JaySmith

Your post is very judgemental/insulting considering you don't even know me or my work and as far as I know we have never crossed paths before. In answer to your questions the work was part of an initial job pack, we did the first few days then handed the pack back as it was economically viable for us a business. The council concerned apparently get this all the time, there words not mine. Contractors try the work, can't make it work as the rates are poor so hand the work back. As a guide some of the work included reducing over mature Oak's on a red route in London for £258.00 per tree. At no time did we work unsafe in order to get work done, we are a good AAAC who try to do things by the book. It was not ultimately my decision to make as I do not own the firm, I am a crew leader. Your statement 'am I an arborist you puts yourself and others at risk if the monies not good' is personally insulting. You don't know me or the work I do. In answer to your question no, I am not hence why we sent the work back. For what it worth I've spent about £5k over the last two years on my own CPD out of my own pocket and strive to do things correctly and advance my knowledge. Yes we do have a choice who we work for to a certain extent hence why we don't work for that council anymore.

How so? I've seen and worked to the prices so not making it up. As a contractor who worked on a council contract the rates were unsuitable.

Yes partly. In reality how many firms have the capacity and the resources to set up a site like Rhys has there? Yes on occasions we have when it was required by the client but 9 times out of 10 we set up correct tm with cones, signs and barrier tape etc and go with that. But if you've got a little crown lift to do on the side of the road would you go to the extent that Rhys has? Probably not. I'm not saying that it's right but that reality and the nature of the beast. Yes there are firms who cut corners but I think we personally do everything we can to make sure we are doing things as far as is practically right. The reason I was asking if it was a council job is that the trees are so badly paid guys HAVE to cut corners to hit targets. We subbed some work off a well known contractor as they couldn't get it done by year end and ended up walking away as the pricing was an absolute joke, I think stevie wonder had priced it up on his way back from the pub! I don't envy the guys out there doing that work.

Quality set up there Rhys, which is an example of how to do it, unfortunately the reality is we don't often get the time or budget to do what you have done there.

Sorry what I meant was is it an ARB company working on behalf of the council? The reason I ask that is the rates that the contractors get from the councils tends to be so bad they are often forced into cutting corners in order to achieve daily targets... but that's a whole different story isn't it??!!

That's true but if unfortunately someone was hurt you would have done everything reasonably practicable to protect the public. We had a rocket scientist break through the barrier tape the other day with his dog because we had blocked his usual route!

Just sounds like bad planning or a Friday afternoon job. Yes the responsibility lies with the guys on site but also with the manager of the company who has the ultimate responsibility if he sent them out to do the job in that way. Yes it does reflect badly upon us all. In an ideal world they would have a support truck with about 50 pedestrian barriers and signs to set up a safe passage around the work zone but in reality who does that? It was something we raised when we did our chapter 8 course as it is ok closing the path but you need to have a designated safe passage around the work zone but in reality we can't do that. However more cones, signs and barrier tape may have helped to make the work zone safer and more professional looking. Was it a council job?

It's tricky to say without seeing the site or pictures but sounds like bad planning, whether that was the guys on site or the boss. When we get a job like that we normally swing by and take a look and work out a plan, such as footpath closed signs and an extra groundie to escort pedestrians through etc. Sounds worrying that the section of timber was in the road outside the cordon. If it was council work could it be the job was badly prices/rushed and the guys were trying to hit their target etc etc

Nice David, the crane makes things much easier and quicker! We had a limb removal on a mature oak on a building site and utilised the tower crane on site, did the job in fraction of the time and no paddling around in the mud. Is that the COL building or where your land joins private property?

The HCC course I think is about £100 deposit followed by 7 months at £50.00 well worth it imo

Chestnut reduction was a bit unbalanced to start as it had lost the central leader many moons ago

There's a bit in diagnosis of ill health p137 about galls. It talks about the bacterium agrobacterium tumefaciens. Says the bacteria is in the soil and enters through wounds, could be possible in this case?

Have a look at http://ipm.illinois.edu/diseases/series1000/rpd1006/ There is a little on there about root galls

Could it be where the root has been cut/damaged as it looks as though it should extend into the soil between the two other roots. The end of the root now looks like a gall has formed on the end? Could it have been servered and some type of bacterial infection has caused the gall to form?

I did my rfs with HCC. I worked every Saturday on it and completed it in about 6 or 7 months, although you have up to 2 years to complete it. The workload and reading is much lighter than the lvl4 by comparison

Yeah they are. We measured them at just over 31m spec was a 1 - 2m reduction on the leaning one I was roped into, was nice and slippy as it rained heavily overnight. That bottom limb in walking back in on was about 8m - 10m off the deck at a guess. We took three skinner ones in the group down and they were a similar height but about 16 - 18 inch at the base and had a fair bit of movement up top!

Reducing a tall oak

Excellent blog, you clearly have a lot of knowledge and thanks for sharing looking forward to more informative posts

Not really a job as such but a walk around Great Windsor Park with Ted Green as part of our Tech cert course and the veteran tree element

We've used Amber Langis a few times and are a decent company. If you have a complicated set up they designs and submit the plans, or you can just pick up the lights and operate yourself

I had a look on their website to see if there was any further info but couldn't see anything, do you have a link? Thanks

There was also an article in Essential Arb about injecting garlic into HC's that had bleeding canker, not sure on the results though http://www.forestryjournal.co.uk/media/uploads/cat-267/horse-chestnut-garlic-essentialarb-november-issue54.pdf

Another option may be to grind, excavate all soil and then reinstate and install a suitable barrier, not sure if geosynthetics do that kind of thing?I assume it would be expensive but then so is £1500 on one tree.

If you get stuck I have the data from a resi 400 that we did at college and I could email the results and pics of the tree, happy to share info

Thanks both of you