Squaredy

On 25/04/2023 at 21:03, robbie cartrer said:

Evening !

 

I'm totally bamboozled by this tree, its just starting to come back into leaf, not sure how old it is, not in great condition either 

 

Closest pic close up i could get of a leaf!

 

Any help identifying it would be greatly appreciated 

I suggest removing a leaf or two and putting them on the ground outside in good light and take the photos.  This will get the picture in focus hopefully then you may get an identification.

1 hour ago, jazzman said:

I have a "monster" tree in my front garden which I believe is a Sycamore/Acer type tree?  The mess this tree is making is incredible and some of my neighbours are complaining about the mess the tree is making on the street.

 

The problem is the property is owned by a  local housing association. I have tried several times to see if the tree can be removed or even cut back, unfortunately the housing association is refusing to do either, probably due to the cost of subcontracting the work out.

 

My question is it reasonable to request for this tree to be cut back? and if so does this type of work have to be carried out on a regular basis i.e. how many years?

 

Thanks

If that is a sycamore it should go, in my opinion.  Totally unsuitable location for a tree of that type.  If it is a field maple it might be OK, though if it were my property I would rather have something of a more appropriate size like rowan or laburnum.

If your neighbours are bothered about the tree they need to raise it with the housing association.  If enough people complain they may take action.  And if it is not protected by a preservation order then common sense suggests they would replace it with a tree that will not outgrow its position.  

On 19/05/2023 at 08:28, doobin said:

Looks a good setup there, can’t beat a concrete yard and a counterbalance forklift. 

Yes indeed.  Most of my site is not concrete, so that is why the mill is where is it.  So we have to use a very old telehandler for the rougher boggier areas...

15 minutes ago, Gardiners Tree Surgery said:

I’m confused as that is a redwood that we dismantled last week and that picture is taken in my woodland in my yard space. 

The post said that it was on his land. I’m unsure why he is saying it’s on his land when I own that woodland. Hence the confusion. Along with saying that locals have cut chunks off. ?

looking at iwc profile with a link to his website he is also miles away from where we are. Just wondered how he got the pictures that’s all.

Sounds like the OP is confused!

Still milling the same yew tree today.  This part presented a few challenges though.

1 hour ago, Stere said:

Sure its not melted plastic foam etc?

Now I have looked at it on a PC it actually does look like plastic.  Maybe this is a big windup?

10 hours ago, weevilluvr said:

I have asked everyone all over the internet and I have searched high and low and I have no idea if this even is a fungus anymore, someone please help!!

Send photos of it to the natural history museum in London.  They will have an expert who will work out what it is.

 Or you could even collect it and send it to them, but I suspect good photos will suffice.

1 hour ago, trigger_andy said:

Done a bit of Oak myself lately. 400x400mm beams for a customer who wants garden furniture. 

Maxed out the mill getting the logs on and realised I really needed to pull my finger out in getting a loader. So have purchased this old Massey.Not got it yet, it’s getting a look over and service at the Dealership.

 

Used a mates 661 to trim down the logs and to also square the ends. What a lovely saw that is! 

Wow, that is going to make serious garden furniture!!  Like the Massey; what should it lift?

1 hour ago, AJStrees said:

Lovely. Very fresh log?

Yes this log is from a tree only felled a few weeks ago.  In fact all these pictures are from logs from that one tree.  I have more yew logs to mill that have been in my yard for several years.

Yew is beautiful.  Came home today and told my wife this and she blushed.  Women are strange…

2 hours ago, sime42 said:

A German guy called Helmut approaches a lady of the night in London .

"I vish to buy sex viz you."

"Okay," says the girl, "I charge £50 an hour."

"Ist goot, but I must varn you, I am a little kinky."

"No problem," she replies cautiously, "I can do a little kinky for an extra £10."

Helmut agrees.

So off they go to the girl's flat, where the German produces four large bedsprings and a duck caller.

"I vant zat you tie zese springs to each of your hans und knees."

The girl finds this odd, but complies, fastening the springs as requested.

"Now you vill get down on your hans und knees."

This she duly does, balancing precariously on the springs.

"You vill please to blow zis kwacker as I make love to you."

She thinks this even odder, but figures it's harmless (and the guy is paying).

But the sex is fantastic: honking away on the duck caller, she is bounced all over the room by the energetic German. The climax is the most sensational she has ever experienced, and it's several minutes before she has enough breath to say, "That was totally amazing! What do you call that position?"

 

 

 

 

"Zat," replies the German, "is ze Four-sprung Duck Technique

Lost on people who don’t remember the Audi adverts of course!

On 13/05/2023 at 15:30, Rac man said:

Any recommendations on a battery chainsaw with decent maybe 1 hour battery life

If you are cutting near a power supply consider a corded saw.  I recently bought the most powerful one Husqy do and it will cut all day and cost less than £200.  And there is no battery to fail in xx years.

55 minutes ago, Johnsond said:

I’m just curious and in no way contradicting what you are saying but how are the profits currently being made within the wind industry any different or less  attractive to corporations than the profits being made by say nuclear energy providers??. I have been involved in the offshore side of things with the wind energy industry and have seen firsthand the absolute free for all cash cow that this has become for predominantly overseas companies. Regarding the solar energy/storage set up you mentioned what may I ask was the installation cost and the projected break even point, and does this provide you with all the power you require on a day to day basis Ive a neighbour up here in Aberdeenshire looking to put in a system that’s costing him around 15k he estimates 8 years to break even and is only putting it up as his air source heat pump system  is proving to be horrendously expensive to run. 

If he is spending £15,000 to save nearly two thousand per year that sounds like a decent investment.  I would do that if I could.  Actually, I would look at the possibility of doing some work myself to reduce cost.  But when you think many people spend £15,000 on a car which is a terrible investment you could argue.

1 hour ago, Johnsond said:

The wind and solar power myth has finally been exposed

WWW.TELEGRAPH.CO.UK

---

The necessary miracle doesn't exist

Am interesting article, admittedly not from today 😞

As most people (myself included) do not subscribe to the telegraph can you summarise the article so we may learn what this myth is please?

And whilst I am at it (showing off that is - even though I didn't do much of the joinery personally) here is my porch - built with Coastal Redwood, and a reclaimed door.  The wall is original of course.

Not exactly finished - little details to do still but generally done and in use.

A few photos showing progress on my new inverter shed.  Floorboards are a bit wonky as they are rough sawn and not even planed on a thicknesser.  A few more cladding boards left to do and of course a simple ledge and brace door.  All from Lawson Cypress.

I haven't quite decided if there will be windows.  I think one or two might be sensible otherwise it will be a little dingy.  I mean dark and gloomy not a small boat.  I thought it was spelled dingey but my computer says not...  

8 minutes ago, inda1298 said:

Hi all, 

 

Thank you so much for the attempt. I finally have more pictures. Better quality too. If you could please let me know what you think it is. Thanks in advance! 

Oak.

2 minutes ago, Clutchy said:

Ok thanks for the replies, will have a think, looks like I may have to claim on our insurance 🙃

 

Ill see what they're happy with. Its a council garage roof and we have no contact with the owner (it isn't any of the houses), so should probably get in contact with the council??? 

 

 

Yep, boards in the future, it wasn't even under the canopy of the tree, a peg fell and catapulted off a lower branch. Couldn't repeat it in a million years 😵

 

It is worth remembering that the reason the damage happened is probably more to do with the fact the roof is at the end of its life than anything else.  Would a hole have been caused if it was a corrugated steel sheet?  No of course not.  
 

The chances are the council are planning to re roof or demolish the building at some point in the next few years; though I doubt they would admit that to you.  Near me such council garages have largely been simply removed as they are not being used and are problematic to maintain.

 A key question is: is the garage in use?  If not then is it worth worrying about?

2 hours ago, Clutchy said:

One of the guys dropped a peg through this roof, leaving a small hole. 

Whats the best way to repair/seal? Would fiberglass work? 

One more option open to you (as it is very near the lower edge) is to simply insert a steel corrugated sheet under the cement (or asbestos) damaged piece.  You might need to remove one or two fixings at the very lowest edge (with great care as it is clearly brittle) and then slide the steel sheet under and right to the end and support the upper end with a 3X2 or similar fixed at an angle between existing purlins.

Just take great care as this could become a very expensive full roof replacement job if the owner is the sort of person to see this as an opportunity to get something for nothing.

9 minutes ago, PeteB said:

Wasn't that a Morecombe and Wise gag?

The Two Ronnies did it.

1 minute ago, JDon said:

Is there a way to only have the combi boiler just to solely heat the water in the tap/shower/bath? I'm not really clued up on how this all works. 

I guess you could have two totally separate systems - use the combi boiler for hot water only and have all the rads plumbed in to the back boiler on the wood burner.  But then you wouldn’t even be able to use the combi in the morning before work.

 Also you need to search old threads as I think there was one recently about woodburners with back boilers.  It seems there are very few available these days.

2 minutes ago, JDon said:

My log burner is upstairs so only heats half and the downstairs is freezing in the winter so yes. 
 

How much money are we talking?

 

Yes it is a combi boiler. 
 

I have unlimited access to free wood as I am a cutter in forestry so would be grand. 

I know someone who did this about ten years ago and it was over ten grand, but I assume this included the new log burner.

 Is it not feasible to fit a second log burner downstairs?

1 hour ago, JDon said:

Currently have a log burner and I am looking to hook it up to my radiators and still use the central heating if possible for hot water in taps and showers. 
 

Any suggestions for doing something like this and suggestions for a new stove would be grand. 
 

i will be paying a fully qualified heating engineer to do this and not doing it myself as i dont want to turn my living room into a bomb

You need a suitably qualified person to advise you what is possible and does it work out for you.  Assuming your existing central heating is a combi boiler then the way to link the two is by using a thermal store, which is a significant investment itself.  Otherwise you have two incompatible systems - combi boiler system is high pressure closed loop; wood burner with boiler will be gravity fed with a header tank.

 It is worth thinking long and hard if it is really worth it or if you can make the log burner heat lots of your house by opening doors etc!

7 minutes ago, ABtrees said:

Every spring seems to bring something new ............... never seen one of these before (and still haven't - I'm in the UK atm !).

 

Mrs B's poor quality pic on her i-phone

Very beautiful.  Do you know what it is?

As far as I am aware a very high proportion of the really old trees in the UK are trees which have been coppiced or pollarded.  It is generally accepted that with trees such as oak and ash it actually extends the lifespan.