Tom D

Since a lot of chippers weigh over 1 ton I wonder if they are chased as a trailer? Plant for maintaining the road is exempt I think… not sure a chipper qualifies.

The O License rules changed in May 2022, Basically any rig with a combined plated MAM over 3500kg needs one. Which I would imagine is most of us. So who has one? It’s no longer just the 7.5 toners that are affected a transit and chipper rig would too. 

Here’s a link to the rules: 

When a goods vehicle operator’s licence is needed

You will usually need a goods vehicle operator’s licence if you use a goods vehicle of over 3.5 tonnes gross plated weight or (where there is no plated weight) an unladen weight of more than 1,525kg, to transport goods for hire or reward or in connection with a trade or business.

You will also need a licence if you carry goods for hire or reward on international journeys when using a vehicle (or a vehicle combination) with a maximum laden weight of more than 2.5 tonnes. Find out how to get ready for the new rules.

For a vehicle and trailer combination, you will usually need a goods vehicle operator’s licence if the maximum laden weight or unladen weight of the vehicle and trailer combined exceed 3.5 tonnes (or 2.5 tonnes if carrying goods for hire or reward in Europe).

If you only carry your own goods in a vehicle of 3.5 tonnes or less and your trailer’s unladen weight is less than 1,020 kg you may not need an operator’s licence for operating within the United Kingdom.

For the purpose of operator licensing, ‘goods’ means burden of any description. For example, a tractor unit is a goods vehicle and where a unit is conveying empty trailers to and from the testing station, it would be regarded as the carriage of goods. In this case the ‘goods’ are the trailers.

Exemptions from goods vehicle operator licensing

Some vehicles (or usage) are exempt from requiring an operator’s licence. The full list of exemptions can be found at Annex 3.

These exemptions cover national journeys only. Operators travelling internationally should check the laws in the country to which they are travelling to make sure they have the appropriate licence/documentation for their journey.

Any use of a vehicle which relies on an exemption, must fall exclusively within that exemption. Any operation outside of an exemption requires an operator’s licence no matter how short the period.

It is your responsibility to ensure that an exemption applies to your operation or vehicle.

I should add to this that the salary band for arborists is £25-38k plus kit allowance and bonus. 
 

We’re happy to pay a good salary for the right people. 
 

Get in touch if you’re a good productive climber. 

I have the Nokia’s tractor king tyres, forestry radials, the ride is like a rolls Royce compared to my other N series. Very stable using the crane. Expect to pay an extra £600 each for them though. Worth every penny…https://www.nokiantyres.com/heavy/tires/forestry/nokian-tractor-king/

Here’s a blast from the past, since this thread our 7901  got ported by spud and did a lot of work before eventually breaking and being left in the corner of the shed. We got it running again and treated it to a new bar. She’s still a great saw.

Even the council’s don’t tax their tractors as commercial. It would be Mobile plant if anything. 

Here she is working. 

On 21/03/2022 at 17:12, drinksloe said:

 

 

That looks some bit of kit.

 

Does no one bother forestry guarding tractors now?

Seen another couple of photos of crane tractors and no roof /cab/bonnet guarding?

And are u not worried u get a branch throu the roof window?

Be bloody handy when ur squeezing under BT cables thou.

 

Final question, wots the benefit of the jake mount over roof mounting? ( i persume it is a jake mount?)

I can't imagine many folk ever take them off with the jake mount or is it a stability thing with the weight lower down

 

I ordered it with polycarbonate windows. The sides, rear and roof are all polycarbonate. The windscreen and door are glass though. 

Look at her go!

Our new addition. 

Preferably both. 

Was used for black powder back in the day. 
you could be the new Guy Fawkes. 

6 hours ago, lux said:

That looks a terrible method for controlling depth of burn….
Seen it done with flat roofing torch which offers better control. I think it was on an old grand designs episode.

I guess a skilled hand could make it work. probably a fair bit of trial and error with that method until you get the knack.

Still at well over £100 per sqm to buy ready made I am looking at around £20k for cladding at a very rough estimate. so I can afford to experiment a little.

Was it tongue and groove?

1 minute ago, Conor Wright said:

If your going for a heavy char the best option is to immediately run cold water over the flaming board whilst brushing it with a stiff brush. This stops the charring evenly, removes the excess carbon and helps create a sealed finish.

It's a technique I plan to use when we get to that stage with our house.

Where did you learn about this? got a link, or a book to recommend?

I think you brush all the excess carbon off so probably not.. Although you can leave it really black for the crocodile skin effect.. maybe then it would..

1 hour ago, lux said:

My advice is buy it.

We are nearing the end of our house build. We have a lot of it cladding the exterior.

We used Siberian larch. You pick the the level of finish you want. In that I mean in terms of the depth of burn and how charred you want the surface to be be. From a fairly smooth finish to a more crickled charcoal like appearance.

The burn is controlled by machine / computer doing loads of boards in large batches ensuring you get an even finish for the exterior.

I found a contractor who had done 3 or 4 houses in it before.

 

I have looked at that but.. its expensive and when I have a load of wood sitting there and the space to do it it seems daft to buy it. It looks labour intensive, but then I'd have the satisfaction of having done it myself, I'm going to do some timber cladding for inside too..

Has anyone ever made any? I am building a house soon if we ever get the planning through and we are thinking of this as the weatherboarding. I have collected quite a lot of black pine from the recent storms so I'm hoping to use that. Any ideas or suggestions welcome in terms of techniques or tools...

The one we’re selling. 

We will be selling our N111 at some point. But we’re so busy I can’t say when. We’ve finally got our hands on this beauty, which is supposed to be the replacement but we’re going to run with both of them for a while. I’ll put it on here when it’s ready to go….

It’s wrong to say that a £1000 job is a £1200 job with vat because the Vat reg company gets 20% off everything they buy so they can afford to work for a bit less.

Having said that if you’re worried about the 20% making you too expensive then you’re doing it all wrong. There will always be some idiot who will work cheaper than you. So don’t even try and compete. Our turnover divided by 240 (working days less holiday) divided by number of employees =£357 per man per day. Less subby turnover and its more like £300/man/day.  So our real world turnover is over £600 for a 2 man team and over £900 for a 3 man team. We still win plenty of domestic work: over £250k per year….Stop worrying about being vat reg and start charging a proper rate for your services and you won’t look back.

This has cropped up on here before, I always wonder…

The 2021 threshold is £85000, allow for 4 weeks holiday a year and that’s £354 per working day. This means that there are three ways to stay under the vat threshold.

1. You work part time. Fair enough, I know a few people who do this.

2. You work for less than £350 per day, if you’re a subby climber fair enough, if your a contractor then you’re an idiot to work this cheap.

3. You do a lot of cash jobs and only put half your turnover through the books…

I still don’t see how any serious contractor can not be vat reg. 

I should add that we will also consider those who want part time or subcontract work.

TD Tree & land Services are looking for a Tree Surveyor for our busy Survey Team.

The role involves assessing, recording producing Tree Hazard Evaluation Reports and BS5837 Arboricultural Implication Assessments.

We provide all the necessary software and equipment for the role.

We are looking for someone who can work well on their own who is self motivated and committed to a career in arboriculture.

Minimum Qualifications would be a recognised Arboricultural qualification such as a degree, foundation degree AA Tec or ISA qualification. We will also consider applicants with the LANTRA PTI.

We are offering a package consisting of company vehicle, IT equipment, and a competitive salary based on experience. £24k+ and a company bonus scheme.

Sorry. You've just missed out on our course which is running this week. If you contact my colleague Davy Whyte at

[email protected] he can let you know when the next one is running. 

Generally these things book up fast so its worth registering your interest early.

We have two places left on a PTI course that we are running next week. The course is being run in Central Scotland FK8. Price is £380+Vat. Dates 4th - 6th May

Please contact David Whyte on 07535 167 216 or [email protected] to reserve a space.

If are interested but you can’t make next week please get in touch to pre-book on the next course.