The questions worth asking

Anyone can say they have done this before. These are the questions that are difficult to answer well without having actually done it, and easy to answer badly.

Published by the Land Clearing Authority editorial team · Last revised 2026-07-29 · Editorial policy · Corrections

Who this is for

Anyone about to meet contractors on site
Landowners who have quotes and want to interrogate them properly
People who found the last hiring process uncomfortable and want a script

The short answer

Ask about the outcome rather than the activity. "What will the ground look like on the last day" produces a far more revealing answer than "what do you do".

Ask about failure. An experienced contractor has a real answer about what makes jobs go wrong on sites like yours; an inexperienced one says it will be fine.

Ask about exclusions. A contractor who volunteers what they are not doing has had the argument before and would rather not have it again.

Ask who is accountable on the day. The person quoting is frequently not the person operating, and that gap is where most site-day problems come from.

What changes the answer

Whether the work is near structures, boundaries, or services
Whether the site can be assessed before work begins
Whether more than one trade is involved
Whether the ground has a productive use afterwards
Whether anything governs the outcome — a drawing, a builder, a lender

The questions, and what each one reveals

Grouped by purpose. You will not need all of them on every job; the outcome and exclusion questions apply to every job without exception.

Questions to ask, and what a good answer tells you
Question	What it reveals
What will the ground look like on the last day?	Whether they think in outcomes or activities
What is expressly excluded from this price?	Whether the scope is defined or open
Where exactly does the material go?	Often the single largest cost difference between bids
What is the largest stem you will take?	Whether the equipment matches the growth
What is the machine’s width and ground pressure?	Whether it fits, and what the soil will be like
What have you found on sites like this that changed the job?	Genuine local experience, or none
What would make you walk away from this?	Judgement, and honesty about limits
Who is on site, and who is accountable when you are not?	How the day will actually run
How are changes priced once you have started?	Whether surprises become invoices
Can I see a certificate of insurance for this activity?	Whether cover exists and includes this work
What will this look like in two growing seasons?	Whether they have watched their own results

The two questions that do most of the work

If you only ask two, ask these.

<strong>What will the ground look like on the last day?</strong> A contractor who answers this concretely — residue depth, stump height, surface condition, what remains standing — is describing a deliverable you can hold them to. One who answers "it will be cleared" has told you nothing enforceable, and the gap between their picture and yours is where dissatisfaction comes from.

<strong>What is expressly excluded?</strong> Every quote excludes something. A quote with no stated exclusions is not a broad scope, it is an undefined one, and undefined work becomes disputed work. A contractor who lists exclusions unprompted is doing you a favour.

Answers that should concern you

Not all of these are disqualifying on their own. Two or three together usually are.

"It will be fine" in response to any question about risk or limits.
A firm total price for a site nobody could see into, offered without hesitation.
Reluctance to provide a certificate of insurance, or a certificate described rather than sent.
No stated exclusions anywhere in the quote.
A large deposit requested before anything exists on site.
An assurance that no authorisation is needed, offered as fact rather than as a suggestion to check.
Vagueness about where material goes, particularly on a lot that will be built on.
Pressure to start immediately because a machine happens to be nearby.

Questions for the reference, not the contractor

References are worth calling and the usual questions waste them.

Asking whether the contractor was good produces politeness. Asking what the site was like, whether it resembled yours, and whether the result matched what was described beforehand produces information.

The most useful question is whether anything went wrong, because something usually does. How a contractor behaves when a job deviates is the thing you are actually trying to learn, and it is not visible in a quote.

Ask also whether anything came up that was not in the original price, and how that was handled. That answer predicts your own experience better than any other single data point.

When to ask each question

Timing matters, because some of these are site-visit questions and some belong in the first phone call.

On the first call, ask what they own, whether they do below-grade work, and roughly what access they need. Those three answers tell you whether a visit is worth either party’s time.

On site, ask the outcome question, the largest-stem question, the material-destination question, and the walk-away question. These need the ground in front of both of you.

After the quote arrives, ask about exclusions, the change process, and insurance. Those are document questions and the answers should be in writing.

Splitting them this way avoids the common failure of asking everything at once, getting rushed answers, and remembering none of them.

What drives the cost

Cost drivers on this kind of project
Driver	Effect
Scope definition	Questions that force definition reduce the disputed portion of the job to near zero.
Trade selection	Asking what they own reveals whether they are the right category at all.
Change order discipline	Agreeing the change process in advance is what stops verbal variations becoming invoices.
Equipment match	Width, ground pressure, and diameter capability determine both price and site damage.

Common mistakes

Asking about price before asking about outcome
Accepting "it will be fine" as an answer to a risk question
Not asking what is excluded
Asking references whether the contractor was pleasant
Failing to write the outcome answer into the scope

Questions to ask a contractor

What will the ground look like on the last day?
What is expressly excluded from this price?
Who is accountable on site when you are not there?
How are changes priced once work has started?

What to do next

Print or note the outcome and exclusion questions before the site visit
Ask every bidder the same questions so answers are comparable
Write the outcome answer into the scope document
Call one reference about a site that resembles yours

Questions people actually ask

Is it rude to ask this many questions?

A competent contractor welcomes them, because a well-informed customer is easier to work for and less likely to be disappointed. Reluctance to answer specific questions about outcome and exclusions is itself the answer to a different question.

What if I do not understand the answer?

Say so and ask them to describe it as a picture of the ground rather than as a process. Anyone who genuinely knows the work can do that. Jargon that resists translation is often covering an absence.

Should I ask all bidders the same questions?

Yes — that is what makes the answers comparable. Different questions produce different-shaped answers and you end up comparing impressions rather than proposals.

How many contractors should I meet?

Enough to see the range in how they describe the same job, commonly three. The differences between their descriptions teach you more about your own project than any single conversation does.