Frod

Thanks for that, I knew I’d read it but then couldn’t find it again for some reason. should be difficult to argue roadside trees don’t pose a credible risk once showing advance signs of dieback.

Just to follow on from this - would you need a felling license to remove dead and dying ash trees from the roadside edge of a field. There would be considerably more timber than 5m3…

Excellent read, lots of good info for sure. Does anyone have experience with the cormidi c85 loaders as well? Obviously that’s moving to tracks rather than wheels, plus it’s an extra 100+kg so I’m guessing ground impact would be worse? It’s also 4” wider than narrow wheels…but seemingly that generally is less of an issue. On the plus side, it can move more, but still might struggle moving a full ibc of fresh firewood? Sadly I don’t have the space for an articulated loader, but need something to help around the yard and on jobs (mostly domestic but some small commercial)

Still looking for qualified and unqualified ground workers... immediate sub contract opportunities available

Looking for qualified climbers and groundsmen in the Rugby/Lutterworth/Leamington Spa area. Mostly domestic work, immediate opportunities available. Rates negotiable depending on experience/qualifications. Also possible opportunity for someone who has decided to move into the industry looking for a new challenge after a previous career etc Either DM me on here or email [email protected]

I have a beech log, approx 12-15ft long and 36" at the base to about 34" at the top that is still standing waiting to be cut in the new year. It has been dead for around 2-3 years already and I was wondering if anyone was keen to come and mill it? The timber is dead and solid - there is potentially one patch of soft rot near the top but otherwise I think it is fairly solid throughout with some good colouration based on a slice I took off the top. Access is pretty poor as it is in a back garden and everything needs to go through a 3ft (3ft 6" if the gate comes off) gateway so sadly it can't just be loaded onto a lorry easily! It can be milled in situ though. Are there any interested parties before I just cut it for firewood for ease of extraction? Location is quite close to the middle of Leicester city.

Access is fine. You can drive up to both stacks I know of. I left some chunks there that would be anything up to 24” maybe? I don’t think it’s very processor friendly. It’s probably a couple of days worth. I can put you in contact with the homeowner if you are interested and he’ll be able to supply pictures etc?

Does anyone know anyone who offers mobile firewood processing around the midlands area, Leicester specifically? I have a customer who has got a lot of timber that has been left from various trees he's had removed, but now wants someone to split it. Nothing is overly processor friendly but it just needs a saw and a decent road tow log splitter. If anyone knows someone who can help, please let me know and I can put them in contact with the customer. Ta muchly

Specified a 4-5m oak tree, not great access with pretty heavy clay to dig through, all by hand. As long as it’s not up to me to fix it once I’ve removed the tree I’m happy. I just had an idea that they were planning on moving back to Australia in the next few years and didn’t want to end up some how liable.

Cheers guys. It’s not that the customer is being particularly difficult but (especially with the current virus issues) money isn’t a bottomless pit so if they can delay having to pay out another £500 or so for another 6-18 months they will do. I just didn’t want to end up with being responsible because they chose to ‘forget’ their responsibilities!

I’ve been given permission to remove a large oak tree for one of my customers that was covered by a TPO. With it came the usual replanting stipulation. Now, as the permission lasts for two years, the tree can be removed but then a replacement doesn’t need to be planted immediately, but possibly after the summer when planting conditions are more favourable. If the homeowner moves house between tree removal and the replacement being planted, is the new owner then liable for the fact a replacement hasn’t been sourced? Am I liable for the fact the previous owner only wanted to do the bare minimum and get the tree out of the way?

One of the people on my chainsaw in a tree course around 5 years ago failed because the instructor told us we needed to be climbing on two ropes plus lanyard. As none of us had two separate ropes we used the tail of our main line which was deemed fine, but as we hadn’t been taught this through the few days training, this one guy chose not to do it so as soon as he turned his saw on, he was asked to leave the tree as he had failed. Plus when we did aerial rescue a few months previous, that was all done with two main lines and pussics (bad days!). Sure this wasn’t college but a separate training provider...

Similar to you, my client is in her 60s and wanted the hedge to be 'fully grown' now rather than wait 15 years to achieve the same results. Thats why I had thought about the container/trough grown instant hedge but for the quantity, your looking at 3 times the price hence looking at alternatives! I won't be planting until November at the earliest so bare root seems like a good option and if hornbeam isn't adverse to an annual flailing at the start of the year, it could be a winner. Planting up some 120-150 stems at 4 per meter should give a pretty good screen come next summer.

At the start of the year I removed approx. 55m of conifer hedge for a customer and now they have come back to me wanting me to source and plant a new hedge to surround their garden. They are wanting something around the 1m height mark - I was thinking along the lines of Beech, Laurel or mixed native but is there anything else I might have missed? For ease I had looked at the trough grown plants but then potted plants are cheaper - if I use the mini excavator to dig a trench, planting either is fine. How well would a Beech hedge react to being trimmed with a tractor flail as I can imagine thats how one side will be maintained over time? I've been in discussions with my local nursery about it and although they have been useful, more advise is always good. They have given me a couple of contacts to get plants from but does anyone else have any good recommendations for buying this no. of bulk plants?

Call before hand for directions/instructions, will take most timber, hard or soft.

Cheers for the replys guys, the lack of reviews wasn’t unsurprising, but the fact I haven’t found anyone with any experience of the Henley stoves either here or other stove retailers, it doesn’t inspire confidence! I think I will go with the Stratford, from what I’ve read it should last and definitely pay for itself in the long term.

Does anyone have any experience with the Henley Druid boiler stove? We are looking to install a new boiler stove for our old farmhouse and this has popped up in our searches. Previously I was angling in on fitting an Aarrow Stratford (Arada Ecoboiler 25kw) but seeing as how the Henley Druid 30kw is the best part of £800 cheaper and claims to be more efficient, I was wondering if anyone had any comments on this particular stove?

Cheers for that, they've given me some useful prices to work with.

PM sent

Evening all Does anyone in the Coventry/Rugby/Banbury area have a mini excavator, either 1.5t or 3t would probably do the job fine. Either with or without an operator, no more than a day or two, just looking for an idea of price for a job some time first quarter of 2018. Cheers

I had one of the first few M250s Dean at Global delivered and in the last 9 months or so it has served me pretty well. It only comes out 3 or 4 times a month as and when I have my own jobs on but it works well when required. It has its limitations, it'll only happily chip about 3 inches but if you're careful you can push those limits to a certain extent. You also can't just stuff the shoot full of hedge clippings and force them through, but at the same time, if you do get things blocked up it isn't hard to open the machine and get everything running again. It's light and easy to man handle, I can load it onto my trailer easily enough on my own up ramps and it will push along on rough ground without issues but I did make a tow hitch for it so it can be towed around my field when required. That saves a lot of effort but it's definitely not for the road or for any sort of speed! The engine is good, though where JB have saved money is probably the drum bearings perhaps (nothing has gone wrong but they aren't the best I've ever seen) and also you do have to keep an eye on all the bolts as they have a tendency to work loose every time the machine is used. Nothing too bad but just worth checking things are tight when you use it! If I was to be picky, the chute is a bit on the low side and it doesn't through the chip as far as some other wee chippers but chipping either onto the floor or into a bin, neither are too bad and when chipping into a trailer, you can manage ok. The other main downside is it is slow, you have to prep brash more rather than just putting gnarly stuff through expecting it to just chew it up. Overall it is a great machine for the price. Sure, I'd have liked getting an M400 or M500 but the M500 is over twice the price and I can't say it'd be twice the machine. If you want to make firewood out of 4" timber and then chip the small stuff, it's a fairly good bit of kit.

Hi guys I'm looking for a reasonable supply of wood and looking to ask about the area as I've been let down by a couple of people already. I'm based on the south Leicestershire border with Warwickshire, I can collect from job sites (I'll cover an area from around Leamington/Kenilworth, Rugby, Coventry and over to Hinckley, Lutterworth or the surrounding areas) or you can tip off logs (and some chip) at my yard. I can also arrange a tractor/trailer to collect from your yard if you have a stack that needs moving on. If you can help me out, if you can PM me we can sort out payment (other than just cups of tea/cake etc) and see how we get on. Cheers Frod Sent from my iPad using Arbtalk

Ian and his team are a top bunch of guys and I would totally recommend them to anyone remotely close to Staffordshire. As to approaching local arb firms, when I started out last year (at the ripe old age of 31) I just emailed a few people/companies with a brief note of who I was and what I wanted to do and went from there. You get a few mixed reactions but if you are honest and write in full sentences with proper English, you'll get a start I'm sure.

Some churches have a lot of money, some don't. Some wealthy villages/town churches can afford tree work as much as anyone whereas some struggle to patch roofs or keep the grass cut. I do a reasonable amount of work for the poorer churches in my area (and yes I do know they are poor and have seen their accounts) and so help them out where possible for the community aspect. You tend to get reasonable contacts through the other parishioners anyway

Yeah the running bowline attached with a short Prussik is what we were taught in our cs38 the other week as a backup to the flip line. You could use a karabiner instead of the bowline but it isn't as ideal, it is quicker and easier though!