Small Cabin Site Preparation
Clearing the Site
If your small cabin construction site needs to be cleared first (i.e. cut trees), decide whether clear the site on your own or hire a contractor.Contractor's charges vary, mainly depending on size of the area to be cleared, terrain characteristics, amount of trees to cut, etc. In my case estimates varied from $800 to $2500.
So I decided to clear the driveway and cabin site on my own. It was a fairly large chunk of work - you need quite some time and be reasonably fit for the job.Tip:
Decide which surrounding tree to cut prior to cabin construction - cutting trees after cabin and other structures are built may be problematic if there is no clear and safe path for the trees to fall.
Also, check if there are any dead trees around that pose danger.
So think and plan ahead - look at trees surrounding your small cabin building site, see which ones needs to be cut!
Leveling Terrain
See if you require some terrain leveling - it is easier to do at the same time when contractor clears the site (if you use one).
In my case, I've made a small terrace in one place so there will a nice leveled area for the picknick table with nice scenic view of the river.
I stacked few large logs and filled space with soil.To get the soil, it was easier for me to dig a hole in one place near by (later I may turn in into a cold storage of some sort). Depending on the amount of soil then needs to be moved, doing terrain leveling of your cabin site on your own could be a heavy undertaking...