Dean O

Mull - that's ideal - you don't fancy a road trip do you? I could load with a skidsteer Codlasher - I'd also considered picking up reclaimed paviours or left overs here and there and laying bit at a time - but was worried that they would move about too much under the tracks? how have you found them so far. how have you gone about it? - my thoughts were that I could sort the sub base then blind and lay with sand a bit at a time? the parking area has a bit of a fall (approx. 2-3 foot over 10 metres at the moment) which I was planning on grading out a bit. would water movement wash out the sand and cause too much settling?

Hadn't thought of buying a wacker - daft as it sounds - would be useful in the future. the house is located up a long narrow track built traversing a hillside - I don't trust it to stand up to the weight of a concrete lorry, even with half a load. id thought of a pump but speaking to concrete contractor he said his pump would shift it around 65 metres (the track is around 300 metres long and approx. 1 in 6 grad.) I can get a lorry to the bottom of the hill then dumper it up tho. a huge onsite mixer would be the tool - bringing the material up on 3.5 tonners and trailers and mixing and pouring on site.

Thanks guys funnily enough Id looked at concrete sleepers as an option. re planning, we'd been advised that as water drainage is managed around the property rather than going to the highway/ public sewers we wont need planning. area is roughly 12 metres x 10 metres. luckily excavation material can stay on site, but part of the issue is getting a concrete lorry nearby due to the access, in my heart I know concrete is the way to go but the cost is prohibitive at the moment. I think my solution will be to sort drainage and sub-base, then have some 8x4 sheets on hand for use when tracking the machines.

we recently moved house and have been looking at 'sorting' the driveway/ parking area. I need to be able to bring tracked machines home every now and then I'd like a concrete pad down - as cleaning mud of the vehicle, and tracking the machine on gravel makes a mess. but the price I've had for sorting levels, drainage and sorting various other bits and pieces has been massive. So I'm considering sorting levels/drainage and putting the sub base down while I wait on the funds for the concrete. I'm still concerned regarding the tracking of machines across (best will in the world - being careful not to turn too sharp etc) I've considered the geogrid type systems the plastic paviour type ones seem like they could be brittle, the cellweb type seem like they could loose their infill and flop locally to this sort of abuse. will they stand up to track machines turning on them. any experience? any better solutions many thanks

has anyone gone 'aftermarket' for a flail mower for their mini skidsteer? any recommendations, issues and prices appreciated thanks Dean

thanks for your help guys. Yes as the new courses at least roughly reflect the old I think the CS tags will live on, they aid the description and help to compare in the same way feet and inches can still be useful. I wonder why they decided to run both courses - surely given the choice most candidates would choose integrated assessment over 'independent'?

Thanks Guys the training provider got back to me on the weekend - which I want expecting. Stuart - please clarify - CS32 (in old money) is felling over 380mm. (you mention felling to 380mm) someone else has also told me 32 can be taken with an integrated assessment. the employee being sent on this course is booked for windblown later in the year - this course is down as independent assessment.

thanks for all the discussion guys, sorry I haven't piped up much - haven't had chance to look on the forum this week. Dean

hi guys is cs 32 now an integrated assessment course? I've been offered two courses one provided has supplied a cost with an assessment date and cost attached another has called it medium trees IA (integrated assessment)? confused thanks Dean

Thanks guys yes Id prefer to not be 'wood only'. looking at things I'm now swaying away from the solar thermal and industrial type log burner/boiler and back towards a aga type setup. however from what I can see - if it can also cook then it wouldn't be possible on the rhi? rhi doesn't seem to be much cop for payments and the cost of install appears higher than I had imagined. This would mean payback may never happen. I like the idea that underfloor might be a possibility though. I've contacted a couple of companies, and Ill see where I get. Thanks for the advice all, lots to think about Dean

thanks guys - not wanting to quote and reply to all comments but all good stuff. its an old stone built farm house with thick walls and not a huge space to add insulation to loft spaces - though I'm sure they could be improved. I had looked into wet under floor heating as I like the idea of this but from what I've read - to make it efficient I would have to take the old floors up to insulate then re concrete/screed to avoid loosing heat into the ground, and I don't fancy getting into that. the oil boiler is currently in the hallway with a million pipes emanating to all the rads, but adjacent to this is a utility room where a water store and log burner could go - which if I can utilise a 'linked in' type system might make sense. due to the house layout it would be difficult to incorporate a back boiler type log stove into the centre of the house that could easily tie into the central heating loops. we fancy an aga type jobby, but an electric oven will make more sense and keep the heating system separate. there's a log burner in the living room, but, again, would be difficult to tie it into the heating system if we swapped it for a back boiler type. I've got a friend that can spec systems based on assessing the requirements of the house - his back ground was through the 'green deal' and rhi assessments, but I feel we need the practical elements to be worked through too and I'm not sure that that is his strong point.

we've just bought a property on oil heating. the system is fine and working, and although the novelty of chopping and seasoning wood as long since worn off I cant get past the thought that it would make sense to install a system that uses wood. may also take the opportunity to install solar tubes if it means completely repiping the house, as far as I can tell there isn't a hot water store at the moment so this would also need to be installed. where do I go for advice? I'm having trouble finding someone that can help me... what do I google to find someone that can advise on a system, supply and fit (not nessesarliy all the same firm as I appreciate that there could be a conflict of interest)? I feel its unlikely to be of any benefit going down the domestic rhi. any advise appreciated many thanks Dean

no a 'small holding' but one tree is dead - I discounted the thought of phytophthora having any influence on things there as the fc aren't serving notices any more but would it be worth her getting the fc out to have a look and advise her if she can remove under exemption? is this likely?

my wifes had wished for a d3 for a long time - so when the family car decided to pop its clogs one day I started looking at them as an alternative. we wanted the 7 seats, the ability to use the benefits of the 4x4, towing etc. we don't do massive miles as a family - the odd camping trip or visit to folks - so fuel consumption wasn't a huge issue from a cost point of view. the car tells us we are getting around 28mpg, but you'll get a lot less if your heavy footed or towing - and I should say I haven't tested the fuel consumption myself. but there aren't many motors in this category which will return you 60 to the gallon either I'd like to work out the annual cost difference between a motor which does 28 mpg and one that does 35 mpg, but its too late at night for that. we bought it from a garage with a good rep - a 2006 with about 60k miles. I wouldn't normally use a garage - choosing to buy private because of the little extra premium you pay. within 3 months the air pump for the suspension played up - the garage sorted it without any quibbles. touch wood - we haven't had any other major issues. suspension bushes and brakes at services/mot time. as others have said - they aren't cheap to run and make sure you buy a good one (this could be luck of the draw) to look at it another way you could slip up and buy a duff example of an alternative vehicle and it could cost you a lot more. I would say though - if I wanted 4 seats for the weekend and a work truck for the weekday Id probably buy a new ranger.

No not at all - you shouldn't be using a saw above shoulder height. I'll probably spike up six foot or so and 'av er out there' to make certain. But seriously - the client has other work to be carried out on the site, pruning trees around the house, and when she had asked me about her plans to get rid of the larch I'd suggested the need for felling licences could crop up - they are big hairy blighters but will be felled to waste/ perhaps branch wood chipped back into the woodland. I've also suggested leaving the odd mono.

ah thank you yes - but what page did you get that from please as I couldn't find it this morn.

sorry - should have said - Ive worked out as the volume of a cone this comes back as 2.64 cubic metres per tree - but this seems way off what I would have 'guessed' at... I'm needing to slowly take out some larch which have at some point worked their way into a small woodland but are now not wanted - I just want to make sure that I don't go over the felling licence per quarter figures. thanks Dean

say I have a European larch with a dbh of 60cm and a top height of 28 metres - from which Ive gathered a tariff number of 33 how do I calculate volume on a single tree - Im sure I remember calculating the volume of the cylinder and then multiplying this by a predetermined figure to compensate for the taper ?

I always consider a hedge to be 'clothed' in foliage bearing branches to roughly ground level. - I appreciate that this isn't always the case, but generally the intention, at least to begin with. low levels of, or no management could allow trees planted as a hedge to become a linear tree feature with time. I would say a hedge is a hedge - not only if planted with the intentions of hedgery, but that it is treated as a hedge - trimmed/managed on a cyclical basis perhaps in the way that a pollard is a pollard if it is treated as one - differentiating it from an infrequently topped tree in some way. I would perhaps like to see some hedges tpo'd - where they are notable for some reason (cant think of an example of the top of my head) - but having to apply for trimming my garden privet hedge twice a year would be a royal PITA

:thumbup:should say - just my thoughts really - based on anecdote rather than cold hard reference material

I would say that most towns - mainly their pedestrian areas, are redeveloped every 15 years or so, that along with the changes many of our roads are going to see in the future is going to influence the life expectancy of any tree planted in the urban environment... (along side the other pressures). I suppose a long lived tree could be chosen as long as it is accepted that it may be removed before maturity - for example a fastigiated oak chosen for its architectural shape - removed during a revamp as it no longer suits the redesigned environment rather than selecting a short lived species that may feel the pressures of an urban environment before its ultimate life span and require removal or management. I cant see large trees such as elm, lime, plane being selected for many urban/suburban tree scapes (unless it is accepted that they may be removed prematurely) - such as street avenues unless roads and pavements can be torn up, services sorted out (rather than running all over the place like spilt spaghetti) and a cellular type system installed (such as arbor-raft?) Certainly its common in these parts that when something large such as a lime/plane is removed, it is simply not replaced as its said that they don't have the underground room due to services. I think that the shift from large long lived trees to small short lived trees reflects that we now accept that the urban environment is likely to change at a much quicker speed than was expected

can anyone tell me what is causing this small Kilmarnock willow to die back? One side of the graft appears to be very cankerous, but it now seems to be spreading to the other side. I'd like to positively identify the cause if possible, and would like to know whether its just bad luck or whether the causal agent sticks around in the soil - this tree is a replacement that has been in situ for 2 years and replaced an old Kilmarnock that died - the client suggests that the old tree lived happily in the same spot for approx. 15 years. many thanks Dean

Would have to work this out, but I guess stump grinder is under 400kg and chipper around 1400kg not sure of unladen weight of trailer - about 1000kg with mesh kit (was actually thinking of the solid sides option) and ramps? so should leave some leaway? good news on the bar - even if it can be taken on and off, at least I now know its not going to peal apart the moment I remove it.

just also recalled that the 10x5 tippers have got a bar running across their width halfway along their length when with the high sides - I was planning on getting the solid high sides - will this scupper the plan for carrying the chipper?? does this bar have to remain in place?

just also recalled that the 10x5 tippers have got a bar running across their width halfway along their length when with the high sides - I was planning on getting the solid high sides - will this scupper the plan for carrying the chipper?? does this bar have to remain in place?