jose

General question really. Being asked to quote to remove green waste ( gardening arisings ie grass weeds branches leaves etc). 8-10 tones a wk at various sites around london. Most likely it will be stored in building sacks, to be collected 1-2 times a weeks. Currently they take it to the local tip and pay £80-100 per tonne. They are currently trying to cuts costs so have asked me if i can provide a better solution. Anybody have any ideas/ input or is this already to tight a margin to make it worth getting into to. Was considering getting a shredder ( like a timberwolf) if i can make it pay. Also does this waste, once shredded have any decent use at all( ie like with woodchips which can be used for power stations etc)? many thanks Jose

i have got the 125 modle and i got to say it has been faultless. yes it helps being light ( we push ours all over the place, down alleys etc which saves us no end of hassle and bother). I would like a bigger machine ( had a 190 loaner for about 2mths which was lovely) but with keeping wood for fire wood i dont need a bigger machine. saying that i was speaking to a main dealer the other day and he said both the 150 and 190 had problems with the bearings and expected them to last about 2yrs before needing them changed. not sure how many hrs that is though

i know a guy down the road in binfield/wokingham area who takes logs and chip but charges £25 a van load ( transit). i can dig out his no for u, but dont know any free sites in reading. let me know if you do find one!

i didnt think they take it direct from tree surgeons. what are u doing, ie is it conifer rubbish chips or good stuff?

bracknell, berks

i have got the crane operator out to the site and hes has no objectstions or worries. The grass area is very large and soes not affect the sight line of the road in any way. I think i will have a word with them as u r correct in saying if someone sticks the beak in and the council stops the job then its my wallet that is going to bleed! As for the ring barked its a bit of a story. 20 yrs ago when the house was built the developers were meant to fell the tree ( owner has the papers to prove this). in there wisdom ( saving money!) they didnt. this is a big tree about 3m max from his house. Owner contact the council who agreed totally that it should have come down but since it hadnt it was tough luck and slapped a tpo on it. The owner had to fight with the council as he was unable to get and home insurance. eventually they said there was no record of any secoyas ever falling in the uk so combined with that info managed to convince insurance co to cover him. Anyway every year since for the last 20yrs he applies to remove the tree. This year he applies and gets a new tree officer on the phone who says that that particular tree is not covered. Next days tree officer comes out and confirms this in person. Owner is estatic, runs to the shop and buys a hatchet and ring barks it to ensure it comes down. 2 days later a council letter arrives saying they are removing all tpo's in area and putting down a blanket cover. Obvisly he is very concered and contacts them aagin who then say a tree officer cant come out for 2wks! Lucky for him ( not sure if its good for me) i had come out the day after he ringed it, before they had sent the letter so he has a witness against any pos prosecution.

ahh i hate the way the world is all about covering ones backside. a word with the Tree officer or is it more a planning department thing?

I am taking down a large tree with a crane( Secoya) in nov. It has been cleared by the tree officer (it has been ring barked). Its on a private back garden. My plan is to park all vehicles on a council owned grass area behind his house. All vehicles will be completely off any roads and it will not disturb traffic or pedestrians. Temporary road will be put down to protect the grass from vehicles so no damage to the grass. I will be informing the council 7days before hand so they know its coming down. My question is do i need to inform them/ ask permission to work on the grass? Reason being it wont affect anybody or traffic and without sounding funny but i personally like to avoid asking the LA anything cos they tend to start a pain-in the a$$ process of covering there own backsides. many thanks

ok thanks for the advice. I did think it was probaly going to be more complicated than i had hoped for. Cheers guys jose

Does anybody have an idea what it costs for an independant company to do a tree report. Not trying to be difficult but roughly on a rolling day basis. I have been asked to do one on quite a few sites ( would take between 1-2wks) to do. it is covering areas area west london ( stanwell slough maidenhead etc). Also does anybody know any decent compaines that the can recommend? Many thanks Jose

PowerSharp by oregon, just been searching on google.

Saw one today at the show, buxtons stand. Its for 200t saws, u buy the 14" bar and with an attachment that goes on the end and then individual chains which has a sharpening stone. Stick it on the bar and chain and rev up the saw, as the chain goes round it sharpens the chain. done in about 2mins flat. Looks very tempting but i have never seen it before. Matey saw its not actually to be released untill the big show in a couple of weeks. ANy body heard or used this?

They do seem to be jobs worths. I ran out of time today but by the sound of the owner they are going to be adament anyway so i will have to delay the job. Next time i will know better! Cheers guys

Quick question I qouted a job to remove so snow damage. The onwers have a oak with a 20ft + branch( getting on to 4-6 inch dia) from what i can see which snapped off and wedges onto a lower branch, breaking that one too, and also a scotts pine where the branch has snapped off and if hanging from another below, best part of 50ft up. Both trees are in there garden, above kids play area. The area is a conservation area so these trees are covered. I advised them to give the council a call a couple of days prior to work, informing them thats its purely to make safe these limbs really out of curtersy as i know the area is hot on calling the council and complaining if tree work is done. Now as far as i understood if a tree is dead,dying or dangerous work can be carried out to make it safe. So when they called the LA they are adament that nothing can be touched untill they have filled out a load of paper work( not sure what paperwork as jet as i only just spoke to the gut and he hasnt recieved it yet) regardless of it been dangerous. (admittedly it has been hanging there since january but thats not the point, the oak branch would squash u like a bug if it fell on you, is cleanly snapped off and i sure as hell wouldnt walk under it) I am going to give them a call myself in the morning but thought i would just ask you guys first. Also as a side note does anybody know what is the allowed time to start work in the morning? I always wait till 8am before starting saws but in this heat i really would love to start a bit sooner! cheers

i will stick some pic up as soon as i get her. Going to take 4-6 weeks build time etc so will be a little while. Going for the 115hp engine, the one in the middle. cheers Jose

Hi all. Right have done the deal (subject to fiance agreement) on the transit. I got him to do the springs for £300, which are what he gets the kit in for at cost, him fitting for free, another £200 extra for my px and £750 off the truck list price. SO i dont feel i did too bad. Cheers for all your input. Jose

got to be honest i never have heard anything good about the french vehicles. they have all the goodies as standard but within no time they seem to be worthless! got to be a reason for that. The etoyota dealer finally got back to me with a px price and is way down on the Ford guy. I have been talking to the guys at Roy Wood transits in winneersh, Berks and got to be honest he has been really helpful and knowledgeble, which you would expect when buying something but i tell you it seems to be rare to find decent traders these days. to get the extra springs is another £550 +VAT on top. not sure how to get them to give me that free?? ot looked at crafter, will have a look later on. cheers for the inputs.

I am looking at buying a new truck, brand new. Have looked at a toyota dyna, mercedes sprinter and a transit. Merce dealer was useless and came in massively expensive, and the toyota dealer seemed interested but then disaperared. Transit dealer has been spot on in every way so is currently leading the way to getting my money. The only other dealer i am considering is the iveco. Currently the transit is coming in around a snip under 25 k +VAT, thats with a custom made tipper body and seperate tool box. I am after any advice people can give before i commit to years of repayment! I am after new because i want trouble free motoring. new i can garantee its not been abused in anyway. Also an optional extra for the transit is additional leaf springs on the rear. According to the dealer the current springs are fine to cope with the weight but having the extra spring prevents the truck form sagging at the rear visually thus removing the temptation for coppers to pull you to check for overloading. Does this sound correct? ( not that i intended to overload of course!) many thanks jose

How much was it to hire, and how high did it go? I just went and saw 18 lombardy pops yesterday to give 30% reduction on and the thought hadnt crossed my mind to use one. these are pretty damn tall, 60-80 ft tall so would be keen to know the reach of a big on. This would be for a site near the M25, near the M3 Junction. And def want to see the pics!

I have a LDV convoy crewcab so dont know if a towbar can be put on the front. Thanks for the offer on the winch, though i will pass as i am over in Bracknell, berks and i simply dont have the time unfortunately to pop round. I will have a look into the hoists, to see if they work on their sides. cheers for the help Jose

I am after a electric winch to pull my timberwolf 125 into my garage. I have mains electric already in. Getting peed off having to use my current setup ( a manual boat winch) which works but at the end of a long day is the last thing i need. Problem i am having is i can only find vehicle winches (12V) or hoist winches. Anybody got any ideas? I dont really fancy the hassel of having a car battery to power a 12V winch, cost thats a bit cowboy like and also would then have to constantly have it on tricle charge. It would proberly knacker the battery quickly too im guessing. I am not able to back the chipper in with my truck due to not been able to see it at all behind the chip box and the gradient proberly been too stepp for it. Cheers Jose

i worked for a local chap in wokingham. There was a plot of land opposite him with mature oaks on it. The owner of this land had a survey done on the trees and the report came back that one had rot in the base and should be felled, council said no and put a TPO on it. Shortly afterwards( a few months i belive) the tree fell over, writing on his 4 day old car and causing about 30K of damage in total as it also hit his house. Council turned around and said it was not there problem and he would have to claim off his home insurance. so i cant see them bothering to even walk around there own trees and taking responsibility for there upkeep.

DOH keep doing that, got to stop asking questions at the end of a lond day cheers