Lake Lot Clearing on Lake Tuscaloosa, AL
Wooded lots on Lake Tuscaloosa cleared for a house: trees, stumps and brush out where you build, a drive roughed in, and the ground between you and the city's drinking water left covered.
Clearing a wooded lot on Lake Tuscaloosa
Forty billion gallons of Tuscaloosa's drinking water sit behind the dam on the North River, and that is the first thing to understand about clearing a lot on Lake Tuscaloosa. The city finished the lake in 1970 and has rules for what happens on the shore and on the land beside it. Get those answered first. Then the job is a wooded Tuscaloosa County lot, often sloped, that needs trees, stumps and brush out and a way in.
We clear and mulch wooded lots on Lake Tuscaloosa, north of Northport and Tuscaloosa. Where the house, drive and pad go, the trees come down and the stumps and root balls come out with the excavator and the dozer's root rake. Holes are filled and the ground is pulled back to grade with the fall running away from the build site. Slopes and the ground you are not building on are mulched, so they stay rooted and covered.
Lake Tuscaloosa lies in Tuscaloosa County, inside our service area. We are based in Berry, in Fayette County, and the North River that fills the lake drains part of our home county before it gets here. Call or text (205) 535-6376 with the lot location and what the city has told you so far. Estimates are free. More on the work is on our lot clearing and land clearing pages.
What Lake Tuscaloosa lot clearing covers
- Trees and brush out of the build site
- Stumps and root balls pulled, holes filled
- Drive roughed in from the road
- Slopes mulched, not scraped bare
- Work kept to your surveyed lines
- Ground graded and left ready for the pad
What the city and the lake mean for your lot
Two city offices to call before clearing
First, the City of Tuscaloosa's Engineering office. It says a Land Development Permit is required for clearing, grading, excavating or otherwise disturbing soil on properties directly adjacent to Lake Tuscaloosa. Second, the Lakes Division, on Lake Nicol Road, which handles permits for dredging, tree removal and structures, and meets owners on site by appointment. Its permit form lists clearing, retaining walls, stairs, seawalls and rip rap. Make both calls before you plan the work. Have your permits in hand, or ask us what to line up first.
City property around the water
Lake Tuscaloosa covers 5,885 acres with about 177 miles of shoreline, and the city may own ground between your lot and the water. In plain terms, that strip may not be yours to cut. So the survey matters more here than on most jobs. Have your corners and the line toward the lake marked on the ground. We work to the lines and the limits you are given, and trees past that line are a question for the Lakes Division, not for a contractor.
Keeping dirt out of a drinking-water lake
Every lot on Lake Tuscaloosa drains to the lake, so bare dirt on a slope ends up in the water supply. We keep the bare ground to what the build needs: the house site, the drive and the pad. The rest is mulched so roots and chips hold it, and the cleared part is graded so water slows down and spreads out. ADEM also runs a stormwater permit for land disturbance of one acre or more. Our guide to clearing a lake lot covers this in order, and land clearing in Northport covers the land nearby.
Real Job Photos
Phone pictures from real jobs, captioned with what they show. See more recent work or read about our full land clearing service.
Lake Tuscaloosa Lot Clearing Questions
Not seeing yours? Call or text (205) 535-6376 and ask.
Does the City of Tuscaloosa require a permit to clear a lake lot on Lake Tuscaloosa?
The City of Tuscaloosa says a Land Development Permit is required for clearing, grading, excavating or otherwise disturbing soil on properties directly adjacent to the lake. Call the Engineering office through Tuscaloosa 311 and ask about your lot. Other rules can apply too, so ask about those in the same call. Have the permit in hand, or ask us what to line up first.
Can I cut trees between my lot and the water on Lake Tuscaloosa?
That is the Lakes Division's decision. The city says to contact the Lakes Division about a tree removal permit on the lake. The city's own instructions are to call for an appointment and meet on site to look at the area. Once you have an answer in writing, we cut what it allows and nothing past it.
What does lake lot clearing include on Lake Tuscaloosa?
Trees, stumps and brush out of the build site, holes filled, the drive roughed in and the ground graded ready for the pad, with slopes mulched so they stay covered. What happens next is in our guide on clearing land for a house pad. If your lot needs more than that, tell us about it.
Do you clear lots on the North River side of Lake Tuscaloosa near Northport?
Yes. We clear and mulch wooded lots north of Northport and Tuscaloosa, all around the lake, and it is inside our service area. Tell us which road the lot is off and how a truck and trailer reaches it. If you live elsewhere, we can look at it with you on satellite first.
Lake Tuscaloosa and Around
We cover Lake Tuscaloosa and the country around it, including:
Tuscaloosa County
Land clearing, mulching and dirt work across Tuscaloosa County.
County overviewLot Clearing for New Homes
Wooded house lots and lake lots cleared, drive roughed in, ready for the pad.
The full pageLand Clearing
Trees pushed, stumps raked out, debris burned or hauled, ground graded and ready to use.
The full serviceLot Clearing in other places
Need Lot Clearing on Lake Tuscaloosa?
Call or text, or send a few details. Estimates are free.