rapalaman
-
Posts
849 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Classifieds
Tip Site Directory
Blogs
Articles
News
Arborist Reviews
Arbtalk Knot Guide
Gallery
Store
Calendar
Freelancers directory
Everything posted by rapalaman
-
Usual beers and wine, recently got a Bosch concrete breaker like a Kango in perfect working order from a neighbour of a customer. Got left 1k in the will from a lovely old dear who we looked after well for several years - her neighbour tried to rip her off for £50 for a job that took me 30 seconds and I didn't charge of course - she appreciated honesty and it was well worth it :-)
-
How are people finding their new Isuzu D-Max?
rapalaman replied to Andrew Barrett's topic in Arb-Trucks
Looks real enough - BUT, his feedback is pretty poor. As always, buyer beware - do all due diligence checks, have it professionally checked if necessary, service history, HPI check etc, go to see it and the seller and if it all checks out ok then it looks like it may be a good buy -
I'm in Chelmsford and I'll have some in a couple of weeks - on a fencing contract at the moment. What's it to be used for?
-
Birds nesting in the garden what do you have thanks
rapalaman replied to mendiplogs's topic in The Lounge
Got robins with 3 young flying around now from under the carport, bluetits in the nesting box, I can hear the baby blackbirds and song thrushes around calling for food. Wrens have been successful too! All since I started keeping the magpies down with a Larsen :-) Before that hardly any survived. Several neighbours have also commented on how many small birds we've had survive this last couple of years -
Raynauds here - horrible and debillitating. I missed 2 years skiing because of it, then found battery heated gloves which really helped. In the winter months I take Nifepidine tablets (prescription needed) which increase the circulation to fingers and toes. It's not a cure but it keeps me working!
-
I always count the cash in front of the customer. One old neighbour put envelope through my door after a job with my name on but 200 short. Seems she had 5 people to pay, enveloped all the cash up then mixed the names up. Luckily the other fella hadn't been to do his job so it was easily sorted. Been working for her and the rest of the family for 14 years now
-
Thanks for all the replies guys! As I thought, and told the customer when I quoted for the job - but I promised them I'd ask on here and now can tell them the general consensus of opinion. It matters not to me whether I ring it up or leave it as is - it's too heavy for me to move in one hit anyway. I'll keep a couple of smaller pieces for turning as my bonus:thumbup:
-
Hi, yes the owner wants to sell it so it's not my worry. I'll just take it down and leave it for them - that's their choice. I did say it's probably not going to be worth a lot, but some people are just tight ;-)
-
Hi all, I'll be taking this cherry down soon and the customer wants everything firewood size logged to use himself and to sell the main trunk for milling possibly. Until it's down obviously I won't know if it's sound inside. It will be approx 22/24" diameter at the base and about 4 1/2 ft long, located mid Essex. Any idea on value I can tell them please and anyone local interested?
-
Not seen any yet but the earliest we ever saw was in 1980 or '81 on 15th March - watched a solitary one for half an hour or so skimming our local outdoor swimming pool which wasn't cleaned during the winter months then
-
You could try Premier Plants UK - Wholesale Nursery And Specimen Plant Importers Fairly local and very knowledgable guys to deal with
-
Douwe Egberts here too, or Van Nelle (also Dutch) if I can get it. Cafe Crema or Espresso in the Tassimo machine. No milk, no sugar - they just spoil it imho
-
Had a triple (umbilical and groinal) 10 years ago - keyhole and mesh - 3 months off and needed it to heal. Good for 8 years then had keyhole for a double groinal 2 years ago - 2 months off. Had single last year - proper cut open umbilical and was back on light duties in 2 weeks, climbing after 4. Everyone is different - just feel what your body is telling you
-
I too replied to a Gumtree ad for a tophandle Stihl as it wasn't too far away. All sorts of excuses as to why I couldn't view and pay cash. Texted me then turned phone off so messages I sent were never delivered. She (?) even offered to send it via Parcel Force before paying saying that the driver would be prepared to wait whilst I checked it out. No delivery drivers will ever do this! Mate works for Parcel Force and he's heard of loads of scams like this and more complicated and quite believable sounding ones. Has had customers screaming down the phone at him when their paid for goods don't turn up - they don't believe that they have been scammed with a non existant tracking number and that the goods don't actually exist.
-
Just had a browse on fleabay - 221675221150, made me chuckle!
-
Do you charge more for commercial work
rapalaman replied to Dryad's saddle's topic in Business Management
One commercial customer, mainly grasscutting takes between 3-5 weeks to pay despite me constantly stating that it's to be no more than 14 days from date of invoice. But a local estate agent have always paid within 3 days, last job within 12 hours :-) -
Arbpro Lanyard - charity auction!
rapalaman replied to Ty Unnos's topic in Arbtalk Christmas Charity Raffle 2014
£12 for the sawpod -
Arbpro Lanyard - charity auction!
rapalaman replied to Ty Unnos's topic in Arbtalk Christmas Charity Raffle 2014
Let's get the ball rolling at a tenner :-) -
Ebay is good, but yes 10% is too dear. Get people to come and have a look then strike a deal privately & end the item listing once cash is in your hand - naughty but saves a few £££. Gumtree works and has it's place but lots of messers and timewasters, Loot, Friday Ad, Preloved etc all have their uses but beware of scammers - buyers and sellers on all these. Craigslist seems to have more scammers on it than most - as always, if it seems too good to be true - it is! Facebook sales can also be very effective, free, constantly moderated to weed out dodgy ads (though all moderators are volunteers in their own time so caution still needed). Just depends on what you're selling and what audience you're trying to reach :-)
-
Try and get one with full alloy buck as the steel body is way too heavy, even with alloy sides. Got a 2.3 recently and seems good so far, nice and quiet, drives well and more economical than my older 2.8. Turning circle on the older model is far better though. Parts are expensive and avaiabilty sometimes questionable. Many variations make id of parts hard, even for main dealers. Just my opinion though!
-
I've successfully moved collared dove and woody nests down a few feet to below my cuts in leylandi and although initially a bit confused, have seen the parents carry on feeding the young so it's worth a go. But for complete removals I have a large converted shed/aviary and have hand reared maybe 15 or so and let them go once fully fledged. Not sure what the survival rate is, but I'd rather not harm them if possible when working
-
Same as Mayhem and agree with him totally - 20 years at it and still earning almost the same as when I started :-( I can afford to be picky now and nice to spend time with mates I can trust to watch my back. Good cameraderie and will miss it when I finally finish. The Mrs. will hate it when I'm home every friday and saturday night tho!
-
Wet winter in Baltic states where cheap timber comes from so the machinery couldn't get the wood out, gales stopped boats getting out of ports and getting into our ports, fences down all over UK (and Europe), will take months for the supplies to catch up with demand. Fencing companies round here have laid guys off as after the yard is swept for the umpteenth time, there's nothing for them to do
-
Big shortages here - situation dire is what my 2 suppliers both say. Timbermills won't even give projected supply dates and prices have risen 30% since October/November gales. I've got 80 bays of closeboard/gravel board/concrete posts to put up, all overdue now and have explained to the customers - I'm sure some didn't believe me so told them they're welcome to phone around! Came back to me in a couple of days and said they'd wait for me to get panels and do the job
-
Been looking for a used chipper for several months - seen some overpriced rubbish, had 5 scam listings removed from ebay, 1 from preloved. Fire on my Greenmech Chipmaster finally gave me the kick up the arse I needed and I got a rebuilt Jensen 530. Only used it for a couple of small jobs so far, but very, very impressed. Time will tell if reliability is good, but it makes the Greenmech look like a very sick puppy in comparison (even from when it was fairly new). Stuff I wouldn't even have attempted to put in the Chipmaster, the Jensen doesn't even pause with and the chip quality is consistent. Backed up with poor spares service from Greenmech - it seems that only one person there is worth talking to, and I'm very glad I bit the bullet and changed. This is only my personal opinion, and I'm sure others with far more experience than I, have different ideas and have good impressions of other machines
