How would you tackle this job

[JaySmith]

Proper tripod ladder, for starters. Lanyard onto the ladder, better than nothing, then mulch the top to splinters with a polesaw.

Decent Tripod ladder, yes I agree. However I’d never personally lanyard into a ladder. If you fall from it you’re likely to come down tangled in the rungs. At least if you are going over without being lanyard in you have a chance of throwing the trimmers and jumping clear of it. I’ve done that before and it ain’t pretty! If it gets to the stage whereby you are having to think about lanyarding in or worried me about the setup falling over then it is probably at that stage other options need exploring.

[Mick Dempsey]

I’d never tie just into the ladder, through the ladder and into a branch stem maybe.

[htb]

9 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

I’d never tie just into the ladder, through the ladder and into a branch stem maybe.

Ditto

[Mr. Squirrel]

Ditto what others have said about just cracking on. Sometimes all of the sudden panning and kit in the world won’t help, and you just need to get on with it. If you can’t get out of it, get into it. 

 

[Mark Bolam]

I reckon about 95% of the jobs like this are carried out by people who haven’t priced them, and are just there to endure the misery!

 

They are in my past, thankfully, not my future.

[htb]

4 minutes ago, Mr. Squirrel said:

Ditto what others have said about just cracking on. Sometimes all of the sudden panning and kit in the world won’t help, and you just need to get on with it. If you can’t get out of it, get into it. 

 

The sooner you get on with it, the sooner it will be done.

Done some real crap hedges as a subby, so just knuckle down and its over.

[Dan Maynard]

Yeah this seems to be the harsh reality of doing tree work in the UK, I've done a number of them but this was the first this sort of size. I worked on the railway for a while, we didn't do blower tickets but did do strimmer, hedger, polesaw and chipper which seemed wild as we had been using them for ages anyway.
 
When I climbed inside the hedge I did take a lanyard but didn't use it and on the ladder it actually didn't cross my mind, I know lighting technicians and other trades are forced to attach a lanyard to the ladder but seems pointless if the ladder is sketchy, but I didn't think to hook onto the hedge off the ladder.
 
 
 
 

We have a lad from New Zealand with us, who's got wanderlust and thinking of Canada next. We've done two conifer hedges together so far, he does the top so that he gets the full UK tree work experience to look back on when he's bored of being 150 feet up a conifer in BC.

[Stephen Blair]

 The first few you do you think there's nothing worse, then you get 1 that's worse!  Then when you think that's bad, someone on here posts a bigger more horrible 1!  Clambering through conny hedges is UK tree surgery!  The stuff you find in them!  The ones that have had the previous cuttings jammed and layered in to avoid taking away are ever so jolly, pushing your head through composted conny!  Down your back and baws with your saw jammed below you, carry tool clipped onto a branch and an old bow saw half way through a trunk digging into your back!  

  When you can't see your legs, your feet are agony wedged into whatever they can and you've got a pole saw full reach trying to get to the edges you really start to question your life's choices 😂

  Head down, get it done and get home at the end of the day!

  

[daveatdave]

16 hours ago, JaySmith said:

Unfortunately in the UK hedges like these are the staple diet of many an arborist. They aren’t pretty, can be a right pain and lead to long hard days. Over the years I’ve done some crazy things with ladders and pole saws trying to reach the top or where the client wanted it cut. Often hedges like this need to be cut at a set height to screen adjacent land, windows, neighbours etc. If I’ve gone to quote jobs like this in work clothes I’ve climbed up inside to take a look, but this is often easier said than done at quote stage.

In my experience tracked mewps can work, albeit very slow and time needs to be allowed. I’ve used Genie boom mewps as well that track along whilst elevated but it all depends on the site conditions as they only like pan flat terrain. Sometimes it’s easier just to get into the hedge, brace yourself and throw your lanyard around something bigger than your middle finger! It is sometimes possible to negotiate cutting it lower whereby you can then walk the hedge as opposed to balancing on a shaky ladder but this depends on what the customer is trying to achieve.

Scaffold towers rarely work unless the ground is 100% level, picture below is one I had on the side of a winning pool which looked level but clearly wasn’t.

at least its leaning the right way

[Dan Maynard]

 The first few you do you think there's nothing worse, then you get 1 that's worse!  Then when you think that's bad, someone on here posts a bigger more horrible 1!  Clambering through conny hedges is UK tree surgery!  The stuff you find in them!  The ones that have had the previous cuttings jammed and layered in to avoid taking away are ever so jolly, pushing your head through composted conny!  Down your back and baws with your saw jammed below you, carry tool clipped onto a branch and an old bow saw half way through a trunk digging into your back!  
  When you can't see your legs, your feet are agony wedged into whatever they can and you've got a pole saw full reach trying to get to the edges you really start to question your life's choices [emoji23]
  Head down, get it done and get home at the end of the day!
  

... and then it starts raining ...