Clearing our forested mountain slope and building a driveway in Horsefly, BC - Cariboo Adventure #6

In October 2020, our contractor cleared land and created a driveway and building spot on our Horsefly, BC property. In a matter of days our forested mountain slope turned into accessible raw land, ready to build our cabin in the woods.
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[@ShikokuFoodForest]

Wow, what a difference between the raw land and after clearing, grading and creating the driveway! I was going to ask the approximate cost, but you already answered this. Reasonable price. Did you consider renting a backhoe and doing it yourself? Clearing out all the small trees really opened up your property. I’m a little surprised how much clearing was done; however, I suppose since your land was sloped, it was likely necessary for a stable slope and grading for the driveway. It will be so much brighter. Lots of sun now, I bet.

[@CaribooAdventure]

We felt the clearing was beyond our capabilities. The slope indeed made everything a lot harder. Even now our driveway is pretty steep and made it tricky in winter to drive up. We were happy to leave that part with our contractor! It might look big in the video, but the trees are so tall that there’s actually still not even enough cleared for f.e. solar! But yes, a lot more light than before. :)

[@ShikokuFoodForest]

@@CaribooAdventure The clearing and grading is important to do properly. I probably wouldn’t do it myself without adequate experience operating an excavator and knowing exactly how to ensure slope stability. The daily rate for that work seems quite high ($1000s). Did it take about 4 days? Do you have the option of connecting to the power grid? Or, will you need to clear more trees for a future solar system? I may be in the same boat in the future.

[@ljv1]

@@ShikokuFoodForest Yes, the contractor worked on it for about 5 days, as for power: video coming soon :)

[@CaribooAdventure]

@@ShikokuFoodForest All and all it took about a week, but they worked at it with several people and also did things like adding gravel to the driveway (included in that rate) and sow grass on the slope etc. We were definitely happy with the quote. We're planning on posting something about our electricity soon, hehe. (making a video!) We initially considered solar, but we'd have to cut down so many trees and even then, the sun isn't that powerful in winter. We're lucky to be close to the power and have since connected to it!

[@ShikokuFoodForest]

@@CaribooAdventure Thank you for sharing further information and your opinion about the clearing and grading of your land. A very important, necessary expense, especially if your land is sloped.

[@HANDYDANDYHUSBAND]

Hello Cariboo Adventure, thank you for posting your videos about your adventure in HorseFly, BC. Like you I also live in Vancouver and am considering a move to the interior. I have watched all your videos (including the cost to build video); however, I did not see any cost breakdown for the clearing the lot and creating the driveway. Did I miss it? Please let me know. In the meantime, again, thank you kindly for your great videos and taking the time to film your adventure and make us part of it. All the best you guys, HDH [: { ].😉

[@CaribooAdventure]

That is so exciting! We indeed didn’t share a cost breakdown for the clearing. For us it was around 11000 for all the clearing. (It included filling certain areas, our culvert/connection cost to the road, gravel for the driveway etc.) I can imagine the price varies a lot depending on location/size of the clearing/amount of gravel etc… Hopefully that helped!

[@HANDYDANDYHUSBAND]

@@CaribooAdventure Hi Cariboo Adventure, thank you for your detailed reply. Yes, 11K for clearing for 5 days and a culvert is high but understandable. Out of curiosity, did you have to install retaining walls on either side of the culvert or just a concrete pipe underneath the driveway? Also, do you plan to put up a gate to your property? HDH [: { ].

[@CaribooAdventure]

@@HANDYDANDYHUSBAND it’s only the culvert (which is steel), no retaining wall needed. And we don’t think about a gate for now (maybe if we’d get a dog). It’s a very friendly/safe environment.

[@HANDYDANDYHUSBAND]

@@CaribooAdventure Thanks for the reply Cariboo Adventure. Best regards, HDH [: { ]

[@digibeanreparationdordinat4837]

Nice of you to share! May I ask how much the clearing and leveling cost?

[@CaribooAdventure]

Thanks for the comment! We paid our contractor 12K (Canadian dollar) for everything (including removal of all the slash).

[@vitaminjtuber]

Hi there, I'm curious what contractor you went with. I just bought a 5 acre parcel on Quesnel Lake in Horsefly Bay. I'll be looking to do some clearing this summer. Thanks!!

[@CaribooAdventure]

Thanks for the comment, and congrats on your purchase! We used Leonard Teppema, and definitely recommend him!

[@vitaminjtuber]

@@CaribooAdventure Amazing! Thank you!!