FS19 - Building placement cost, land leveling cost

[Knottypine]

Hi,

I've noticed in Streams that the cost of placing a placeable can skyrocket in price, depending on how much the land has to level. These costs can become quite high. Eg: a shed that cost maybe $9000 ends up costing $50000 to place if on uneven terrain. It seems a bit of a high cost, upwards around $40000 to level out the terrain for something that costs less than $10000.

Are there any plans to balance that out a little, or is the leveling cost intended to be high?

[BearClaw]

And still, that price and there is no way to make a road between buildings

[redglasses]

^^Yep, they said their going to add that after, you already know this so stop complaining about it. You whining on every discussion isn't going to make them add it any faster

[tuttle]

Hopefully they knock that price way down. It's plausible that your characters would have the knowledge and equipment to do the terraforming themselves.

[redglasses]

^^Ya, 40000 sounds a little much tbh.

[Patrick73]

Been thinking about this one,maybe level the ground with the cheapest placeble...sell it and then you have level ground to put the more expensive one on?

[lefe1]

I don't see anything wrong with the cost. it's shouldn't be free because it costs money to level land irl. in my area One cubic yard of dirt will run about $100, though it can range anywhere from $50 to $200 and more depending on terrain. When bidding on projects, contractors typically include any associated costs for additional work, such as grading, land clearing, land leveling and erosion control..Grading for a Driveway: Similar to grading a yard, the average cost is between $700 and $1,000 for 125 square foot.... so don't build on the side of a cliff. find a place that is flat and it won't cost as much. what I seen in videos where the farm is it's already flat so it shouldn't cost much to place your farm...

[Knottypine]

I don't see anything wrong with the cost. it's shouldn't be free because it costs money to level land irl.

Obviously shouldn't be free, that's not what I'm saying. However, what I'm saying is that I just think spending $40000 to level out an area to place a $9000 shed seems a bit high. Watched another video, someone placed a small double bunker which cost $30000, and it was an additional $60000 to level the land. The land had a bit of a slope to it. For the sake of the game, I think it would be reasonable if the leveling prices were somewhat lower.

[lefe1]

watch this video it doesn't cost anything extra when he places the house and the horse paddock. is it because he places it on flat surface?

[Knottypine]

watch this video it doesn't cost anything extra when he places the house and the horse paddock. is it because he places it on flat surface?

Yes. If the area is completely flat the cost is minimal. It's difficult, however, to find too many large flat areas unless you start building on some actual fields.

[cyberus]

Well... I saw in other video were guy was trying to place a shed on the existent farm area...( on asphalt) just bit closer to the grass border and de cost rises up significantly... were goin from 9000 to the 15000 and above.
Seemed pretty too much tbh since the area were almost completely flat.

Look in this video around 6:20

https://youtu.be/xfPSG5r9HSg

[canadafarms]

Lefe, I have to ask, when you say $100 per yard are you talking a square yard? I only ask this because I happen to be a contractor IRL and a good portion of my business is building sites for shops, feedlots, grainbins ect, just like most of the placables in game. I know there is more money for doing work like driveways in a subdivision or something like that but the kind of work I do is not nearly that lucrative. I will give you a couple of examples. On Thursday I just finished a pad for a workshop for a farmer, the shop is going to be 150 by 100ft but we leveled an area that was 100 by 75 yards. There was a 4 ft elevation change from one end of the site to the other and we hauled in 1000 cubic yards of clay from about 3 miles away to level it. Clay here costs $3 a cubic yard, not including trucking. To prepare the site we striped the topsoil, hauled in the clay, leveled and graded it out and then landscaped the topsoil around the pad. Total cost was $16,000 all in, or just a little more than $2 a square yard. At $100 a square yard that job would have cost $750,000. Another example, I built a large bin yard for a farmer earlier this summer. It was a pad that measured 150 by 120 yards. We didn’t haul any dirt in on this one because there was a large hill on site. We stripped the topsoil, leveled the hill with a D8 dozer,ended up cutting the hill down about 12 ft on the highest point, graded it out then landscaped the topsoil around the pad. Total cost was for that job was about $17,000 or roughly $1 per square yard. At $100 per square yard that job would have cost $1,800,000. I really wish that there was that kind of money in this business haha. I do like that they are charging money in the game to level a site though, for someone like myself it does make it more realistic.

[Knottypine]

Thanks canadafarms for your real life examples.

[canadafarms]

Thanks canadafarms for your real life examples.

No problem, I didn’t realize my post was so long winded until I read it after I submitted it lol. The prices for me do seem a little on the high side compared to what I would charge but at the same time you can plant and harvest a crop in a 24 hour period on fast growth so for the game it may be ok, time will tell I guess. I did notice that the price of grain silos is very high so that will sting a bit when placing them on uneven ground.

[lefe1]

Professional excavators rent themselves out by the hour or subcontracted by the project. Rates can run anywhere from $100 to $180 an hour for a machine and operator. These rates are going to vary greatly depending on the market factors in your location. The contractor makes about the same regardless how you pay – by the hour, cubic yard, acre or project.
Contractors offer project quotes based on the number of cubic yards of dirt. One cubic yard of dirt will run about $100, though it can range anywhere from $50 to $200 and more depending on terrain. When bidding on projects, contractors typically include any associated costs for additional work, such as grading, land clearing, land leveling and erosion control. But these increase the price. Contractors sometimes bid these additional services by land area rather than by the cubic yard.
Pricing is impossible to do without first seeing the site. So many factors can influence a quote, land clearing and large-scale grading employ both square foot and acre pricing.

Land clearing only runs about $200 to $6,000 an acre – but only includes removing trees, shrubs and debris from the land. You’ll spend an additional $0.47 to $2.28 per square foot for grading. With 43,560 square feet in an acre, that’s about $20,000 to $100,000 an acre.
Average hourly rates tend to vary greatly due to location but tend to run between $120 to $150 an hour. That rate includes both the equipment and the operator and often comes with a minimum number of hours – typically at least one day or eight hours. Hourly rates only apply when you are contracting the excavator directly. General contractors will bid project rates instead.


Excavation vs. Yard Grading Prices
Yard grading runs between $1,000 to $6,000 or more for the entire job. Most contractors consider grading as part of excavation, though it is sometimes a separate project. Yard leveling, also known as grading, is a type of excavation used to correct drainage issues, prepare the ground for home extensions, and for purely aesthetic purposes. Both include digging and removing dirt or cutting and filling for both landscaping and leveling.

Dirt Digging and Removal Prices - $8 - $25 per cubic yard
Hauling away dirt from new foundations and in-ground pools will run between $8 and $25 a cubic yard. Access to the dirt plays the largest factor. If a dump truck and backhoe have easy access to the dirt, expect a lower price.

Site Cut & Fill Estimates - $1 - $15 per cubic yard
Cut and fill runs anywhere from $1 to $15 per cubic yard. Cut and fill is the practice of moving earth from one location (cut) to another location (fill) for leveling and grading purposes. The most common example is the process of leveling terrain for a road. The costs vary drastically because of the specifics of each project. The distance from the cut area to the fill site is the largest consideration. Other factors include:
Flattening Hills or Slopes
Cut and fill rates can vary greatly from $1 to $15 per cubic yard. Haul distance will affect excavation more than size. For example, cut and fill earthmoving over a few hundred feet utilizes less crew, equipment, fuel, and time than moving it over five miles. The price differences are going to vary greatly due to these factors plus location, accessibility and the type of project.