John Shutler

18 hours ago, AHPP said:

Come on, Paul. How long ago?

i don’t think it’s relevant, it’s also coming across as a bit childish.

there’s a very real possibility that paul was in the industry while you were still a twinkle in the postman’s eye 

2 minutes ago, Clutchy said:

 

Interesting, its probably generic advice that he is giving out to less risky industries. 

 

Given the discussion thus far and ignoring the accountant for a minute, are you happy taking direct financial risk to your personal assets? 

you keep saying it’s a risky industry? 

the job is a risky as you make it. personally I try to limit risk as much as possible but you obviously carry out your works differently

ive had one claim against me in 15years of running my business and that was 35k for a driveway that was damaged by a crane company. 

4 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Well to a certain extent, I only did 18 months in someone else’s van before starting on my own.

I have nothing but admiration for those guys (Clutchy included) who build up a biz sending people out with their own name on the van to do work.

There is a lot to be said for running one profitable gang, with you overseeing every big decision and trousering any folding that comes your way. 

that’s pretty much my setup mick. with a bit of consultancy and operated plant hire as well. 

ive asked my accountant a number of times over the years if he thought there was any financing benefit to going ltd, he’s not convinced so i’ve always stayed as a sole trader.

4 hours ago, Clutchy said:

Our industry really means you should have a limited company, makes no sense to be a sole trader IMO 

absolute rubbish 

8 minutes ago, Dirk Pitt said:

If I am aware of a problem, I want to deal with it now, not in 5 weeks. I do not want to risk upsetting my neighbours.  I do not know why you have introduced "special case" as I do not recall me saying I was although many times I have been told " you are the only one". 

 

 

I came here asking about a process for removing a TPO, there have been a number of replies about putting in an application and the 5 weeks wait and telling my neighbours about the process but these do not answer the question.

I get the feeling there is a reluctance to see a TPO removed and a mistrust of anyone wanting to remove one.  Even though I think the thread has run its course and the answer now found I'm being told it is not up to me when to end a thread. I am on another forum and I see once the answer is there people keep adding to it and I find myself asking why, what is the point?

 

Sorry if I have upset anyone.

 

Hopefully the link I put in to a post earlier this evening will be of use to others.

 

Dirk Pitt

 

honestly it’s painful 

5 minutes ago, Dirk Pitt said:

Is it really obvious? What do you base that on? Trees in our front and back garden have TPO's on them.

The trees at the front screen us from the houses opposite and I wont trim them higher then the fence, the trees along one side that do not have TPO's shield has from the neighbours. 

I quite agree about trusting people and I guess when an honest one comes along, they are treated as someone not to be trusted. I would have no issue giving an undertaking not to fell them or polled them.

 

dirk Pitt 

I made my comments based on your previous statement

“I want to be able to maintain them such as cutting "branches" so pedestrians can walk under the trees when stepping out of the road away from traffic, to keep clear from my neighbours drive , so I can drive under them without catching my roof or the cycles on the roof”

i

great pto chippers

The tree is obviously in the front garden of your property so will have a level of public visibility. The tree is also nice enough that the LPA deemed it necessary to protect the tree to ensure that the tree can be enjoyed by many for a long as the tree is suitable to be retained.

You claim that the works you want to do would not affect the long term health of the tree, but one day you might decide your sick of picking up leaves and cut the tree down (equally you might decide to sell the house and the next bloke will cut it down). The value that the tree adds to the local area and landscape will then be lost forever, unfortunately people can't be trusted to always do the right thing when it comes to trees so that's why statutory protection is important.

Interesting job down in NZ

I

51 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

I was very happy with the Uniforest, sold it now, but did a lot of good stuff.

It had a manual, string type operation which was a bit Heath Robinson but much cheaper than the hydraulic operated version.

ive got the 8.5 tonne version on the back of the valmet, remote control with all the bells and whistles etc, its a very good winch

ive also got an old fransgard 4.5 tonne winch which is controlled by a couple of bits of rope, that goes on the back of an old Massey 35 for when you want to sneak it in somewhere. Its old but functional and old cost about 1k second hand

although you might be able to use a piled solution you need to investigate what impact the design might have on floor levels in the property. in simple terms if the piled solution results in a floor level that is significantly higher than your existing floor levels would that work with a step in the room?

The other issue that the LPA will consider is wether there will be an increased pressure to fell or prune the tree in the future, unfortunately that is very difficult to argue against 

good luck 

15 minutes ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

You have a Merlo rotator with grapple?

 

You like it?

 

Any massive + or - points?  Apart from initial outlay??

yeah it’s great on the right job, or just drop the grapple saw off and you have your own crane.

massive learning curve but 100% worth it 

9 hours ago, doobin said:

What bit of it don't you get? Your hourly rate is justified for what you do best- big takedowns that would take hundreds of man hours without machinery. If you can convince someone to pay you that for a poxy conifer hedge, then more power to you (and you'll probably make more from sales than being on the ground!)

 

If I have a customer that requires a hedge cut, I don't charge two lads out at what it costs to send a digger and a Heziohack. I charge them a fair rate (one could say the going rate?) that covers my costs and allows profit relative to that job. Meanwhile the diggers are out paying their way at a suitable rate for them. In business, this is called duplication. It's not selling yourself short to charge less for two men than you do for two mean and £150k worth of kit.

 

Your snide dig at a bloke not wearing a helmet in a conifer hedge that you could pretty much walk along, on the hottest day of the year just makes you look butthurt.

it’s ok, you don’t get it, that’s fine. I have a set rate and people pay it or they don’t, i don’t care either way wether we get the work or not. 

Your but hurt comment is hilarious though, i’m far from that. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with trying to display a bit of professionalism in an industry that is often undersold, maybe that’s why i can charge what I do?

Further to that making sure someone wears a helmet wether they are 6 inches or 60ft of the ground is no more about ensuring the safety of your staff as it is about making sure that the buisness isn’t liable. i certainly dont want to loose my home because i didn’t ensure that people weren’t using suitable PPE when carrying out work under my direction.

i’m sure if someone falls off your homemade platform on your mini loader then decides to sue you you’ll wish that maybe you had done things differently? who knows 

6 minutes ago, doobin said:

This 100%

 

£600 a day is good money for two blokes, a ladder and some hedgecutters.

 

John, I don't know why you take umbridge at the suggestion that a garden conifer hedge trim isn't an ideal fit for a business that has spent hundreds of thousands on big kit?

 

Nobody is suggesting that the same two man team with a ladder (however long 🤣) takes on a row of sixty feet tall dead ash on the roadside.

I don't take umbridge to the suggestion that a garden conifer hedge trim isn't an ideal fit for my buisness, we still do the odd one here and there but I charge my usual hourly rate for the work. Why would I sell myself short??

Or Maybe the sort of people that I am working for that are happy to pay a decent hourly rate are the ones that are pleased to see climbers wearing helmets when carrying out aerial works? I would go so far as to say  using PPE in general but I can't see if he's wearing a harness, ear protection, eye protection etc

or maybe the guys only charging £300 to trim that hedge can't afford helmets? who knows?

Just now, Retired Climber said:

The value of the job is about 300 quid. The job isn't a good fit for your business. 

unfortunately I beg to differ, £300 is to cheap. The reality of it is that 3hrs is the best part of half a day so if your then aim to do another "3hr" job afterwards your buisness has only made £600 for the day. Which is not sustainable.

but seeing as your a retired climber you might not be up on current pricing

as a side point I started my buisness when £350.00 a day for a two man team with truck and chipper was the norm

1 minute ago, Retired Climber said:

It's a couple of blokes, a ladder and a hedge cutter. I personally think that more than 100 quid an hour would be a bit steep. 

That may well be the case, however, if it was a couple of my blokes a ladder and a hedge cutter there would still potentially be two valtras, a Unimog, two diggers, a heizohack, big diesel stump grinder and Merlo roto with grapple saw plus numerous other pieces of kit sat in the yard that need paying for so my rate would still be £150-£165 an hour 🙄

The last conifer hedge we "trimmed" I took away 90 cube of woodchip

5 hours ago, Retired Climber said:

300 sounds about right. You'd be pushing it charging much more for 3 hours. 

it depends what your rates are, I tend to charge between £150 + VAT and £165 + VAT an hour. but then we don't trim many conifer hedges 

On 12/07/2022 at 06:33, Mick Dempsey said:

Some people supplement their income like this, cars, quads and motorbikes etc.

I just hate the whole process of selling stuff, putting an ad up, answering questions, dealing with dreamers, meeting potential buyers, haggling, then filling out paperwork.

 

I avoid it where possible.

agreed, the it comes to kit id much rather px it with a dealer for slightly less than have to deal with all the messers to make a little bit extra on it

good sized mac removal. back tomorrow to crack down rest of the timber and chip the lot with the brash. stump ground out in just over an hour. last pick weighed 2.5 tonne 

19 hours ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Finishing off a job with a bit of grinding in the rain.

Noble Fir I think, grinds easy anyway.

nice grinder that

35HP petrol?

certainly looks like a smart piece of kit.

Theres obviously pros and cons to every bit of equipment but I've always thought the ability to position a chipper at any angle is handy, be it tracked or on a trailer. This is where my heizo is limited. however I can rock up with the heizo and feed it with the tractor negating the need for another vehicle and person to bring a digger (you could put both on a low loader behind a tractor if you were going alone)

I say get it bought 🤣

26 minutes ago, MaxD54 said:

@John Shutler,  thanks for that but my main question remains: why can’t I decide myself whether or not I want to safeguard my trees as they are all TPO free? 

planning is a minefield and a lot of the time it doesn’t always make sense. they might decide that the trees need to be further protected following the completion of works but for the time being they are protected by the planning process 

18 minutes ago, john87 said:

What does this say??

 

what does this say ?

maybe better off reading all the supplied info before getting all heavy handed with the red lines 🙄

a lot of un educated comments being made on this thread.

Everything they have suggested is pretty standard. 

The Default position of bs5837 is that no works should be undertaken within RPA’s, it is upto the consultant to work back from that, to a point where the methodology of the proposed works will not damage the trees. They are producing a document to satisfy the planning conditions, because without that you cannot undertake the works.  They have not proposed that all excavations must be done by hand, only that initial excavations must be done by hand. The wording is very important. Ground protection is best practice when working over RPA’s. if retained trees. 

They certainly havnt put anything in the report that i wouldn’t put in my self.

cost wise it’s possibly on the steep side but without looking at all the other documents that they have produced you can’t say for sure.