Before embracing the actual modular home on-site assembly or build land preparation and clearing must take place, yet as the process of modular house building has some jobs that are a must many new landowners are in the darkness and are unaware of how much this land preparation process will cost.
In the US clearing and preparing land for a new modular house will cost an average of 2750$. This being said it is worth mentioning that though this is the national average cost for this segment of the new house build some projects will have costs as low as 300$ while others might cost up to 9000$.
The prices for this pre-foundation and construction work will vary due to the geographic location and size of the land. Additionally, some other factors hold an impact on the pricing of this process such as – how foresty the land is, the type of soil, whether or not there is any type of pollution that needs to be taken care of, and the availability of tools and manpower at the time of the project.
However, it is safe to say that this price range will apply to 99% of modular homes’ new projects across the USA and will range from 300$ to 9000$, or 1.25$ to 2.00$ per square foot of cleared land.
What Are The Stages Of Land Preparation For Modular Homes?
Before breaking down the costs into separate services it is important to understand the stages of land preparation and clearing. These stages will generally apply to all modular house projects, but in some cases, stages may be changed, added, subtracted depending on each project’s needs.
- Site survey – a fairly simple process yet crucial for many modular and regular building projects. The survey will mark the boundaries of your lot, will determine where there are utilities in the ground, and even help determine how much land should be cleared and prepared according to your plans.
- Land clearing – If the land has a lot of obstacles such as bushes, rocks, debris, trees, or even an old house on the property this stage may be prolonged. This stage is the main stage in this land preparation process as it sets the ground for future work and co,plition of the modular house.
- Grading the ground – once again we are talking about a fairly important part of the land preparation stage as this sets the ground for the actual foundation work and utility layout on site. Grading must be done properly as the site must have a defined drainage direction so that water can flow out of the property and not become a problem in the future.
- Specific systems installation – depending on the size, location, and soil type of each modular home site a designated drainage system may be required. Moreover, digging for the foundation, support walls for the basements, construction site land staking, and more are common processes in the land preparation stages of each modular home.
These are the main land preparation stages that all future modular home job sites must take before the actual installation of the house begins. Some projects may require additional stages while others less, yet now that I have separated the stages you can get a clearer picture as to what might need to be done in order to prepare your land for a new modular house build.
The Costs Of Each Land Preparation Phase
Now that the stages for the land preparation process and clearing are broken down let’s see how much each of them should cost as part of your modular home building process.
- Site survey – between 500$ and 1000$, depending on the site size and location. If your land is up in the mountains and the surveyor has a long commute this will increase the cost of the service. This also can change depending on the time of the year as there is more work during the hotter months of the year compared to the colder months. There are more factors that might change the cost but again the national average will be a guide when negotiating a price for this job.
- Land clearing and leveling – this one is the combination of both the clearing and grading of the land and might be a little tricky as it is hard to separate the two. This phase which includes the clearing and grading or leveling of the ground, you should expect to pay 200$ to 6000$. The cost here will vary quite a bit from a moderate or fairly leveled land with little bushes and trees on it, to a mountainside highly uneven terrain with lots of trees. Of course, most job sites will fall in the middle of this price range, but try to understand where you stand with the land you intend on buying.
A few things worth noting are the prices for handling trees – clearing a standing tree will cost around 600$, clearing a fallen tree will cost around 90$, while prices for a full acre will vary between 1000$ to 5000$ depending on the number of trees on site. Additionally, clearing bushes will cost around 100$ per bush. - Specific systems – these prices will vary a lot depending on your location and proximity to local utility connections. For that reason, it would be very difficult for us to give you a price range as this would just be irresponsible from our side to give you a false impression. However, do make sure to understand what it is that you must do during this phase and what can be delayed for later stages of the building process which might be part of future jobs.
The last thing I would like to mention to all you DIY lovers, doing all these processes by yourself will surely grant you great satisfaction, yet bare in mind, it will cost you in time, and let’s not forget the costs of renting machinery (assuming you do not own it already). So if you love doing this type of job yourself and know how to use the equipment then by all means get to work.
I’m fairly sure that a DIY land preparation will cost less for the most part, unless the terrain requires lots of leveling work which can a bit tricky for those without much experience in it.
Modular Homes Land Preparation Options
Understanding that building a new home is a step-by-step process will grant you lots of peace when things don’t go your way. Land preparation might not be the first stage of the house design, build, etc. but it is a must. So the above option of hiring a contractor for this job is only one approach that might fit your needs, depending on the various variables in this equation.
Another option that might be available (again, depending on your location and choices) is the “all-included” approach. Some modular home’s suppliers understand that this is a massive undertaking and offer to help by supplying either a contractor of their own, or land preparation as part of their house package.
If you do lack the knowledge or time to contract and contractor on your own and have the option of land preparation as part of your contract with the modular home supplier, this might be just the option for you and your new modular house build.
All that being said, finding the right way for you to do things might change along the way, yet it is very assuring to have some knowledge before entering each phase of the build. This makes you feel comfortable and relaxed during the building process and helps getting the right decisions whenever needed.
To sum things up, the overall cost of land preparation for a new modular house must not exceed 10,000$, and on average should be around 2750$. These prices are however only a reflection of this market segment at a certain time, taking the time to properly explore your options, negotiate, and understand your land limitations (and sometimes size) will definitely impact the price of this whole job.
Don’t stop here – learn all about the financing options for prefab homes in my deep research blog post.
With that said I wish you the best of luck on your coming endeavor of building your own new modular house.
Till next time
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