richy_B

-24 hour security manned security, -Lots of CCTV, -'Master Blaster' alarm. (highly recommended as this will make your ears bleed!). -Forklift-able concrete blocks to go in front of containers. Even then I still only think I will slow people down or perhaps persuade them to look for a softer target. I've heard of a lot of rural robberies with gypo's turning up with a cutting torch. What are you going to do to stop that! Landmines?

Feck, you wouldn't want to be in a Holden crash!

Looks positive. I've contacted Jim.

What is the correct hitch and uncoupling procedure? I know, I'm just testing......

Nice one, was it difficult? Been meaning to do mine for years but never quite got around to it.

I think what you need to do varies massively depending on what your end goal is. I was working on a project where a new wetland was being built and the material was being re-used on a landscaping project on a nearby site. We were required to get a serious amount of detail for EA approval to excavate and remove soil. I cannot remember exactly but the requirement was something like 12 tests all at different depths (up to 2.5 metres) and then laboratory testing. It might not be useful for what you are doing but I read through this (or something similar, it was a while back) and found out quite a bit of useful stuff. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69308/pb13298-code-of-practice-090910.pdf

How scientific are you going?

We've not sorted this out just yet but if it all works out as they say I think it is genuinely a good thing for small businesses.

That would be great. I'm near J1 on the M4. I'll PM you. Thanks mate.

Hello, Does anyone have any apple laying about (not far from West London)? I'm playing around with a bbq smoker at the moment but rarely encounter apple. Any old bits/branches will do. Thanks.

I've got an Exeter retort on the way. Mine will be the 12th I believe. As has been mentioned lifespan is the biggest concern but I am hoping we get a good few seasons out of it. Like all these things though, you do your homework then take a punt.

I am a little geeky when it comes to these things but mathematical way of working it out is pretty straightforward. Imagine a triangle (lets assume the tree is pretty much upright/without lean). You want to know the height side of the triangle or the 'opposite'. What you can easily work out from the ground is how far away from the tree you are standing by pacing backwards. This gives you the 'adjacent' length. From the the point you are standing you measure angle by eye between the base of the tree and the tip. Just use a simple 99p school protractor and a bit of string/pencil. Then using a calculator type in the angle you measured then press 'tan'. You then multiply this number by the distance you are standing from the tree. Add on your own height and you've got a roughly calculated height of the tree. So as an example - I pace 20 metres from the base of a tree. I hold the protractor flat at my eye level and look at the top of the tree. Lets say the angle is 50 degrees. type in 50 press 'tan' gives me 1.91 which i times by the 20 metres giving 23.8 meaning, I am 1.94 so add together you get a tree that is 25.8 metres tall. Sounds complicated but you can do it in a minute. This calculation is based on a right angle triangle but it will give you a pretty accurate figure. If you are on a significant slop the maths starts to get a bit trickier.

In the words of Chester Lampwick - "I don't need any more money. I'm not greedy, as long as I've got my health, my millions of dollars, my gold house, and my rocket car; I don't need anything else".

Insurance aside have you spoken with your current employer about your additional work? If you are competing in the same market place with the same services I imagine you are going to run into some problems sooner rather than later.

Ah, I understand. The machine value will be figured into your monthly payments then obviously the lower the hours the better chance of getting a higher resale when you sell it. Finance companies like to confuse things with lease hire, lease purchase, hire purchase, contract hire, contract purchase or any other combination of similar words! Its like the j̶u̶d̶e̶a̶n̶ ̶p̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶s̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶n̶t̶ peoples front of Judea.

That's got to be fairly unusual, who do you get them through? I can't see how it makes sense for a company to lease you a machine and not have any restrictions. You lease a 3cx for 5 years and return it with 2500 hours or you return it with 7500 hours - massive difference in disposal value for them.

Agreed. Its seems like a lot now but £150 today and even with daily use you could get years out of them.

Are you looking for a basic one page site with a photos, bit about you and contact details or something a bit more in depth? My experience is it is worth spending money on a decent site. We can all spot a naff one someone has knocked up in their bedroom. These days a lot of business comes via the internet and it will be their first impression of you as a company.

I would hope that if you went back to the retailer they would replace the belts FOC. It would seem very poor customer service not too.

I think it very much depends on the type of kit and the volume of work you plan on doing with it. I have found in the cases of a chipper/ mini digger/3cx/more common bits of plant that if you are going to be using them on a fairly regular basis (15-20 hours a week) then buying new with finance is very attractive. You get a brand new machine with warranty. Higher chances of reliability and hopefully less downtime. You can buy near the end of your VAT quarter so you can reclaim quickly. Low finance rates (I've been offered JCB finance at 3.1% before). Put down a larger deposit if you want to reduce the finance amount. Then at 5 years old you've still got a machine you can sell on for a decent resale value. I dislike leasing as primarily because the hours limit per year is usually low (500 hours PA is common in my experience) and the additional hours charge is a lot. For a chipper I would expect to clock 800-1000 hours a year.

I was doing a bit of work in a river, tied a bit of regular blue rope to a tree to help scrambling up and down the banks. Come back 15 minutes later and someone has had it away!Unbelievable.

I try to never buy anything till you have guaranteed customers lined up. Advertise locally with the prices you want and see what response you get. This will make the decision far easier.

Something not quite related but worth knowing is that if you have to clean your own PPE/Uniform you get tax relief. This can be back dated up to 4 years as well I believe. I used to 'save' £75 pa because I informed HMRC that I had to wash my own kit.

Gardening is worse than tree work in my opinion for being under valued. The biggest challenge is convincing the customer you are worth more than £7/hour (or the equivalent as a job rate). The vast majority of people think gardening is a no skill job and will be flabbergasted if you want more than £50 for a half day. It is not helped by the sheer number of people who enter (and leave) the market. Anyone with a van and couple of tools from B&Q can call themselves a gardener and start competing with you. Its cut throat. Have you considered specialising in a particular aspect and building your pricing on that? Could be specialising in patio cleaning/pressure washing, garden design or renovation, instant hedging, etc. etc. Specialised skills command better rates even if it not particularly challenging.

Depends on the location? I heard Surrey, inside or out of the M25?