Dan Maynard

I think if the tree needs persuading over you're better off on the other end of a pull line than banging wedges, but trying to pull the rootball on every one seems a bit odd to me.

12 hours ago, dumper said:

Just planted a holm oak pleached hedge at 4m tall worked out at £1850/m installed 

Even more than I thought possible!

I'm with Trust, fee depends on turnover of what you're doing so you can discuss with them how much of this you'll be doing in a year. I would guess 500-1000 for combined policy, not sure if they go lower because you're not at height or higher because you're in forestry industry.

1 hour ago, Bolt said:

The line looks like single phase ‘aerial bundled conductor’.

 

The vicinity zone of it is 1m, so to put it highly simply, nothing should intrude on this clearance.  To maintain that clearance most DNOs would specify cutting more to allow for the inevitable regrowth.

 

Exactly how much more will depend on the DNO, based on their interpretation of regulations, engineering recommendations, safety rules and contracts with tree firms.

Yes, it's new ABC. This is what I was thinking, VZ is only 1m but they've cut back further to allow for regrowth.

Its not a bad job at all, nice cuts to growth points etc and I'm sure the guys were just working to spec.  I'm not emotional about it, we do have a street WhatsApp where people had a moan but i suggested no point complaining to UKPN but rather take up with parish council. Whether I end up trying to reduce or repollard the rest remains to be seen.

3 hours ago, Bolt said:

Is the picture showing the old 1m clearance or the current 3m clearance?

New 3m clearance, it has been cut before but seems this time they went lower.

The fancy answer round Cambridge seems to be those hornbeam pollards tied flat back onto bamboo frames. I dread to think of the price though.

I wouldn't be too worried about blunting, more about how clean the cut is. I would think narrow pruning type chain would be better than full chisel, then it'll need a tickle every now and then. The carbide type chains never go blunt but are never very sharp in the first place either. 

My 110 hardtop is with Aviva, the renewal was within a tenner of last year. Not a tipper though.

Seems random, my Mrs had the same problem with car insurance on her Yaris which went mad this year. 50 something lady no accident in last 20 years on a ten year old Yaris should be tuppence to insure. Changed provider, back to £100.

Sorry double posted

This has been cut around the line near my house today, I think in the past clearance was 1m but now 3m ?

Can anyone who does utility shed light if it's a policy change in DNO's ?

Fighting nature is hard work and pointless imo. Knock out the major deadwood if they want, it won't help or hinder the tree. Then let the tree crowns balance according to the light available, you can't make branches appear where it's shaded.

If they want the willow to grow evenly the only way is to fell the other trees.

Be interested to know how this works as I've just converted T- Mech grinder to Greenteeth so starting up my collection of old teeth again.

Ah ha! Annex 3 exclusions include

"dual-purpose vehicles and any trailer drawn by it "

My 110 is a dual purpose vehicle so I'm happy.

Looks like my trailer unladen weight may be 1110kg so need to saw a bit off the back.

Didn't know anything about this, assumed by being outside tacho scope I'd be fine.

Well if touching a Makita saw makes you homosensual then I don't know what using one of those must do...

But I would have done that with my 8" bar Makita saw from the start, bugger using a great big petrol topper for that type of job.

I went for PCW4000 winch with clutch and locking cleat so overcomes some of those problems, but agreed I've not really lifted with it.  It has been brilliant pulling things over, pulling lumps up out of the brook or out of undergrowth. GRCS I guess can do those things but you're winding by hand, slower but more controlled so it's better for lifting  rigging.

18 minutes ago, john willis said:

put a grease nipple in each machine

This, pop the plug out of the cutter into a lathe, drill and tap M6, fit grease nipple. I reckon plenty of EP2 is better than being stingy, not getting round to, or forgetting the special Stihl grease.

The Makita cutter I have came with a grease nipple on the gearbox.

9 hours ago, Mark Bolam said:

£3.5k now, a lot of Euros.

 

Blimey that makes my capstan winch look cheap, and that has an engine on to make it go round.

Yep, that's the one.

51 minutes ago, sime42 said:

I'd ask your friend if she really wants it levelled. It doesn't need to be and level changes in a garden are generally good, they add interest planting opportunities.It'd be a lot of work to level that for not much gain in my opinion.

Meanwhile a thousand people in tiny flat newbuild gardens are desperately trying to dig in some interesting changes of level....

It seems to drop quite a bit on the far left corner to me looking at the steps in the fence, what happens the other side of that? Might need a retaining wall?

To me it seems to need stumps out, then some beds defining and then new turf.

2 hours ago, openspaceman said:

One day in my case as no one else turned up. Interesting subject though, I still look out for pairs of lines on wooden poles to estimate the voltage.

 

I never got any further as I got retired.

I do too, it's another thing you can fascinate the wife with as you drive around pointing out trees you worked on.

I'd push for UA1 at least, which is basic electrical awareness and only 2 days. I have no intention of doing utility arb but it's been really useful - learnt a lot about what's up the poles, and how far to steer clear of things.

Definitely did things before that I wouldn't do now eg I wasn't driving the telehandler we were using to pull stump out of ditch but it was too close to the 11kV, I didn't even know it was 11kV at the time or I'd have been more scared.

From what I read true native blacks are so rare you are unlikely to see one, everything is hybrid.

51 minutes ago, Donnie said:

doing something else

Ah that's not the question, we could probably all have done something else for more money but where's the fun in that? 

The wood looks like ash though. Buds are opposite like ash, bark different.