Squaredy

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.

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?

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!

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.

Might be best to ring it up and sell the rings to wood turners. Milling such a stem is a nightmare, especially if the tree has been dead a few years. Those knots will be as hard as iron.

Spring has finally arrived in South wales. Loads of insects flying around today - way more than yesterday.

Veteran oaks often become hollow, and this is not necessarily a problem. To extend the life of the oak most likely a bit of reduction is likely to help it. You won’t stop rot inside the trunk. Post a couple of photos and see what other Arbtalkers think.

So can you clarify exactly which irrelevant tickets you have?!

Yes, Cherry. The bark is a dead giveaway. The light colour wood is sapwood, the dark wood is heartwood. In other words the dark streak is simply the natural colour of the timber and not a fault at all. Some timbers are poisonous (eg yew) though I doubt it would really cause a major problem if used in a kitchen. After all many household materials are poisonous if you ingest enough of them. The classic timbers for use in the kitchen are beech, sycamore, maple. I know plenty of chopping boards etc made from oak and ash also.

Maybe a better response might come from an online support group for people who have this type of stoma. You never know someone on this forum may have knowledge of this, but if so they haven’t seen the post yet. Presumably the answer would be similar to many activities that could create dust.

I suspect what you are up against is what many business owners find over the years - that having all the financial risk, stress, commitment and effort doesn't always mean earning good money. I have known people who employ dozens or even hundreds of people who one day jack it all in and go freelance, or even just get a PAYE job somewhere and say they are much happier. It is horses for courses. Running your business may be the future for you but you will have to make it happen and make the figures stack up. And there could be times when someone working for you just doing his or her job and going home at 4pm earns more than you. And they won't have to deal with the crap that you do. Only you can make it work as you want. Or maybe it never will work as you imagine - plans in business have to keep evolving, and sometimes head in a direction not predicted. However you move forward good luck; and even if it doesn't give you what you want in the long run the experience should prove invaluable.

We've all done it.... Well that is what I tell myself...

Why does anyone need that much vanish? Unless it was on offer of course…

Sounds like you have done a great job of managing your woodland. It is a shame so many woods are simply neglected areas of farms that the farmer sees as an unproductive part of the land. My local authority remove the woods from farms when the lets come up for renewal as the farmers do nothing with them. But guess what? Now the local authority do nothing with them.

Why does someone with no forestry experience purchase 80-90 acres of woodland??? That sounds a bit like me buying a jumbo jet!

If you or your acquaintance hasn't already, it may well be worth speaking to Coed Cymru the timber charity. Unless I am out of date they give free advice on woodland management and marketing in Wales, but also they are an excellent source of contacts. If you can get hold of the officer who covers your area he or she will almost certainly know a number of local contractors.

Hell yes.

Been milling lots of sycamore recently, most of which is nice, but today we had this. Hope these colours and markings remain as it dries.

Very nice indeed. But if you think daffs are monochrome you are buying the wrong daffs! You should try going on holiday to the Isles of Scilly in spring in the nineteen seventies - then you would see how amazing daffs can be!

This is all very harsh on the original poster. I think he should buy the equipment to mill the logs; then he just had to build a good stack with spacers neatly positioned between every board and some roofing sheets on top with a large weight on; then wait for them to dry for a year or two; then advertise on Facebook or similar; then spend many hours showing customers the boards; and he could make maybe a couple of hundred pounds. When he has done this if it goes well I would suggest digging some earth in his garden and sieving it and sterilising it to sell it as top quality topsoil. Not only is there money to be made here as well, but if he digs up any large stones these could be sold as building stone and it is a double whammy. Come to think of it this might be even more lucrative than milling the birch. Actually maybe the best bet is to buy the right equipment and extract oxygen from the air. Buying oxygen in cylinders is really pricey these days, yet I have been breathing it in for over fifty years and it hasn’t cost me a penny. Serious money to be made here I am quite sure.

I seem to remember that when petrol prices were going up a few months ago a customer was actually filmed trying to fill a carrier bag with petrol....

I have for many years been under the impression that the rules on filling cans with diesel are rather more lax than those about petrol. But today I was told at a Tesco petrol station that my diesel containers are not legal. To be honest they may well be right, but I want to get to the bottom of it so I know I am doing the right thing. Since the new rules came in a year or two ago I no longer have red diesel delivered, and the easiest and cheapest way is now to buy it at the forecourt. I only fill two 25 litre containers at a time, and only about once or twice a month. Do they have to be metal? Do they have to be marked as made to a certain standard? Or is this only for petrol?

I remember seeing years ago a google review for Usk prison. Apparently the prisoner wasn't too impressed. Why google allow you to leave a review of a prison (or indeed a mountain) I have no idea. As far as I am aware if you are inside you don't get to choose your favourite prison! Oh no. Someone is going to tell me that a new scheme is being proposed to give inmates more choice....

Aha! Now we have a picture. Looks very odd to me, but I am sure someone will have some good suggestions.