Tagger

My local shed company sells wood stores. Not as pretty as yours, but solidly built, and the back comes as standard, as does roofing felt. The smaller size (will hold a cubic yard) is only £199. So at that price, you're looking at the posh end of the market, rather than at somebody who doesn't mind a shed sitting on their patio.

You'll need to contact Openreach, rather than the retail bit of BT, as they own the lines. Contact us

Chop Shop Chop Shop Garage London - Raw TV Ltd

I went to have a look at the woodland advertised by John Clegg today. It had a tiny block of mature broadleaf trees next to the road, a couple of blocks of conifers, perhaps 16 to 20 inches diameter, and a block of mixed small broadleaves which looked like a mixture of planting and natural birch regrowth I'm guessing the reason that the conifers haven't been felled is the access. The wood ends at a good road, with a layby. But the only access into the woods is via a steep narrow track. A decent 4x4 could get up it, and I might even give it a go in my Freelander in dry weather. But there's no chance of an artic getting anywhere into the woods.

I spotted a bit of woodland on the John Clegg web site that looks interesting (just over 9 acres, £65k). It looks like it's mostly conifer. As a potential small woodland owner, would there be any money in selling the standing timber to a contractor?

I've thought about it lots of times, but I've never worked out how to make enough money out of a small woodland to justify the cost of buying it in the first place.

If you're planning on installing it yourself, have a good read of Building Regs Part J http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_ADJ_2010.pdf

I bought 10 sackfuls of the small pellets from a local joinery a year or so ago. The small low-density ones are nothing like the usual high-density heat logs. They burn quite rapidly and don't last very long. I wouldn't use them in place of firewood - I would have to open the stove and chuck in another handful every 15 minutes or so. They are very useful, though. They can be mixed with softwood kindling to get a good fire going, and they are great for perking up a fire when a big log has decided to just sit and smoulder.

I thought I'd give the tyre trick a go recently. Picked up a free scrap tyre from a local part-worn tyre place. It's a lot better than having logs flying all over the place when they split. The tyre also helps to stop the axe so it does less damage to the old scaffolding boards I stand the logs and tyre on - especially when I miss the log I was aiming for.

There's a ready-mix concrete company here in 1066 country called William the Concreter

For voluntary groups, BTCV insurance is probably the easiest option (note: they now call themselves TCV, rather than BTCV). My local group has been affiliated since the group was started in the 1980's. The cost of the insurance depends on how much work you do, and whether or not you want to be covered for power tools or just hand tools. Allow about £150+. Unfortunately, their web site The Conservation Volunteers is down as I type this.

As an alternative to a removable steering wheel, consider a substantial disc lock (such as the DiskLok) which covers the whole wheel. Mine has the scars on it from when somebody tried - and failed - to remove it with bolt croppers.

If you don't want to cut your firewood to length, how about getting one of these? This Ridiculous Stove Can Burn an Entire Tree Trunk (wired.com) It's a stove that you just slowly feed a whole tree trunk into . I'm not sure quite how I'm going to manoeuvre a tree into my living room, though.

Heat Holders Heat Holders | The Ultimate Thermal Socks | Welcome are great when new. Very warm, soft and fluffy. The main down side is that they do lose their fluffiness rather quickly. Plus, every time you put them on, you have to take them off again to pull out the lump of fluff that's come detached inside, and makes the sock feel lumpy.

Quite frankly, if I had 22 tons of oak to split, I'd invest in a powered log splitter!