Bloom

Did one of these last year. It was really a row of trees that the neighbour had managed to get called a hedge. Council was called in and they said 18m down to 6m. There was an option to do it 18m to 12m then to 6m, but the customer didn't want to pay twice. I think I recall that 6m was the maximum height allowed for a hedge (unless both sides agree to higher), but I may be wrong on that. There should be supporting documentation from the council saying exactly what is to be done.

I'm struggling to sell mine (split hardwood) at £15 a bag.

Hi Following on from another thread, what bluetooth helmet kits do you use? Looking one to fit to with existing helmet.

My route into tree work came via working as a gardener. Lawns first, then hedges. Bought cheap equipment, then bought good equipment. I could use a chainsaw so customers started asking for the odd branch or small tree to be removed. Eventually I was up a Leylandii on a ladder, rear handled saw and no harness. Then I decided to get the climbing ticket. Since then the sky's been the limit. I still do lawns and hedges. Lawns alone get me £8k a year, plus it puts me in residential areas where I can drop leaflets and speak to neighbours. I get most my tree work this way. After a few days climbing its nice just to cut lawns for a day. Maybe that's a route you could take? Gets you outdoors, gets you income. Just take on whatever tree work you get. If its too big, get a climber in and you can do the clear up. I have a computer science degree and have worked as a programmer and in computer repair. I make far more money doing treework. Plus I'm healthier and happier. You're 24, so you've time on your side.

Pruned a beech which had a telephone cable through. Returned a couple of years later for other work to realise the telephone cable was actually an electric cable. So a delayed 'holy f*ck' moment. Started to climb a tree that was to be removed, clipping off the lower branches as I went up. 'Customer' came out to see what was going on. Turned out I was in the wrong garden! Never arrange a job via text. Thankfully I hadn't done any major cutting before the mistake was discovered. The two houses had the same tree, in the same location beside a lamp post. One house was No1 the other was No2.

I had a marine setup for a few years. Had to get rid of it after splitting up with ex and moving to a smaller house. The one thing I found was I constantly had to top up the water. Literally I was making water (osmosis) constantly and topping it up due to the evaporation. It's the one reason I wouldn't get one again. It was like a full time job. Do you find that? Other t han that I found the marine setup up really enjoyable. The fish had personalities, amazing to watch.

Thank you. Do you know the name of this fungus? Just for my info. What might the black staining indicate? Those buildings behind are a school so need to err on the side of safety with this one.

Hi I've been sent these pics from a customer concerned about their beech tree. Any thoughts? Thanks

Any videos or pics from the event?

Got it sorted, thanks. Mallet and water.

Next time I'll tie a different knot. Had a crowd watching us, they were all 'experts', just wanted to get out of there quick. I could have set it up better.

I had to use my rigging rope to pull a vertical standing fallen branch out, using a truck. Unfortunately it has pull the knot so tight on the rope that I can't get it out! Any ideas how to loosen it up?

Cheers Mick, watched Robocop at the weekend.

Pretty rough here, just outside of Belfast. Definitely increasing in strength for us. Some sad news about.

I've been using Godaddy this week. Site is ready to launch and it took me 4 hours to do. Around £10/month, although I had previously bought my domain. I built websites in a previous life and couldn't have been more impressed with Godaddy.

Will there be a webcast of the event? Red Bull support a few sports I follow and their live feeds and highlights shows are really good. Hopefully this one gets the response needed so they can continue to support it.

Thanks guys

I clipped my rope with the saw and was looking to cut off the end to use for something else. What's the best way to cut a rope and seal it? Thanks

A colleague I know got hit with the saw in the chest recently. 60 stitches but he's ok. Didn't make the news.

Hi Where's a reliable source for getting Husqvarna spares, legitimate spares or quality alternatives? Looking to avoid cheap crap. Thanks Malcolm

Hi So my van is maybe heading to the scrapyard which leaves me in a dilemma. I need one vehicle to do everything. I tow a trailer with a wee chipper. I often bring timber and chip away from site. I'll be using this vehicle for both work and free time. Every tree surgeon seems to have a pickup but they don't strike me as suiting the needs of the business. Ideally a tipper truck would be the ticket but not exactly the best to go and get a litre of milk. Budget would be no more then £15k. So, if you could have one vehicle for work and pleasure, what would be best? Thanks Malcolm

Hi I run a Renault Kangoo Maxi for my business. I tow a trailer and a small chipper in the trailer (Timberwolf 13/75g). The van holds all my gear. I bring chip and timber back from jobs on occasions. Today the gearbox failed and will need replaced. There's 95000 miles on it. I'm not too knowledgeable about engines. Would it be the nature of the work that has caused this. Am I running the van too hard? Thanks Malcolm

Not really, but I don't want to die either!

Hi This is the tree in question. Red cables are the electric, orange is a telephone cable. There are more telephone cables on the far side of the tree. The third pic shows the tree from the road, the cables basically run through the dead centre of the image. Its been pruned before and apparently the electric wasn't switched off for the job to be done. Malcolm

Cheers. Didn't know the protocol regards getting the cables turned off for a bit.