Advice re taking a 15ft hedge down to 10ft

[Mick Dempsey]

1 hour ago, Sviatoslav Tulin said:

Standart situation, I always said hedges is the hardest work possible in our trade. 

That is the 9th circle of Hell right there.

[Stubby]

I got caught out on a job like that back in the day . I had an 10x8 double axle trailer you could hold a dance in . No chipper . I spent 3 days on it and several trips to the green waste site ( stubbs cops at Arundel )  Rashering it all up with a saw to get as much in as I could , forking it all out took ages with blokes with tippers  queued up behind me . On the last day at the green waste tip I lost the will to live . I was saved buy a young bloke With shoulders the width of a barn door , hands like shovels who just wanted to tip up . He could see I was spent and he just mucked it and grabbed huge armfulls and got me cleared . I vowed never , ever again in the world X 10 Amen .

[Mick Dempsey]

A tale as old as time Stubs.

 

Most of us have a story like that that sends a shiver down the spine in retrospect.

These days it’s out or nothing, but mortgages have been paid off so I can turn them down.

 

Its the sheer physical effort involved, the material that comes off and the ends that have 3 times more than anything in the middle.

Me to the groundy at 11.00am:  “How far along am I?”

The Groundy “Do you want it in percentage or fractions?”

Me: “percentage”

Groundy: “I’d say you’re 30% along”

Me: (cursing under my breath) “ok give it to me in fractions”

 

[Sviatoslav Tulin]

3 hours ago, Mark Bolam said:

It will be a standard situation all the time you agree to do shit work for idiots.

I charge good moola for that tipe of endeavour, so it financially very viable, don't think I'm an idiot, yet. 

[Jack.P]

If it’s laurels then I’d just chop it much lower than that (6-7ft) as will very quickly regrow and it’s an easier working height 

 

But It sounds as though if it’s a large conifer you could likely regret starting the job without charging a higher rate so I would get into said bush and thoroughly assess how much material is in there  before you possibly end up with an endless supply of brash and working for almost  nothing ! 

 

 

[doobin]

It’s so easy with the right tools lads. 

[oldwoodcutter]

Much of the above is sound advice, 
things may turn out alright.

I don’t know whether I should admit to this but several years ago I looked at a run of connie hedge/trees about 50 yards long which they wanted reduced from 20 / 30 feet high to 8 feet or so,which as usual needed climbing with a 200 and jumping from one to the next .

At that time we were snowed under with offers of easy tree work so I quoted £6k and thought no more about it.

Until they called next day and gave the go ahead.

 

[Puffingbilly413]

1 hour ago, Sviatoslav Tulin said:

I charge good moola for that tipe of endeavour, so it financially very viable, don't think I'm an idiot, yet. 

I don't think he meant you were the idiot - it's the owner of the muckle hedge that's the idiot...

[Puffingbilly413]

25 minutes ago, oldwoodcutter said:

Much of the above is sound advice, 
things may turn out alright.

I don’t know whether I should admit to this but several years ago I looked at a run of connie hedge/trees about 50 yards long which they wanted reduced from 20 / 30 feet high to 8 feet or so,which as usual needed climbing with a 200 and jumping from one to the next .

At that time we were snowed under with offers of easy tree work so I quoted £6k and thought no more about it.

Until they called next day and gave the go ahead.

 

Had one the other week...

 

I want the whole row of 25 odd 20+m high leylandii 'hedge' out.

 

But can you do them in half first as that will be cheaper.

 

Er, no.  That's a shit idea.

 

Well quote it anyway.

 

Ok here's a massive quote.

 

I can't pay that.

 

Well there you go then.

[Dan Maynard]

I've got a leylandii to do soon but they aren't clueless tightarses, they are very nice people who have come up from London in lockdown, and have cash to spend on sorting things out. Also did a laurel recently for a rich widow, again cash to spend sorting things out so we ended up trimming all the other hedges as well.

 

I think these hedges are only really really bad if you've underestimated them timewise, pretty bad if someone else underestimated, not bad at all if you've got plenty of money on it and no rush.

 

I'll maybe have changed my mind in a couple of weeks of course, after doing the next one....