simonm

In the very early stages of buying some land that has being used as open air storage, i am going to contact the local council in the morning to see 1 what usage class the land has on it at the moment & 2 what usage class tree surgery / grounds maintenance storage depot would come under. 

Does anyone own / rent a yard with planing approved? and what business class does it fall under?

Does anybody run a business specialising in mowing grass on steep inclines?

There must be miles of mowing to be done on inaccessible bankings where its either unsafe or unproductive to mow by hand.

Is there much call for it as a stand alone business?  

After looking for somewhere to buy for a long time I am now getting desperate for a new yard as new opportunities are on the horizon.

Plenty of commercial units about but none with a yard in a realistic price bracket, what do other do for space when their business is growing?

I have a vermeer skidder and can honestly say its been the best thing I have ever bought, worth 20 men on site, true you cannot use it on every job but you can normally find a way in for it and on the right job its a real time saver. With a few implements you can use it for all sorts, it moves some really big lumps of wood too, we have felled big shitty messy trees, gone in first to pick the timber out then used it to crane feed the chipper with the brash. 

Probably doesn't go out as much as it should but when it does its very effective.  

If it looks like a shit job i price it higher 

I bought the vehicle for tree work Isuzu grafter as it carries weight & tows well, we dont do many miles in it as we are always in the same area, i think this is going to be the biggest crippler.

We are starting a new grounds maintenance contract that covers a large area, i am trying to figure out ways of saving fuel as i think this is going to be 1 of the biggest expenditures. Other than reducing weight on the vehicle & planing journeys well i cant see as there's  going to be much difference! ride on runs on red which is nice & cheap but both walk behind mowers are petrol & the van does around 21mpg...ideas?

What do you cook on it on site? 

This is deffo my next buy...just imagine all the stuff you could eat at work

3 minutes ago, Steve Bullman said:

That on I use one of the big refillable cannisters with.  Not the largest size, the one that stands about a foot high

I guess the gas is the most expensive thing, how long does a canister last & at what cost...some bacon & eggs on that would be superb

6 minutes ago, Steve Bullman said:

Tomorrow I’m taking some chorizo, tomatoes and onions, that will fry up in about 3 minutes 

What size bottle does it take?

I don't wanna be converting the chip box to a full on kitchen... 

As winter is around the corner and I am sick of sandwiches id love to warm food up on site. No power for a microwave etc...Would a camping stove heat food pretty quick?

For the cost of a decent chipper you can buy a new john deere compact tractor what can do a multitude of tasks, chipper design works on the same principle so I cant see that much r&r going on, especially on my last machine 

The only issue I've had is a miserable neighbour moaning to the council who claimed I was operating a sawmill from my property! I spent 1 day cutting logs for my own fire ha.

As for keeping tools, vehicles never had a problem, I think you would be unlucky for the council to come down on you as every other tradesman keeps his tools at home. I see no issue unless you have mountains of chip & logs & machinery running often  

Nope all well maintained, used by 1 of 2 men, not abused.

All faults are from manufacturing errors, ie tw fuel tank leaking, hydro pipe rubbing on metal flange on guard when rollers are fully open, dealer takes machine in to fit new tank, takes it apart to find they have wrong tank! Dealer puts machine back together wrong, washers from something sat loose on belly plate! Spoke numerous times about concerns over where the hydro suction pipe is mounted but nothing is happening about it! Going to speak to tw tomorrow.

Girlfriend spent 14k on a new fiesta all mod cons inside leather top of the range no problems...26k on an engine on track carriage with a flywheel on it and problems are starting already, where is the money in chippers go. 

Its rubbish...manufacturers have been making machinery with diesel engines on for years and now all of a sudden these petrol engines are going to out perform their diesel replacements! There is a reason diesel engines are the preferred option. Emission laws that are forcing manufacturers to go down this route will inevitably only put more pressure on the end user...US.

More cost, more unreliability, more down time, I think folk will struggle to pass the cost onto the customer in an already over saturated market with every tom dick & harry having a go...

Not saying air pollution is a good thing but for me...buy the last of the new chippers b4 they all change & plan for the future.

Bandit 2250

Forst TR6

Tw 280TFTR

All new 

18 hours ago, GlobalNewark said:

 

What was the conclusion with the engine failure, has anyone contacted you?

 

Still waiting for the engine apparently Dean so no feed back on why, its getting very silly the amount of time its been in!

15 k grinder

22 k chipper

26 k chipper all plus vat

Ive got some older machinery that have been spot on, but the new stuff!

Does tree related machinery seem to be getting more & more unreliable?

Ive had a brand new grinder with 50 ish hours on the clock throw a conrod through the engine, its now been in for replacement engine for 6 weeks!

A brand new track chipper that spent more time in for repair than out working!

Now another new track machine that has a leaking fuel tank, hydraulic pick up pipe is in the most vulnerable place it could be and manufacturer doesn't seem to think its an issue, a hydraulic pipe that is being ground away by a steel place & spring there through poor design.

These are all brand new machines well looked after, not thrashed and low hours! customer service seems  non existent & piss poor design the normality! 

I have got some over sized pieces of Ash Sycamore & Elm that i want to have a go making into slabs for shelf's or table tops etc...never done this before.

What equipment do i need? is every log suitable for this? what is the process of making them & storing them? 

1 hour ago, SWORDSTA said:

150 squid a day for a climber who provides all his own kit is laughable! Go lads, see what type of mortgage you get in today's day and age with that tuppence, especially here in Kent.

Just look around how many climbing jobs can't be filled, it's no longer worth it, a chippy can charge up to 250 a day for working in a warm house with his radio going and minimal kit. Our industry has been left behind.

That's 40k a year!

Anyone used Aw jenkinson? being quoted what i think is a really good price.

I am looking to buy Landscape bark mulch in bulk, ideally loose tipped loads around 20t at a time...who is a large supplier? looking to get delivered to the Leeds area.

I see you can buy a stihl edge redefiner but only in the usa! and as you cant mail order stihl stuff looks like its a no go!