First bids for land clearing

Well, we have 5 bids for clearing the land. This involved cutting the larger trees into marketable lengths (32-40'), felling all of them 60-70), stacking the logs (for loading and resale), brush cutting, leveling the land a bit, removing the debris, and building a short gravel-covered entrance and culvert. The bids are general to detailed, and range from about $7500-13,000. The cheapest one seems fine, but they always say to discount the cheapest and most expensive. One bid includes about $3000 for the foundation excavation and backfilling (which seems reasonable), so this may be the best bid. Need a bit more info to access the bids and make a comparison. We need to decide this week before returning to Denver for a week, so we can get the excavation and foundation guys lined up and on a schedule.

One neighbor is concerned that the falling trees will cause cracks in her foundation or walls. Seems unlikely, but we'll see. The largest trees are 115-120 ft firs and will have to be halved in order to drop them within the bounds of the property, which is 100-220 ft. Hopefully we'll have a skilled logger; hate to have a big one clip an adjacent house.