Before a build starts, the lot has to be empty. We clear trees, brush, hedgerows and stumps for construction projects across Brampton, Milton and Halton Hills, and for infill builds and additions in Mississauga and Toronto. Scope runs from taking down two or three trees in the footprint of a rear addition to clearing a full residential lot of everything woody, trees of any size, buckthorn thickets, overgrown cedar rows and old fence-line Manitoba maples included. This is quoted work, not a rate sheet. Every clearing job is different enough that we start with a free estimate: we walk the lot with your site plan or survey if you have one, identify which trees are in the building envelope, which are protected by municipal bylaws, and which the municipality will expect you to retain and protect. Then you get a written price for the clearing itself, with removals, stump work, chipping and haul-off itemized. Builders and homeowners call us for the same reason: a lot that is actually clear on the day excavation starts, with the permit side handled up front instead of discovered mid-project when the schedule can least afford it.
What's included
- A site walk against your survey or site plan, marking which trees sit in the building envelope, driveway cut and servicing trenches, and which are staying.
- A bylaw check on every tree slated for removal, so permit applications go in before demolition or excavation is scheduled, not after the machines arrive.
- Felling and removal of trees of all sizes within the cleared area, sectioned down where structures, fences or retained trees are in range of a straight fell.
- Cutting and clearing brush, buckthorn, wild grape, sumac and overgrown hedgerows to grade, the understory tangle that hides how much room a lot actually has.
- Stump grinding or full stump extraction as the project requires. A stump under a future footing or driveway needs to come out, not just be ground below grade, and we quote both honestly.
- Chipping brush on site and hauling logs, chips and debris away, or leaving material stacked for the builder if the plan calls for it.
- Protection measures for trees being retained, including fencing off root zones so the trees the municipality made you keep survive the construction they were kept for.
- A final walkover with you or your contractor confirming the cleared footprint matches the plan before we leave the site.
How it works
- Call or email with the address and, if you have them, the survey, site plan or a list of what is coming down. Photos help, but this job always gets a site visit.
- Free on-site estimate. We walk the lot, count and measure the trees, check access for equipment and trucks, and identify anything bylaw-protected.
- Permit check before anything else. In most west GTA municipalities, trees above set trunk sizes need a permit to remove, and we tell you exactly which trees need applications before you lock in trades.
- You get a written scope and fixed price, itemized by removals, brush clearing, stumps and hauling, so you can hand it straight to your builder or lender.
- Clearing work, sequenced so retained trees are protected first, large removals come down safely, and brush and stumps follow.
- Cleanup and haul-off, with the lot left ready for the excavator, and a final walkover against the plan.
What the free estimate covers
- Tree count and size. The estimate inventories every tree in the clearing footprint, because a lot with six small trees and a lot with two mature silver maples are completely different jobs at the same address.
- Equipment access. We assess whether machines can reach the trees or whether tight infill lots in Toronto and Mississauga force climbing, rigging and carrying debris out by hand, which changes crew time significantly.
- What must be protected. Retained trees, neighbouring properties, fences, pools and existing structures inside the drop zone all slow the felling and rigging, and the estimate prices that reality in.
- Permit exposure. The estimate flags every tree over the local bylaw threshold so applications can go in early, and notes where supporting documentation such as an arborist report may be needed for a removal.
- Stump scope. Grinding is priced differently from full extraction, and the estimate matches stump treatment to what is being built over each spot rather than defaulting to the cheaper option that fails under a slab.
- Debris volume and disposal. Whole-lot clearing generates serious tonnage of wood and brush, and haul-off distance and disposal fees are assessed per site, not guessed at a flat rate.
- Timing and sequencing with your build. If clearing has to be staged around demolition, servicing or nesting season, the estimate accounts for multiple mobilizations instead of one clean visit.
Free Estimate, quoted in writing before any work starts.
On-site visit, written quote, no obligation. Usually within 24 hours of your call.
When you need this
- You are building a rear addition or garden suite in Toronto or Mississauga and there are trees inside or overhanging the footprint, often a Norway maple or silver maple that has had free run of the backyard for decades.
- A teardown-rebuild lot has mature trees close to the old foundation, and your builder wants them gone, ground and hauled before excavation quotes are finalized.
- You bought a lot in Milton, Halton Hills or rural Brampton that has grown in with buckthorn, Manitoba maple and scrub cedar, and you need to see actual grades and sightlines before design work starts.
- EAB-killed ash stands in the way of a build. Dead ash gets brittle fast and is dangerous to fell casually, so clearing a lot with standing dead ash is work for a crew with rigging experience, not a rented chainsaw.
- Storm damage has already dropped limbs or whole trees on a lot you are about to develop, and the cleanup and the clearing are cheaper done as one mobilization instead of two.
- A pool, shop or driveway addition needs a corner of the property cleared, including stumps extracted where the slab or excavation is going.
Local notes for the west GTA
Land clearing is where municipal tree bylaws bite hardest, because construction removals are exactly what the bylaws exist to review. In Toronto and Etobicoke, a private tree needs a permit at 30 cm trunk diameter measured at 1.4 m, and ravine-protected land is regulated at any size. Brampton and Hamilton also permit at 30 cm. Burlington is 20 cm, and Woodbridge falls under Vaughan's bylaw at 20 cm. Mississauga regulates at 15 cm in some zones, tight enough to catch trees most people assume are free to cut. Oakville uses a 76 cm circumference threshold, roughly 24 cm diameter. Milton has no private-tree permit for most residential lots, and Halton Hills currently has no private tree bylaw, but larger rural properties in Halton can still be caught by the Region's bylaw covering woodlands of half a hectare or more and Regional Greenlands. We confirm what applies to your specific lot during the free estimate, before you schedule trades.
Where we provide this service
Frequently asked questions
How much does land clearing cost in the GTA? +
There is no honest flat rate for land clearing, which is why this service is quoted by free estimate rather than a starting price. Two lots on the same street can differ by thousands depending on tree count and size, machine access, what has to be protected, stump treatment and haul-off volume. What we can promise is how the number gets built: we walk the lot, inventory every tree and stump in the clearing footprint, check bylaw exposure, and give you a written itemized price, removals, brush, stumps and hauling each on their own line. That format matters when you are comparing quotes, because a low single-number bid that quietly excludes stumps or disposal is not actually low. The estimate costs you nothing, and on most residential lots we can turn it around within about a day of the site visit.
When is the best time of year to clear a lot? +
Winter is underrated for clearing. Frozen ground takes equipment traffic with less rutting, there is no garden or lawn left to wreck, and dormant-season work sidesteps most of the bird-nesting complications that can stall summer clearing. That said, we clear lots year-round, and build schedules usually dictate timing more than preference does. Two seasonal realities are worth planning around: spring thaw can make soft lots inaccessible to heavy equipment for a few weeks, and active bird nests in trees or brush during late spring and summer can force us to delay or work around parts of a site. If your excavation date is fixed, get the estimate moving a couple of months ahead so any permit applications have time to clear. In our experience the paperwork is the long pole in the schedule, not the chainsaw work.
Do I need permits to clear trees for construction? +
In most of the west GTA, yes, for any tree over the local size threshold. Toronto and Etobicoke require a permit at 30 cm trunk diameter, measured 1.4 m up the trunk, and regulate ravine-protected land at any size. Brampton and Hamilton sit at 30 cm, Burlington and Woodbridge at 20 cm, and Mississauga at 15 cm in some zones. Oakville measures circumference, with 76 cm as the line, about 24 cm diameter. Milton has no private-tree permit for most residential lots, and Halton Hills has no private tree bylaw at present. Construction removals do not get waved through just because a building permit exists. The tree permit is its own application, and it is the piece that stalls schedules when it is left to the last minute. We identify every permit-relevant tree during the free estimate so applications can go in before your dig date is booked.
Can you clear a lot that has dead ash trees on it? +
Yes, and they should be near the top of your list. Emerald ash borer killed most untreated ash across the GTA, and dead ash decays faster than most species, shedding limbs and becoming unpredictable to fell within a few years of dying. On a construction lot, standing dead ash is both a safety problem for anyone working the site and a hazard hanging over fences and neighbouring yards. There is some good news on the permit side: certain municipalities treat dead and hazardous trees differently. Brampton's bylaw includes exemptions for hazardous trees, and Woodbridge falls under Vaughan's bylaw, which has a simplified permit stream for dead, hazardous and EAB-killed trees that does not require an arborist report. We assess ash condition during the free estimate and sequence the dead ones first, while they are still safe to rig and dismantle.
Do you take out the stumps too, or just the trees? +
Both, and the difference matters more on a construction lot than anywhere else. Stump grinding chews the stump down below grade and is fine where the future use is lawn or garden. But a ground stump leaves the root mass in the soil, and organic material decomposing under a footing, slab or driveway leads to settlement. Where the plan shows structure or hardscape, the stump and major roots should be fully extracted and the hole backfilled with material that can be compacted, which your builder will confirm. Our estimate maps stump treatment to your site plan: extraction where you are building, grinding where you are landscaping, itemized separately so you are not paying extraction prices across the whole lot. If stumps were left behind by a previous owner or contractor, we price those into the same visit.
Will you work with my builder or just with me? +
Either, and usually both. Homeowners typically call us first, then we end up coordinating directly with the builder or excavation contractor on timing, access and what stays. That is normal, and it works better than playing telephone. What the builder usually wants from us: a firm date the lot will be clear, confirmation the permit side is handled so their schedule does not blow up, stumps extracted where the excavation and footings are going, and the site left clean enough to mobilize equipment. What you usually want from us: one written price with no surprises and no argument later about whose job the stumps were. Our itemized estimate serves both. We are an owner-led operation, so the person who walked your lot and wrote the number is the person you call when the schedule moves.