Forestry Mulching
We grind standing brush, saplings and small trees into mulch with a mulcher head on our tracked loader. The chips stay on the ground and hold the soil in place.
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Land around Front Royal fills in fast. Warren County gets about 40 inches of rain a year and a growing season near 170 days. Leave a pasture or a wooded lot alone for a few seasons and briars, saplings and autumn olive take over. On the slopes above town the ground is rocky and steep, and a tractor cannot reach much of it.
Marloy Hill Enterprise does land clearing and excavation in Front Royal and across Warren County. We are based in Augusta, West Virginia, northwest of town across the state line. A tracked loader with a mulcher head does the forestry mulching, and a mini excavator does the digging. Call or text (540) 327-1400 for a free estimate.
Tell us about the job and the ground. We will get right back to you.
Warren County sits between two mountain ranges. The Blue Ridge runs along the east side and averages about 2,700 feet. The Massanutten range runs along the west and averages about 2,000 feet. The valley between them lies on limestone, dolomite and shale.
Almost half the county sits on gentle slopes of 3 to 7 percent. About 30 percent runs steeper than 15 percent, mostly along the Blue Ridge and the Massanutten range. The county's own plan says conventional equipment only works the flatter slopes in the Blue Ridge foothills.
That is where tracks matter. A tracked loader spreads its weight and holds ground a wheeled machine would slide on. Once the brush is off, grading and site prep shapes the ground for a cabin pad or a build. Warren County issues land disturbing permits through its Building Inspections office in Front Royal.
The valley down the middle of the county covers about 63,000 acres. Its soils sit over limestone and dolomite, and the land is mostly hay and livestock. A field that stops getting grazed or cut does not stay open long.
Multiflora rose and autumn olive move in first, and saplings follow. Tree-of-heaven grows here too. It is the plant spotted lanternfly feeds on, and Warren County is one of the infested counties in Virginia.
We cut fence rows and old pasture back to open ground. The brush cutter on the mini excavator reaches up a bank and over a wire fence. Brush hogging a grown-up field once gets it mowable again. Heavier woody growth gets the mulcher head instead.
Warren County keeps adding people. The 2020 census counted 40,727 in the county, and estimates since put it above 42,000. Much of the newer housing sits up off the valley floor on wooded, sloping lots.
Warren County has fourteen sanitary districts, subdivisions where the county collects a district tax toward roads and common areas. Shenandoah Farms, Skyland Estates, High Knob and Blue Mountain are among them. A wooded lot in one of these needs the brush and small trees handled first. The mulcher head grinds them where they stand, and the chips stay on the slope.
Gravel drives up these hills wash out under heavy rain. Warren County averages about 40 inches of rain a year. We cut in new lanes and regrade rutted ones. Crowning the surface sends water off the side instead of down the wheel tracks.
The North Fork and South Fork of the Shenandoah River meet on the north side of Front Royal. Happy Creek runs down through town and into the river. Floodplain covers about 4 percent of Warren County, most of it along those channels.
A wide belt of karst runs north to south through the middle of the county. Limestone and dolomite under the valley floor bring sinkholes and water that moves underground. In the western part of the county the soils come off shale. Over three quarters of those are shallow, so rain runs across the top.
Water off a hillside has to go somewhere. We dig french drains and drainage trenches with the mini excavator. The line carries water away from a house, a cabin or a barn. On a sloped lot it usually starts uphill of the building.
Communities and areas we serve around Front Royal: Riverton, Happy Creek, Shenandoah Farms, Shenandoah Shores, Skyland Estates, High Knob, Blue Mountain, Lake Front Royal, Linden, Bentonville, Browntown, Chester Gap.
Front Royal ZIP codes served: 22630, 22610, 22642.
Free estimates throughout Warren County and the surrounding area.
(540) 327-1400 We grind standing brush, saplings and small trees into mulch with a mulcher head on our tracked loader. The chips stay on the ground and hold the soil in place.
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We cut overgrown fields, pastures and fence rows back down to open ground. A brush cutter on the mini excavator reaches banks, ditch lines and fence rows from level footing.
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We dig stumps out with a mini excavator, root ball and all. The hole gets backfilled and bladed level so the spot can be mowed or built on.
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Mini excavator digging for trenches, ditches, driveway cuts and dirt work. We clear and dig on the same trip across Hampshire County and the Eastern Panhandle.
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We level pads, smooth rutted ground and shape lots after clearing. The finished grade sends water away from your buildings instead of toward them.
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We cut in new gravel driveways and lanes on rural lots, and regrade drives that have rutted or washed out. The surface gets crowned so water runs off the drive instead of down it.
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We install French drains and drainage trenches that move water away from houses, cabins, barns and driveways. The mini excavator digs the line, then pipe and washed stone go in so the ground drains.
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We clear grown up fence rows and property lines on farms and acreage across Hampshire County. The row comes back to a clean line your fence crew can work from.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Front Royal. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Tell us where the property is and what you want the ground to do. Call or text (540) 327-1400, or fill in the form and we will get back to you.
Tell us about the job and the ground. We will get right back to you.