Squaredy

Street trees are usually topped on a regular basis and can be very attractive managed this way. I wouldn't worry they will be fine as Steve said. This is the right time of year to do the work as they will re-grow spectacularly in the Spring, and in a year or two you will be amazed how healthy and normal they look. Sycamore in particular will re-grow well.

Yeah it is worth bearing in mind an old telehandler is a big heavy machine. I have an old Sanderson 2 wheel drive telehandler and it does the job well, but it is 6 tons unladen. That is a lot of moving parts to maintain, and the four wheel drive ones have even more moving parts.

I think it is the way we are these days. Everything is now. You may be able to find a market for unseasoned firewood but I think it may be a bit niche. Having said that niche is good if your competitors are not in the same market. Innovation is good and may pay dividends. I think the other big problem with firewood businesses is having to deliver. For some this can be sidestepped but not practical for all of course.

Looking forward to work tomorrow, but I have only been off two days so I went in on Thursday and Friday. I don't cut trees down though....I cut them up.....

Aren’t there threads on here where members who get RHI for domestic heating are saying what a nightmare it is to actually get the paperwork right and they wish they hadn’t bothered?

Yes certainly Magnificent, and a magnificent finger also. Is it a Lime?

Maybe he is burning unseasoned wood? Sounds a crazy amount of firewood for even a large uninsulated bungalow never mind one that should be up to modern insulation standards! Or is he a fresh air freak and leaves all the windows and doors open all day and night?

If you are mainly concerned with avoiding any cracks appearing exclude the heart. If you are mainly concerned with keeping the beams straight keep the beams as close as possible to the shape of the log. You do not mention how long the beams will be. Any long beams are likely to end up less than straight. The design may allow you to correct such errors, but if a curved beam would be a problem I would say if possible keep the beam as close as possible to being just a squared off log. In general people do not worry about heart with this sort of project - Douglas Fir is pretty well behaved and to try to exclude the heart will be very wasteful.

If you are wanting long term cover this is permanent health insurance not accident insurance. Cost is higher but it covers you for illness and accident and could pay out until you retire. Apologies if you knew that!

They often get hidden. Concreted or tarmaced over. Glad you got it sorted. I have one under my side porch.... hope I never have to dig that up.

Just a thought Jonathon there should be another inspection chamber if there is a bend.

I think Doobin has advised you well. I would just add to what he said my main experience when I first installed motion detect cameras is that they work OK during the day, but at night they pretty much record all night long. If you set them to be not very sensitive they will miss everything, if you set the sensitivity in the middle somewhere they will detect every little movement. Once the cameras are installed spiders will set up webs by every one which they will re-make each night and these will move constantly in the breeze if outdoors which is enough to set off the recording or notification. I recently invested in much better cameras which have a PIR sensor instead of just a digital and they only go off a couple of times a night making them much more useful. If you wake up every time they go off though to view the footage you might find you have a lot of disturbed nights, even with the PIR ones due to vegetation moving, spiders, bats, etc.

I had a chat on phone with the seller but I was too late. All spoken for I am told. I am still in the market for a batch or two of dried timber if anyone needs to shift some. Oak, Sycamore, Sweet Chestnut, Lime, Beech, Even Birch And Alder. Must be wholesale price so between £350 and £500 per cubic metre. Need some Christmas cash anyone?

Got a use for the timber? I would be interested if you can deliver to me....

If only they had thought it through a bit better when they planted the tree. 20 metres away from the house would have been beautiful. That close and it was always going to end badly.

Well you need to work out how bad it is and whether it goes all the way along the logs. If it is really bad I wouldn't touch them - even if they are yours for nothing. Ring shake can turn what should be a whole heap of good timber into a lot of odd shaped firewood. Got any photos of sawn ends?

Perhaps it might be worth paying for a written investigation by an independant and suitably qualified engineer. Even then you might be up against it. Good luck anyway.

What type of shake and how far does it go along the but? Ring shake is the worst but is rare in Oak. Star shake can often be milled around but it depends on many factors. If the shake is really bad they may only be firewood value, and these would be considered way oversize for processors. The extent of that shake is crucial. Also look out for rot coming down the trunk from trimmed limbs - in my experience this is more of a problem than shake with Oak.

I cannot answer your question of what should it cost to buy an acre of Oak coppice for felling. But I can tell you what I pay for such timber when it is delivered to me as firewood. Currently £46 per ton delivered. This could be different in your area of course. So if there is 70 tons in the end, that is worth (I would say) £3220 but that is delivered to the customer and it will need three trips with a timber lorry, so that means you will only get to see about £2500 or so. At a guess if you have to pay someone say £500 for extracting and stacking you will only really be getting £2000. So I guess the answer is unless you are a very fast worker you should not pay much for the timber - if anything. For a larger site using heavy machinery it is a different ball game as you may be able to fell and extract hundreds of tons in a day, but if it is just one acre you will just be hand felling I assume. I would advise making enquiries of firewood sellers in your area to see what price they will buy Oak cordwood for. Bear in mind that Oak is not the favourite firewood as it is so difficult to dry.

Can’t believe no-one has championed ‘Wombling Merry Christmas’. Awesome.

Yeah we did this two years ago - ungraded and unseasoned Larch. Our builder seemed to think it would be fine even though it was a slight variation from what the drawings specified as these said it had to be treated softwood. The building control guy seemed happy and signed it all off. No-one with any formal qualification certified or graded the beams.

Agreed. Above all do not pay by bank transfer - not even a deposit. Pay by cash when you pick it up; or by PayPal where you receive some protection.

Looks like the same saw (or fraud) is back on ebay. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mobile-Dimension-128-sawmill/302991495522?hash=item468bb35162:g:tpUAAOSwF1tcDtsD:rk:3:pf:0 Anyone know anything about this? It may actually exist but I see it is exactly the same photos as the last time it was listed. If you are thinking of bidding take great care. If you know anything about it please let us know.

Try Ruperra Conservation Trust, they may help, but transport may be tricky as timber lorries will carry about 26 tons.

You haven't mentioned what the access is like, ground conditions and of course species and quality of timber. Many sites you would have to pay someone to fell the timber as it will be too time consuming for it ever to be profitable. This is why so much woodland is neglected - far from being a cash-cow it is a financial liability. So maybe the price you have been offered is a really good price. Are the trees just firewood or are they milling stems? If you are unsure of some of these facts some photos and details of species and sizes might help.