benedmonds

Some of my guys complain when they don't get a picture (They also do sometimes complain when I have quoted from one....) I often combine google earth with my photos. It does take time though.. Which is why i am interested in trying Arb Pro.. I also love google street view. Regularly quote from it... It can be useful in looking at rates of decline over the years.

I will deffo take you up on that.. when I get time..

Yes. I had been considering trying Arb Pro. But not willing to sign up without having a better play. I checked out your web site and saw in your FAQ you do not have a free trial so shelved the idea... I will check out the Demo.

You should change your FAQ's https://www.arbprosoftware.com/faqs

What dont i have a clue about? You have an amazing set up. But the pic shows a vehicle with a sticker that says 20m exclusion zone with several members of staff within that. The sticker is pointless.. A bit like stikers that say construction vehicle..

you have to be one of the few people waiting for ash die back to take hold...As this setup has to be the way forward...

But what use is this information? The reports are NOT going to be conclusive, they should identify the level of risk of subsidence if the tree is remains. My guess is there would be a moderate or high risk depending how far from the house it is.. But that doesn't help much and they want the tree out because of light anyway.... If the structural engineer states there is a high risk of heave if the tree is felled, your only option is to retain the tree and hope it never dies.. There is nothing practical (that I am aware of) you can do to prevent any heave and I think we have agreed that staged reductions are pointless.

Rather than trash the employment thread I thought I would start a new one. Beddows are seeking a member of staff and offering what looks to me like a very good day rate. 220 days at £180 a day equals £39,600 a year. Which is going to be more than many small company owners make, and definitely more than most make in the first few years trading.. All for allot less stress.. How much is the equivalent cost to a business for PAYE. My estimates of financial cost to the business of an equivalent full time position after NIC, Pension, training, ppe etc etc. would be around £30,000 But how much is having permanent employment, sick leave, guaranteed work worth? Not to mention possibilities of progressing in the business..

Has anyone ever had a case where a tree has been felled due to subsidence only for it to then suffer from heave?

Looks a lot more then 6m tall unless it has been topped just above the photo..? Still not sure what a structural engineer will tell you... Or what you could do if one did say heave was likely.. I guess you could just keep the tree. I am happy to be corrected.. Subsidence risk is more likely then heave imo.

What is a structural engineer going tell you of any use? It is a pretty small young tree, it is only going to get bigger so subsidence could become an issue.. As its a young tree it is unlikely to have caused a soil moisture deficit. It is small therefore was probably not there before the house. If it was there before the house then the house is newish and should have been built with sufficient foundations.. There is nothing practical that I am aware of you can do to prevent any heave. Remove the tree fix any damage..

Cheers eddie, that was kind of my reasoning... Found another local firm doing 3ton bobcat for £220 a week, but no grab or shear, they are happy to let me fit our own. But I would probably only afford a grab.. I have also found a hire company that will do a 3Ton Excavator with Tilt hitch (goes left to right also) £320 per Week Tree Sheer to fit 3 Ton Machine £220 plus vat per week. This would have the benefit of definitely working. I guess it depends on the type of work but is a shear much better then a grab or is a man and saw cutting and grab moving the waste efficient? This particular job is lots of small material..

So a search found approvedhydraulics and they do a hire with intent to buy option which looks good.. https://www.approvedhydraulics.co.uk/collections/grab-attachment-hire So could I fit a: TG - 16S Log Grab TG - 16SR4 Log Grab or could I go with Tiger Cut 210E Tree Shears. Will they work as a grab as well as a shear? or do they neede a bigger digger... (no one answered my call at approved hydraulics....)

I know this has been covered and mentioned in the "show us your arb digger" thread and I thats where I got the idea but can I have a simple recommendation. I am not ready to invest in a digger but my local firm can hire a 3 ton Zero Tail Swing Mini Digger (Bobcat or Kubota) for £285 for the week. However they do not have shears or grabs... What should I buy (or does anyone hire) that will easily fit so I can use on a hire machine..? The job I have in mind is 2-3 weeks worth of clearing small hawthorn. Ideally it could feed our 10 inch chipper, but even just moving to the chipper would be helpful. A couple of my staff are apparently OK operators...

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011431031963 We part exchanged our TW190 with a used Tracked GM 1928 with Adam Redhead. He was good to deal with, good price for the GM and he gave us a price for TW from photos. I am sure we could have got more privately for the TW but it was easy.. He brought the GM to us, let us check it over and took the TW away..

We managed to source the original maker and it was over £1000 and 28 days to build..

Yes but at a cost and down time.. We came to the conclusion the repairs needed were not economically viable. One machine needed a hydraulic motor which tw no longer stocked and could not give us a supplier.. The other needed a lot of work to the chassis. We decided to make one good machine and keep the other for spares.

I don't know anything about the old tw230 but we have a couple of big old tws. One of which we have had to retire because we could not get a pretty simple part..

Or the 20m Exclusion zone sticker..

I have found this on Google.. I think phone listens...

If space is an issue get an inset stove. https://goo.gl/images/NsGBpj We have a narrow lounge and found this took up the least space.

But it is just wrong.... Using energy to dry wood that will dry with no additional inputs just doesn't make sense for the environment.. It is surely only happening because of RHI payments.. Or cheap imports operating in an unsustainable short term manner..

I understand there is a difference between some of you guys who do it for a living and those of us who do it to get rid of a byproduct but I really think some people take seasoning far to seriously... I will admit we have far more wood then we can process (we sent 300 tons of log wood for biomass this summer). We only sell 50-60 bulk bags a year at £80-£90 delivered and a few sacks. For us leaving it seasoning for a few years is no problem and very little extra handling.. It is an extra that guys can do on the weekend or to fill in gaps in the tree work.. When we come back with a decent load of timber and there is space it gets tipped onto a pile for firewood. If that pile is full or it is conifer, willow, poplar and big stuff, it goes on another pile that goes for biomass.. The firewood sits outside exposed for in the rain and shine for a 2-3 years.. We generally don't process much till the end of summer or autumn then split it and load into bulk bags these are kept under cover for maybe a month or 2.. I find the seasoned wood drys super fast and is dry (although I have never checked with moisture meter). I had logs falling out of my log store at home this winter and they were left in the rain and soaked, but I left them inside for a couple of days they dried really fast and burned really well. I might be doing it wrong but I had the chimney swept for the first time in 5 years last year (we have a fire most nights in winter) and there was less than half a bucket of soot and sweep said I must be burning good firewood. I also agree with what big J said about it being an expensive way to heat a house.. It would make far more sense for me to sell the logs I use and buy gas, but there is something special about a wood burner...

£12 is good, I think we are getting £9 or £10..

I have done 4 different aia' s for renewables first. Who are planning to install small scale hydro. I also quoted at a bunch of other sites.. They must be economically viable..