Treetom15

I have just finished working for a fairly large firm, AA approved etc. Not a single member of staff used 2 ropes, and this isn’t to knock any of them but it simply wasn’t practical. Especially when the majority of the work is crown lifts, small/medium section fells…. Personally, I have used 2 ropes whilst climbing but probably less than 10 times in my whole time climbing-as someone above said only when you’re traversing from an anchor point into an adjacent tree, or on a very long limb walk. I don’t understand why it isn’t just a recommendation, rather than insisted on, as surely the AA know 90% of contractors don’t use it or enforce it? Also regarding the AA, I’ve always been confused as to how a company can be arb approved when they only audit 1 team on 1 day? I know there must be more to it, but some of the worst working practice I’ve seen is from approved contractors……

I never said don’t/shouldn’t do. I just find it odd that he feels the need to make videos that are purely pro-1 handing, we all do it from time to time but no need to make such a big deal from it?

Depends. The guy is clearly brave/experienced etc and some stuff is very skilled-however some is pretty questionable (a lot of 1 handing etc). The only person worth watching for learning IMO is Reg.

Honestly, 99% of American arb videos are worth avoiding. The fact he’s used a “bucket truck” for a tree like that says a lot in itself

I know a few people who used to used to use a system like this (with a ZZ before the chicane came out) personally it looks like you’ll have to tend the wrench every time you stop ascending away from your hitch/zz etc. For not a lot of money this looks like a good option- Simarghu Double Leg Tether - Honey Brothers HONEYBROS.COM Simarghu Double Leg Tether from Honey Brothers. The largest equipment specialist in the tree care industry. I don’t think it’ll put you in massive amounts of danger, but for the sake of a few quid it would be a much smoother setup with something like the above

Would the Yale Blaze work well with a ZZ/chicane? I know it’s smaller than the recommended size for them but just wondering if anyone had any experience using them on it

I’m in this position now with exactly the same 2 ropes mate-what conclusion did you come to?

Quick update- spoke to the local councils tree dept this morning, turns out the customers house is NOT in a conservation area, so happy days. All hassle saved by a 5 minute call

Oddly enough, he was absolutely fine…which makes me wonder why he was so adamant about ignoring it in the first place. I think perhaps as I’ve offered to do the legwork he’s happy with that, either way he’ll he getting the bill for it!

Contacted him and have said either we do it correctly or I won’t carry out the work-I’m thinking there may be more issues underlying and as a lot of you have said, it won’t take much to ruin a reputation. And as said above, no not new to the industry but I usually sub to company’s or work direct, so this aspect of it isn’t something I usually deal with.

I’ll speak to the council Monday, I’m hoping as they’re mostly self set trees they shouldn’t have any preservation orders on them. It could be a quick way to ruin a reputation and I don’t want that sh1t on my doorstep!

Definitely not crazy money-however the chap is minted and insisted that any fines he would pay. Best thing I can think is to speak to the local TO Monday and see what they say?

Hi all As the title suggests, I’ve been asked to remove a couple of trees in (what I think) is a conservation area. Now I know usually there should be an application with the local council etc etc….however, the homeowner is certain he doesn’t want to go down that rout, he says all the neighbours are in agreement that the tree (s) should be removed (medium cherry tree, causing damage to parking space etc, no more than 30ft) and he is completely happy to pay any fines etc should they be incurred. Basically my question is, if I carry out the work am I liable if I have advised the homeowner to do the relevant applications and checks and they haven’t done them? I don’t want to do the work if I will get fined, I’m not sure if I would be if he has said he will sort any fines (should it come to that) I want to keep it tidy and above board, but the customer was very sure he did NOT want to speak to council TO’s🤷‍♂️

Sorry just answered my own question-didn’t spot the strap with hook in the link! Looks like a great idea in that case!

The only issue I could see (and I’m probably wrong) is that you would have to wind your rope onto the drum to Add tension-how Will you then add wraps onto the bollard to lower the piece as you can’t lower it on the winch?

I’d been considering doing similar with my rc2001 and using something like this- Pull Winch 4000kg WWW.TOOLSTATION.COM Perfect for manoeuvring vehicles, large industrial equipment, crates and other heavy objects. This multipurpose 4... Not sure how much lift you would get but it would work well enough with a prussik on the rigging rope, and you could back it off once the pre tension is on?

Very good point re how we treat houses- our build (due to the financial cap on the resale price) will mean that to build we would be in negative equity should we want to sell it in the future; the bonus is we don’t want to sell it, so will happily spend more than it would be worth as the money/energy saved in the long run. Also spot on about space saving etc-our walls are approx 400mm of insulation, plus provision externally for the ASHP, plus all the additional things that go with that (larger hot water tank etc), which again could quite easily be introduced by building companies but it would definitely impact on the way In which they squeeze every mm out of the building plots. Personally, I think people who own 2nd, 3rd homes and/or rentals etc should be taxed far higher than they are. There is no need for one person to own so much property, especially when the replacements being built is so poor

Surely it would make so much more sense to insure that the houses being built meet a good standard rather than trying to encourage people to buy from a smaller number of properties? I refuse to believe that construction companies couldn’t afford to build a house with slightly better insulation, solar PV, ground source heating etc?

I think the reason so many get stolen is because the police really aren’t bothered about recovering small plant equipment worth a relatively small amount. I know if a few cases where plant has been stolen, and the people/persons who had taken the equipment were known and details passed on to the police-they weren’t interested and said to claim on your insurance. Unless you get caught red handed there’s very little deterring people. I’m sure there’s plenty of outfits in the country that wouldn’t mind running a dodgy chipper🤦‍♂️

With all the increases at the moment (food, fuel, bills, predicted National Insurance increase) it would be absolutely crippling. I’m sure the governments answer to most will be to “just work harder”…… It’s going to be an extremely hard few years for those on the edge of their income supporting a family

It will certainly be interesting to see how it performs in reality! We were limited on size of the build (local needs, 100sqm living space etc) so we decided to make the best we could afford. Feels expensive at the moment but if energy costs keep going up I hope it pays off. Re rising energy costs-the one thing that shocked me is the lack of funding/grants for building a house that is low energy. There is/was stuff available for renovations or replacing boilers, but now they are scrapping the RHI payments in April, so even though you are using the same stuff the government subsidise if you are retrofitting it (triple glazed windows, extra insulation, ASHP etc etc) if you fit it as standard with a new build you get no financial benefit? It’s no surprise companies don’t bother when wacking up 80 new builds on a postage stamp. The problem with the rising cost of everything is that it’s discouraging people from making small changes that will collectively have a big difference-using low energy bulbs, no dishwasher/tumble dryer/microwave etc, poor insulation in houses…..people who are on the cusp of this rise in living costs won’t want to spend extra on something that makes a relatively small difference, and I don’t blame them at all

I’ll have a much more accurate answer when it’s finished haha! It’s predicted to be at Passivhaus low energy standard (not full passivhaus) which I think it’s something like 22kwh? That’s just a number that’s stuck in my head though I could well be wrong-I think full passivhaus is 15, and low energy passivhaus is 30kwh

The problem is that we’re really up against it in the U.K.-we have a massive population for the size of the country, and we are also by nature very greedy with our use of energy/consumables/luxury items (it’s insane that within a few hours you can order almost anything to be delivered to your doorstep!) not that this is anyone’s fault persay, it’s just how the world works…. Myself and my family are in the process of building a small house-high insulation levels, very low energy consumption, solar PV to run an ASHP etc etc. What’s shocked me, is that the overall costs (whilst high) are not that much higher than building a “bog standard” house, so I cannot understand how we have such low standards for building in the U.K. compared to Scandinavian countries? Most contractors I spoke to said not to bother with solar & ASHP and go down the gas/oil boiler route-most new builds never have solar. Fracking is poisonous, a short term solution with long term repercussions. I think peoples habits & perceptions of energy usage need to be changed for there to be any sort of sustainable solution.

I think that the way in which we use energy in this country, and the world is just unsustainable full stop. By and large, houses in this country are poorly insulated and run on non renewable fuels, whilst people have hundreds of gadgets and consumables that draw on supply’s. I think nuclear is unfortunately the cleanest way to supply it, but I think the changes really need to come from the public consciously reducing their usage

Main issue I’ve heard about them is how gaffs fit into the cutout in the arch of sole, has anyone got any feedback on that? I’m due a new pair of boots (must be protective) and I quite fancy trying them-I’ve already got done Salewa Crows I use for pruning work