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Ty Korrigan

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Everything posted by Ty Korrigan

  1. Ty Korrigan
    And yet... Paris is not representitive of France just as London is not when compared with say Shropshire...
  2. Ty Korrigan
    Hi, found this old thread whilst googling around. We are based in Bretagne near Rennes. Life is good generally. Considering I am fairly new to the climbing side I am well pleased with my performance and if I see a potential job that is likely to make me lose my bottle and break down and cry , well I just pass it on to a bigger outfit. No harm in that eh? After all, a small builder doesnt put up skyscrapers now... The French pay well but the Brits tend to be less rich these days and are migrating back home in droves. I've got in with the local mayor and estate agents who pass on potential work and put our name about. For all our equipment, we buy from the u.k as the french prices are stupid and they just won't negociate. There is a shortage of climbers but although I may never climb fast enough at 40 for another company I certainly climb well enough to make a decent living and its getting better by the day. You can visit us at http://www.lejardinieranglais.com The french side will be online by December 2010. Cheers Stuart
  3. Ty Korrigan
    Hello there, We are trying to decide on how much we should spend on advertising. A figure of around 5% of turnover is our aim but we are running at 10% at the moment. Obviously when we attract more clients this figure will drop especially as word of mouth takes effect. Do any of you chaps know how much you spend as a percentage of turnover? Regards Ty
  4. Ty Korrigan
    Hi and thanks guys, You would not believe the cost here in france of hire. €250per day or £200. I am considering blowing out on Danequip 27hp so to be more competitive. Not stumpground since college so should be physical trial. I have one cherry, a birch and lots of fresh pine. Got any anecdotes or advices...? Thanks again Ty
  5. Ty Korrigan
    Hello, I need some advice on grinding times as I have 4 potential clients lined up. I will be renting an 18hp anonymous machine. Any examples of wood, time and tips would be welcome. Thanks in advance Ty
  6. Ty Korrigan
    Ah... No Vino, I was offered by the client who also kindly fed us but refused the tipple. Ordered a new handlebar, sprocket cover and fan cover from Honey Bros. as the parts here in France are just too expensive. Should be about £130 to repair the 441 so with all the other expenses it was another loss making day all round...:sad: I do wish I had started with a real pro outfit rather than go out on my own straight from college... Ho hum... Today, I'm going to quote for a dying Poplar which is among the tallest trees in the town. The client is the 'Notaire' or local solicitor so I had better get this one right!
  7. Ty Korrigan
    Ah... When I joined this forum some of the elders of this parish told me I had alot to learn... I'm still shaking from Mondays error. I had dismantled a large Norway spruce with 5 leaders and had it down to a bare stem about 7m high.. With my new 441, I thought I'd 'practise' the letter box cut as I don't get too many large trees to fell rather than chog it right down. I was just finishing off the final back cut when I cut through the hinge on one side. The stem fell towards the clients house, pinching the 441 as it went crushing it beneath and the stem lightly grazed the render before bouncing away from the wall. Aside from the saw repairs, if possible at all, it is the thought of the enormous repair bill, loss of face and reputation that could have been.
  8. Ty Korrigan

    Cheers Stephen,

    I worry too much about costs perhaps...

    A question about the blades though.

    Do you use any grease on the blade bolts?

    I was told not to but have had a real trial removing the blades as the bolts where well dry.

    I broke a the tool AND ruined a couple of the bolts which Greenmech sell for £4 each!

    This Is important as when I get back to France I have to re-assemble it for the weekends job.

    Cheers

    Ty

  9. Ty Korrigan
    Hello all, I don't get much internet access these days so I apologise if I don't reply to this enquiry promptly. I'm running a Greenmech CS100 chipper and want to run the costs past you fellows. I'm assuming the engine/machine is good for 1000 hours so the price divided by the hours = say £5 The fuel(3litres p/h) +oil/filter etc I allow another £5 per hour Blades, blade bolts, belts etc another £5 So I reckon on £15 running costs per hour including a small margin. Am I on the right track here chaps? Please let me know what you think. Regards Ty P.S I'm actually working in euros but its much the same these days as Sterling...
  10. Ty Korrigan
    Hello, I'm over in France and there are few dealers who can help me here. I'm trying to change the blades on my CS100 and have found that on each a bolt has seized. That is the actual blade to cassette bolts. I have rounded each one off a little in trying to undo it. IS my best bet to visit an agricultural engineer or bring the lump back to you during my hols in August. (I bet your shut though...) The fellow who changed them last time omitted to grease the bolts it seems. Please contact me before the 4th August so I may make arrangements. Regards Stuart Lee Le Jardinier Anglais
  11. Ty Korrigan
    First, sorry for posting it here if it's in the wrong place. Also, sorry, but I cut grass too to make ends meet! So, I have a Honda's own brand hydrostatic self propelled walk behind mower which is not it's usual faultless self. It is now 'hunting' when on full revs. I mean it automatically revs RA RA RA (like a tory laughing at a hunt ball) Seriously, I ran it out of fuel, filled it up then it started this RA RA RA. About the same time I also bashed it into something in a hedge and may have hit the carb area. What possible causes are there for this and how can I repair it or at least be forwarned when I take it into my local 'Motoculture' as I live in France and so automatically expect a large bill. Regards and thanks in advance Ty
  12. Ty Korrigan
    Hello all, I'm running a wee chipper, Greenmech CS100 I'm budgeting for 5euros p/h fuel/oil/filter. A life of 1000hours with a re-sale of 500euros... perhaps... So thats approx 5euros p/h Blades are expensive and one of us put something through that damaged one side of the blades after only 10hours or so. So I must allow for the 'cockup factor' in costing. In short, I reckon that allowing 15euros+ p/h costs is fair for even this smallest of chippers. What say the venerable ones here? Ty
  13. Ty Korrigan
    Hello all, I love hedge work. I use a silky for thick stems, always carry Felcos in a holster and use a Stihl HS45 because its light and I can use it all day (I'm small and skinny) I work from a Henchman Senior mostly, it's a bit of an investment although its worse quality than an N.H.S crutch... sadly. However, it's a good tool even if it does get heavier to move as the day advances. Good thread! Ty
  14. Ty Korrigan

    Hello Chap,

    I'm in Rennes, writing this on a friends dreadfull azerty keyboard so very slow going.

    It was very good to meet you by the way.

    You seem like a reasonable fellow whom I could learn from.

    I want to get more experience in rigging and I thought that if I do get a job that requires a level of experience over mine then I might give you a call and price you in as lead climber.

    I really hope you do alright over in central Brit ville but I rather think that making a living out of trees and hedges alone could be lean pickings.

    Last night, we (Seb and I) priced up for the removal of a chimney, roof repair and total renovation of a small city garden in an old quarter of Rennes.

    Bit of a mix but suits our skill base all round as Seb trades as 'Bricol Tout' and acts as my groundy.

    I've got to put some pressure on my web master to put up some decent pages as thats a way forward too.

    Stay in touch!

    Regards

    Stuart Lee

    Le Jardinier Anglais

  15. Ty Korrigan

    Chap,

    May I pick your brains...

    Here in perfidious France...

    I often come across over mature cupressus hedges with their fronds waving in and out of lines, often they seem in contact.

    I've just turned down a 2500euro job because of the proximity to the lines.

    Shame, yet there will always be others.

    How dangerous can this be if I am dragging the tree out of the lines?

    Can it conduct down the foliage for instance...?

    Cheers

    Ty

  16. Ty Korrigan
    Well, this last week I only broke ONE roof slate with a branch, cut through ONE telephone line whilst hedge cutting:001_huh: and put my spade though ONE 100mm plastic pipe whilst digging out a shrub. I`m getting better ALL the time though! I'm sure even skilled persons have those kind of weeks...
  17. Ty Korrigan
    Hello there, I'm practising target pruning on a friends oaks as a favour to both him and me. It's something I need more experience of as all I seem to do is dismantle or fell. The oaks are fairly close together, 18-20m high and form part of a mature hedge. I've a problem with applying target pruning to very long skinny crowns and am finding that I've no choice but to reduce very heavily OR leave long skinny branches waving like I've forgotten them. Smaller, more compact trees OR trees that have grown with a fuller crown are so much easier. Any advice you chaps can give me? Steve, is bad target pruning called 'Taggert' pruning in Scotland? (Because it's MUrrRDER!)
  18. Ty Korrigan
    No, my error. See, in my head, if you go into a restuarant and order plat de jour for 10euros then change your mind about it and order the chef special, how can you be surprised when you recieve a bill for double? I now realise that the onus lies with me to tell the client about ANY added costs rather than rely on their common sense. Ty
  19. Ty Korrigan
    Whoah! It ALMOST happend again! This time, we had quoted in writing for a crown reduction but on the morning when we got all set up and were just about to start, the client comes out and tells us to fell it. So, instead of 5 hours we quoted for we work 9hours. When I ask for the cheque on completion, the client says they will only pay the previous price quoted. So I wave my quote at them and tell them I have worked 9 hours instead of 5 for a completely different job and they are only paying me the same rate pro-rata. Result, they capitulate and pay up. Also we have further works at the same site in the near future so I hope when I turn up with all my materials pre cut and paid for that they don't try to change things again. I shall ask for a 100% deposit for materials next time. Bad news about the old French biddy is that my British associate has not stood by me and so I have to go back and work for free for 3 hours or we will lose her grass contract. Ty
  20. Ty Korrigan
    Now then my friends... I am a total newbie at this so I wish to pick the brains here. I have a client who will let me loose for the sheer fun of it (ie no charge) on a 2m standing cherry stem that I have recently dismantled. I want to carve a simple wave effect from this trunk as it is next to a swimming pool. If I cock it up then I can just fell it, no loss just a gain of experience. My tools... a 260 with a normal 40cm bar and sharp chain. Do I need anything different? Should I mark the areas to be cut out first? Can... this wood be treated with a stain to give it a white/grey/blue-ish tinge? Actually, I'm quite excited at the prospect! Advice welcome. Ty
  21. Ty Korrigan
    Well... I've got to face her again as we have her grass contract for 2010... Although I don't cut her lawns my associate does and we don't want to lose her custom. Cheers lads!
  22. Ty Korrigan
    Update... I went around to visit the old bird. Plain and clear that she didn't want to pay up. Grumbled about me being expensive blah blah blah. Then she went off to in her own words (French of course) 'To scratch the bottom of the draw'... I got 300euros out of the 474 owed and I still have to return and prune her roses for free...
  23. Ty Korrigan
    I know I'm going to very soon... Back in October, I quoted 150cash to fell a cupressus into a field. Then called back the client in January to tell them that I could chip it for another 30e When I got there, under what I thought/was told was a bramble hedge was a low but valuable stone wall. No felling then. So I climbed it and dismantled it which took 4 man hours longer. What a dense mess! Still the client fed us royally and we kept our reputation and professional integrity. Now, I'm about to quote 4k euros for a job that a fire wood hunter quoted 600euros for. If I lose, I'd like to see if if F.W.Hunter does do it... Also, we under quoted 400e for a thick leylandii hedge and this too has been snapped up by another F.W.Hunter and guess what... THIS TIME WE DON'T CARE!!! In fact, as it is around the corner, when it kicks off, we shall cancel our work for the day, pull up a pair of deck chairs and a flask and just watch... and laugh! I mean, how much wood 'v' brash in a Leylandii hedge?
  24. Ty Korrigan
    Acorn Milling, I'm perfectly able to price :001_huh:and thank you for you positive comments so far the rest of you. I posed this thread so as to confirm with my peers that I am on the right track. I also agree that a stone burier does do the best job but for now it is a little out of our budget to buy and hard to find locally to rent. Currently we are doing a mixed bag of tree, hedge and landscaping. We find that diversifying in a region of low population is good sense. Thanks again guys:thumbup:!
  25. Ty Korrigan
    Hey guys! Sorry but you've read it wrong here. This price is for seeding as there is almost no turf available in France. It's always seed here. Have another go please

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