lot clearing services cover the whole sequence: picking the trees worth saving, clearing the footprint, driveway, septic area and yard, pulling stumps, grubbing, debris, silt fence and rough grade. It is one part of our land clearing services, aimed at a lot your builder can start on with no surprises underground. Owner Chandler Humphrey runs the machine himself, and the same crew can keep going straight into the house pad and footers. Call or text (865) 412-7121 to set up a walk of your lot.
Signs It's Time for Lot Clearing
Clearing a lot for a house gets harder the longer it waits. Privet and sweetgum fill every opening, and work that fit a dry stretch slides into a wet East Tennessee spring, when red clay won't hold a tracked machine and your builder's schedule slips with it.
- You just closed on a lot, or are about to, and need a real clearing number before committing to a house plan.
- Your builder is ready to stake the house, or the septic evaluator can't get a machine in for test pits.
- You can't walk the lot well enough to picture the house and drive.
- Old stumps from a past timber cut sit right where the house belongs.
- Leaning or dead trees hang over the spot you plan to build.
- You want a ridge view opened without losing shade trees near the house.
What Our Lot Clearing Includes
Lot clearing means removing trees, stumps, roots and brush from the parts of a residential lot that will hold a house, driveway, septic system and yard, while protecting the trees you choose to keep.
- 01
Marking the Trees You Keep
Before a machine starts, Chandler walks the lot with you and your plot plan. We flag keeper trees with ribbon and mark a protection zone around each, roughly to the drip line, because roots crushed by tracks or buried under fill can kill a healthy oak two summers later. Trees right at the footprint usually can't be saved, and we say so up front.
- 02
Clearing the House Site, Drive and Septic Area
We clear the house footprint plus working room for the foundation crew, the driveway corridor, the septic area shown on your permit, and the yard. On the drain field we keep heavy tracks off the soil where we can, since compacted ground can fail a field. Trees come down with an excavator and get sorted for mulch, burn or haul-off.
- 03
Stumps Out, Roots Grubbed
Under anything you build, stumps come out with the root ball, not ground off at the surface. Buried wood rots, the soil above settles, and you get a cracked slab or a sunken drive. Then we grub: the excavator rakes out remaining roots and organic layer so your pad sits on mineral soil. Stump holes are backfilled and compacted in lifts.
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Debris, Silt Fence and Rough Grade
Debris is mulched and spread, burned in permit season, or hauled off. Silt fence goes in on the low side before ground is opened. We stockpile topsoil for your yard and rough grade so water drains away from the future house. You don't need to be home; we need gate access and a heads-up about pets or livestock.
The Lot Problems We See Most in East Tennessee
Clearing land to build a house here means working with these conditions.
Red clay that turns to grease
Knox County clay holds water and pumps under a tracked machine after rain. We schedule pulling and grading for dry spells and keep traffic to one path so the pad area doesn't get rutted.
Sinkholes and shallow rock
This is karst country. Knox County has 1,663 mapped sinkholes on topographic maps, and limestone ledges sit shallow on many ridges. When a stump pull opens a void or hits rock, we stop and tell you. Rock that must come out for footers moves into our foundation and basement excavation work as its own line.
Steep lots and runoff
Bare clay on a hillside lot washes into the road in the first storm. Knox County requires a land disturbance permit for disturbance over one acre, or under one acre with 5 feet or more of cut or fill or more than 10,000 square feet of planned impervious surface. Smaller lots file a Small Lot EPSC plan instead.
Septic comes before the house plan
A Tennessee septic system needs an SSDS construction permit from TDEC before it can be installed. The approved field location decides where the house goes. Utility lines follow later through our
View Trenching
Before and After: Lot Clearing Projects
Why Knoxville Lot Owners Choose Superior Land Management
Judge a lot clearing company by what it leaves underground.
The Owner Runs the Machine
Chandler Humphrey has run Superior Land Management since 2021 and sits in the excavator seat on your lot. With a four-person crew, the person who walked the lot with you decides which root ball comes out. You can meet Chandler and the crew before you hire us.
You See Every Line of the Quote
Itemized, line-by-line quotes put clearing, stumps, grubbing, debris, silt fence and grading each on their own line, so you can compare bids fairly.
We Come Back If Anything's Wrong
We return if anything's wrong with our work. Chandler would rather spend an extra day getting grade right, and in five years no customer has called back about a problem.
Clearing to Footers, One Crew
Clearing to footers, one crew: we clear the lot, build the house pad and dig the footers, working with an engineer who marks the footers. No gap between contractors and no finger-pointing over a stump in the pad.
How Our Lot Clearing Works
Walk the Lot With Chandler
Chandler meets you on the lot with your plot plan or survey. Together you mark the footprint, driveway route, septic area and keeper trees. You get a written, itemized quote. Estimates are free.
Locates, Permits and Silt Fence
We call in a TN811 locate (three working days' notice), because stumps near the road can sit on water or power lines. We confirm your erosion paperwork and set silt fence on the downhill side. Keeper-tree zones get marked so no machine crosses them.
Cut, Pull and Grub
Chandler takes the trees down with a Cat excavator and sorts the wood. Stumps under the house, drive and slab come out with the root ball, then the area is grubbed to mineral soil. A rented dozer, if needed, is its own quote line.
Handle the Debris and Rough Grade
Brush is mulched, burned in season, or hauled off per your quote. Stump holes are compacted in lifts, topsoil is stockpiled, and the house area is rough graded to shed water.
Final Walkthrough and Hand-Off to the Pad
You and Chandler walk the cleared lot and check every flagged tree, the footprint and the drainage. You get an itemized invoice that matches the quote line by line, plus site photos. If we're building your pad and footers, the machines keep working.
How Much Does Lot Clearing Cost in Knoxville?
Lot clearing cost depends on what's standing and what you're building, so we price after walking the lot. Our machine time runs about $2,000 per day for forestry mulching and $1,500 per day for dirt work. Recent jobs have landed at $8,000 and up, and a lot carried through pad, footers and septic can run around $30,000. We're rarely the cheapest number, but we leave no stumps under your slab.
What Changes the Price
- Tree size and density, and stumps under the footprint and drive
- Slope and how much cut or fill the grade needs
- Debris plan: mulch, burn or haul-off
- Access and driveway corridor length
- Rock, sinkholes or wet clay found under stumps
- Erosion control the county requires
Quoted Separately
- Pad, footers and basements through our foundation excavation work
- Driveway stone, fabric and culverts through driveway excavation
- Utility line trenches through utility trenching
- Septic tank and field installation, rock hammering and permit fees
Estimates are free. We take cash, check or Venmo.
Often Paired With Lot Clearing
Driveway Excavation
The cleared corridor becomes your construction entrance, and concrete trucks need a firm base: subgrade, fabric, crusher run and culverts. Read about our gravel driveway excavation.
View Driveway ExcavationTrenching
Water, power and sewer lines go in after clearing and before final grade. Read about our trenching for water, electric and sewer lines.
View TrenchingLot Clearing Across Knoxville and East Tennessee
We work out of north Knox County, within about 50 miles, across Knox, Loudon, Sevier, Jefferson, Grainger and Hamblen counties. Corryton is a short run east, and Knoxville lots from Fountain City to Hardin Valley are reached by I-75, I-640 and Pellissippi Parkway. Need house lot clearing in Lenoir City? We take I-40/I-75 west to Exit 81. Sevierville is I-40 East to Exit 407 or Chapman Highway; Jefferson City is out US-11E through Strawberry Plains.
Blaine is up US-11W (Rutledge Pike), and Morristown is farther out the same road or via I-81 and US-25E. Everywhere, hillside clay needs silt fence first and limestone can show up under any stump. To talk through a lot, call (865) 412-7121.
Based in Knoxville, TNService-area business, about 50 miles around Knoxville. Pins open each area page.
View us on GoogleLot Clearing FAQ
What is the cost to clear a lot for building?
It depends on trees, stumps, slope, debris and access, so we quote after walking the lot. Recent jobs have run $8,000 and up; a lot carried through pad, footers and septic has been around $30,000. Quotes are itemized, line by line, and estimates are free.
How long does lot clearing take?
A typical wooded home lot takes a few working days once permits and locates are in place. Wet weather adds time, because we won't rut clay your pad will sit on.
Do you remove stumps or just grind them?
When clearing a lot for a house, stumps under the footprint, drive and slab come out with the root ball, because ground-down stumps rot and settle. In yard areas, grinding or mulching can be fine and costs less.
Can you save the trees I want to keep?
Yes. Chandler flags each keeper with you and marks a root protection zone machines stay out of. Trees at the foundation line usually can't be saved.
Do I need a permit to clear my lot?
In unincorporated Knox County, lots under one acre with less than 5 feet of cut or fill usually need a Small Lot EPSC plan, and larger disturbances need a land disturbance permit. Burning debris between October 15 and May 15 requires a free permit from the Tennessee Division of Forestry.
Do I need to be there while you work?
No. We need gate access, your plot plan, and a heads-up about pets, livestock or an old well or cistern. We'll keep you posted and schedule the final walkthrough when you can be there.
What happens if something's wrong after you finish?
We return if anything's wrong with our work. If a filled spot settles or drainage misbehaves, call us.
What should I look for in a lot clearing company?
With us, the owner runs the equipment, quotes are itemized, line by line, and you get clearing to footers, one crew. On jobs of $25,000 or more, ask for a Tennessee contractor license number and check it on verify.tn.gov.
Still have a question about lot clearing? Call (865) 412-7121.
Let's Get Your Lot Ready for the Builder
Book a lot walk with Chandler and get an itemized plan from clearing to pad. Call or text (865) 412-7121, or contact Superior Land Management online.
Open 24/7, including storm cleanup and emergencies
