benedmonds

The missis is a librarian... So she might be helpful.

I've done the fungi, BS5837 and the PTI with treelife. As I've said before, (I should know I've done it twice now..) the PTI is not a training course. It is a preperation/reminder followed by an exam. You can pick up stuff obviously but they don't attempt to teach you how to inspect trees. They expect you to know what your doing. The BS5837 course again doesn't teach you how to inspect trees but usefull if you do BS5837 reports and there is some crossover. The fungi recognition basically runs through whats in Lonsdales PoTHAaM with slides and examples. Usefull but still not good enough for me as I messed up my fungi ID in the PTI. I guess fungi ID comes with practice and lets face it seeing a photo in situ in a book of a nice fresh fungi aint going to help your ID of a dried up old fungi in a box. Which is why the fungi ID thread here is so good.

If you use a metal tape measure instead of a stick you can make different angles other then the 45 degrees. You can make a table to work out the height from different distances.

I've just signed up with tree life for the prof dip prep course. Nice reading list broken down into 3 parts, first - required for course and purchase should be considered over £1000... Hmm didn't budget that in.. Second, may need to be read, about £300 Third maybe of use, another grands worth..

MY EMERGENCY RATES: Time starts from when we leave yard, Price + VAT. We also normally would only make safe during the night and clear up the next day. 2 Man Team Anti-social hours (after 5pm and Sundays) £250 for first hour then £95 per hour Within normal work hours - £150 for first hour then £75 per hour 3 and 4 Man Team add per man Anti-social hours (after 5pm and Sundays) + £30 per hour Within normal work hours + £20 per hour

That was my first thought, but it would be difficult. The path leads from the carpark to the school. Its not a very high use target except a couple of times a day.. But it is an imotive, delicate and valuble (to their parents) target.. Do you have any info regarding this type of procedure. I guess I have done it before when installing a brace that was specified I didn't think necassary and on a previously braced tree. I used webbing slings and wire but I have not read any recomendations for its use.

Theres no way I'm condeming the tree, but does it need the brace and reduce? I don't like bracing trees, causes as many problems as it solves, possibly more.

Repeat custom and recommendations due to doing a good job, having a conscience and not recommending pointless works…

I'd only buy new saw now days, but my first saw was an 039 from a car boot ten years ago. It still gets used loads especially up the tree, it never misses a beat. Even had it running a 25inch bar last week when we needed more big saws cut up the big poplars for Buzz to chip. The other saws I've brought from ebay 046, 044 and 066 have all died!

It's an historic crack IMO. but it does run for about 4m along the side of the limb. The heart wood is exposed for the fist meter or so but does not show any signs of cracking. It continues up the limb as a bark crack. There is no crack on the oposite side.

Lots Yes.

I've a big old horse chestnut in a school grounds. It has lots of cracks up the trunks as HC's often get and one particular limb (45cm diameter) that stretches out over a foot path. My feeling is to do nothing, what do ya all think?

Trouble is then the numpty will take the branches all the branches to 2m... I guess the answer could be only to have approved contractors like the corgi scheme working on protected trees... But I'm not sure we want to go down that route.

Tony - I don't have a answer to how to spec reductions. I'm just saying that saying take 2m from every branch is going to mean I'm theoretically restricted and not allowed to take cuts further down inside the tree if they are more than the 2m spec. Maybe not an issue if you have a TO who knows what they are doing but some don't have a clue about the real world... I guess you need something that you can give to the numpties to stop them topping in the name of reductions. I still don't like not being trusted.. and think reductions are an art and therefore you can't be overly specific in a spec. It restricts my creativity!

I still disagree, when I'm reducing a tree, that you'd give a 2m specification. I may well cut the longest branches 3 or 4m further back inside the crown. But I would try to leave branches from within the crown that reach where I want my new outside of the canopy to be uncut. Lateral limbs are pruned where they join large diameter side branches. The center leader is cut back to a large diameter secondary branch so that a modified leader remains. This does not change the direction of growth. It encourages stimulation of the apical growth point. That is very different to taking 2m off every branch. I am not trying to "improve" the shape of the tree. I am pruning the tree so that hopefully it doesn't look pruned. Taking a set amount from every branch you can see the cuts at the end of each branch. My way the cuts are less obvious within the crown of the tree. I also believe that the tree responds better as the cuts are in the shade and less likely to send out watershoots. It is very difficult to write a spec which says do this, which is why I like the fluff. It is also more art than science and takes a lot of skill and feel for the tree. Most tree surgeons can't/don't do it. But it doesn't mean it isn't better. Also if you write a spec which says 2m this and 100mm that, some TO straight out of college or nosey neighbor will get out a tape measure.

I disagree, I wouldn't take 2m of every bit that's going to look like a very unnatural tree. I take a different approach more like the Reduction Via Thinning as described by David Lloyd-Jones http://www.arbornauts.com/articles.html Or drop crotching, which will result in larger (but fewer) wounds, lower in the canopy but a more natural looking tree. Stating that your not going to cut over a size is to restrictive. You end up with thick diameter branches high in the crown that's not natural.. I agree percentages can be a little fluffy but once your in a tree you need a degree of fluff as trees often lend themselves to being cut at a certain point and that might not be at 2m.

I've always used two in a Mewp, keep the saw outside of the basket when running. Massive time saver - put the saw down, move to position, pick saw up, cut, saw down.. etc... Much quicker with an operator an cutter.

My 660 has the old type which if fine, I've never had one of those fall off, unlike the poncy new ones!

£550 a day we've been quoted.

Job done and cleared up! After AHS had taken there 150 ish tons of chip we still had three transit loads of rakings to chip & 4 grain trailers of waste to clear up. Not to mention the odd hole to fill.

To be honest the client (a local authority) knows as little about forestry as I do. If my calculations are right 4 men 2000m2 a day that about 1/2 an acre (4046.85642 square meters in one acre). As to getting a forestry contractor it's pretty small scale. It would have been usefull for the client to mark some trees, to show what they want. I've got a pretty good idea what I think should be done and we've easy got the kit to do it. I'm just unsure of how long it will take, which is why I'm after advice from you lot. The client will get 4 quotes from local tree firms and pick the cheapest any how and as there is a "fluffy" brief another firm will probably quote less but do less. This has happened before on different jobs and I've been back to a site and found that they've ony done half what we would have.

I have looked long and hard for a decent helmet I've had the: - erin rock, which is too heavy - kong, which has poor ear defender attachments and is not easy to adjust size with just a velcro band - vertex vent, best of the clinbing lids I've tried but still don't like the chin strap..

Are you likely to be able to find a roost with a bat detector, presuambly you would have to be at the tree as the bat leaves or enters, the detectors can't pick up roosting bats...? or do bats echolocate while roosting...? If a climbing inspection is required, which it sounds like. What's a good, afordable endoscope and if you find bats, does the roost become protected. Or can you get a licence from English nature? How does that work?

I have a developer who wants a line of trees taken down on a site which does not yet have planning permission. Do I need a felling licence? It is in an urban area, but I don't think it qualifies under the exemptions..? I've never applied for one before. Has anyone had grief for felling trees without one? http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-5YGFRM

I think you've got your sums wrong: I might be wrong but I think: 20,000 m² = 2 Hectares or 4.94210 acre therefore 500m2 per man per day or a 2000m2 a day.. A football pitch is between 5,000-10,000m2 Hmm, we might do it quicker..