Ty Korrigan

To your credit mate, it looks bigger in the images of you climbing it. Well done. Ty

Thanks for all that. My associate wants us to consider the bandit sidewinder. Anyone used that? Looks to be labour saving...

Hi, Any-one any real life experience of this make? Looking at the 27hp model. Would appreciate any comments or alternative suggestions... Cheers! Ty

Hi, I lived in a 1968 Sprite for 2 years complete with gas lights and a wood burner made from an old gas bottle and an alu flu from mr scrappy. Then I bought a Bailey Senator. Luxury for 8 years. Then a house owning phase. Last year I bought another Senator for 8K and hope to live in it for 2/3 winters to save €€€ AND I pay no rent as I DO for madam rennie. Its warm. Its dry with an awning and decking. One big bottle of propane is good for 3 weeks+ and costs €70. Lasts all summer though. Say €500 on gas a year. Water may freeze and holes need to be dug for the loo waste but if you strip off before you enter leaving your boots outside and ventilate then caravans are a great form of accomodation. Best of luck!

Ah... You could try woofing... No money, easy tasks, bed and board thrown in often with loose german blonds to occupy your down time between fishing for snapper... Look up Whangerai heads in the old woofing manual as there is an old couple with an 80hectare forest. Great people. Private airstrip. Love fishing. May adopt you... N.Z is a land of opportunity once prospective employers smell your a grafter. Best of luck!

Hello, Andy's point about running costs is quite valid. However... Quoting for hedgework can put you in competition with pure gardeners so for lower hedges with only trimmings to take away we charge locally €25/30per man hour. But... When its the grand reduction and big material is involved then we price in the chipper at €30 p/h and our rate from €30-€35per man when possible. Hedge cutters are expensive so I have a rough cutter for woody ripe material and a best for soft taxus and thuyia etc We use a henchman senior as a cutting platform and we may buy a smaller model too. They are expensive, heavy and not that well made but a great piece of kit regardless of faults.

Hi, I can't read all the posts as my phone is so slow to download but I have done similar... Boarded over the green house. Working from a henchman platform and took the branches off with a polesaw. You may have to rig up some way of catching heavier material. I polesawed thin rings off. My price here would be €480 inc the stump or £380-400

I'm with you on that front. Just a question of etiquette I wanted to clear up. Ty Korrigan CSE grade 3 life skills.

Hello, question time. What are the ethics/etiquete concerning the use of abreviated qualifications after your name? As in 'John Smith' RFScert... (sorry for any real john smiths out there) I understand that degrees with honours may be used but lesser qualifications...? Regards Ty

I once worked on a dairy farm in N.Z South island West coast. One of my jobs was running the trap lines around the farm and into the bush for invasive species control. Old style leg holds which are banned in the U.K The possums we had to catch live so we could knock them on the head before plucking them whilst still warm. The choice fur would sell for up to $150 per kilo and for that we needed about 20 possums. The body we chucked into the bush. Feral cats were a big problem for native birds and these often turned up in our traps as well as weasels and stoats. These we gave a belt to the head after pinning them down with a forked stick. Hedgehogs are another pest and have become diurnal walking about during the day. These we hit with sticks or just stamped on. Kittens regularly turned up in litters even though we where 50km from town! I will probally go to hell for all those I dispatched with a belt to the head. Here in France, I trapped 6 kittens this year but left it to madame renee to dispatch them. Probally turned them into pate de chaton...

Who uses a blower vac? I worked alongside a gardener in central brittany who obsesively used one even though it was far slower than a rake! Wet leaves, one at a time shloop shloop.

Ouch! 375€ that IS low. Especially considering that you will be paying 50%+of your profit to the state. Have you found out how much the other paysagistes are charging out? One way is to use a friends/clients house with trees of course and invite companies to quote for work there using their prices as your measure. I will travel an hour for work but only if its a whole days worth. As a guide, French tradesmen charge out at 35-45 per hour rarely less than 300€ per day. Which department are you in France? Cheers Stuart

I don't know why I am sharing this with you bunch of hairies but... We quoted a fair price for a short back and sides on an overgrown garden in the village. Having spent a wet morning dragging brush Madame invited us for coffee served through her kitchen window. She was born there in the kitchen in 1928 It had an earth floor no electricity and 8 people including a lodger lived in a room barely 6mx4m plus the loft where the dried beans and straw where kept. Water was from a well some 50m way. Madame recalls when the british ran away and the germans in their turn likwise. The americans who gave her a lift one day to town in a truck and her future husband who was evacuated at dunkirk and returned with the free french to fight another day. But most on my mind was the local garden company who charged this old war bird 3 times more than us for a whole day when we took 5 hours. Madame tipped us 50€ and kissed us both. Vivre De Gaule!

I will say in defence of pricing that we as a collaboration owe no-one nuffin. We elect profit above costs/ salary/ share to all plus a bonus for the one who has worked most. This always involves a fistfit and wrestling match which attracts more in bets that profit gained

Euroville France Here I am taxed/pay social charges at a mere 60% . I hate to disclose personal details these days but as a guide I look at a minimum of 1200€ per week to cover costs and pay the partners as we are a collaboration taking shares of profit regardless of investment. Our current target day rate is 480€ plus 30€ per hour for Mr Chips the chipper. We do exceed that regularly at the moment by doubling our clients.. We are cheap and are raising little by little our rate until we reach a 75% quote acceptance ( currently 95% too high ) There are others who charge 800-1200 for the same work so we are comfortable with our business plan. Cheers Ty

And yet... Paris is not representitive of France just as London is not when compared with say Shropshire...

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

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

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

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

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!

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.

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...

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