Jack.P

Yes the privet ones are nasty things but connifers are the one I hate the most and burn ya eyes if the clippings land in there Yew and Portuguese laurels are nice though but not cheap .very few will pay out to remove a line of scruffy bushes then replant afterwards

That is a good point .Also from what I’ve seen most hedge maintenance work isn’t done that great at all.seems that companies quote for the job then just do it to minimum acceptable standard and make more profit out of it but apparently similar things is pretty common in a lot of trades .Once got 100 quid tip from a hedge job .some will notice the attention to detail

Yeah the wood is very soft .even cut 6ft ones before to the ground with a freshly sharpened hedge cutter .it is mostly just those nasty privet things to sort out

Say if you are cutting overgrown privet or laurel hedges taking about 3 ft off tops and side .(and job in question doing about a 40m run of domestic medium sized hedges ) There has been some questioning though if I’ve got the best time efficient technique.I tend to go down sides first then put the top angle on with long reach cutter then cut the long stuff in one swipe then rake it off the top followed by cutting remaining stuff to fine finish then all raked up into builders bag and remaining leaves blown back into hedge. sometimes on other jobs might just mulch it fine and leave it in the top of hedges but that isn’t that quick either or done to same standards. I like to do it to this standard so hopefully people notice the difference a lot of people I’ve seen on there hedge work seem to just leave most of the material left in the hedge which is bit of a lazy bodge way of doing it.

the roller would go round way too fast .mrs muggins windows plus rest of the house would also be painted white ? Stihl is ok but trying echo and more husqvarna stuff next time

At least he is consistent messer .quite entertaining infact to watch some days . But still clueless and annoying to work with

Been back with the messer this week on some jobs .some low quality hedge work he did today but I tried to make up for his bodgery and I thought I’d try his tools out which he had kept on about and implying they were better than mine .only just about useable and ment being held up with naff tools. Also didn’t feel too good after breathing in all that unleaded mix he gave me - with way too much oil in the mix .doesnt even though how to mix 50:1 it would also seem ? good job I didn’t put that in my trusted machines still don’t know how people like this actually get the work in the first place . Even said to a woman earlier on a job all waste goes to a farm then burned.could have at least lied and said it’s recycled.not very professional at all

Never bothered with furlough or any government support plus side with doing my own work Is can stay in bed and start slightly later . typical working hours on a job 9.30-5. Some which are over eager to start a lot earlier can only slow down by 11 ish anyway or start dicking about so not that great.and tend to rush and forget something

Sounds good .just wanted to clarify the 450 for 3.5 days didn’t include tidying or chipping and was only 3miles down the road but still cheap for the job done after trying my hand at forestry any domestic job seems easy work

Yup the farming type never want to pay much it seems but job took just under 4 days which wasn’t bad going (30yr lime x 50 never trimmed before )and price didn’t include waste removal or clearing up including all the chipping etc most companies would likely charge about £20-£30 per tree ?

Yes I did mention I also do decorating but that’s usually only for maybe a few months in the winter mainly to get out of the rain and being able to extend working day hours .easier money to be made but wouldn’t want to do it full time last big tree job I did was trimming 50 lime trees on a driveway for lorry access so everything trimmed back up to the height of lorries. did that for only 450 quid .never doing work like that again on hourly rate

Looks like maybe one from a older Stihl hs81

They r all against me now ?. On this subject though there is No excuses why he didn’t spend 70 quid for basic saw PPE. I have topped some medium sized ones before on tripod ladder safely but tend to stand right back with long extending pole saw and take it in small chunks .

Good question.have done groundy work and some forestry handcutting and got basic saw tickets cs30/ 31. Other regular work and experience includes hedges trees landscaping fencing general gardening and property maintenance .mostly hedges this month though and getting a bit boring .

been thinking about this .guy in question not the most professional anyway and hardly worth bothering with anymore .i probably knew it was wrong and wouldn’t have happened if it were a more worthwhile company to stay on with him .he turned up just now to the house with his naff hedge cutters for me to borrow thinking they are more up to the job than my own machines. ? .even though previous message clearly stated no need but thanks

All good points made here and do have enough of my own clients .just for the record though I am good all rounder and decorate to high standards but with trees not having climbing tickets but only units 31 doing the pine job wasn’t very clever Not sure which is worse though watching above douche bag with a chainsaw or angle grinder ha .

Doing hedges for him on Monday so presumably he was on about hedge cutters . this is more of a handyman type person advertises for garden and trees /landscaping/home work . Once did Internal decorating with him and the work he did was done to appalling standard and I definitely don’t want to be associated with shoddy work .luckily for him the woman couldn’t see that well but I should have walked off the job

But isn’t it different if Customer wasn’t satisfied on previous time with the price or quality of work (not mine ).he could have easily lost the client all together as he was going to phone another company. but to imply my tools are crap is some joke .and then says that yes they should be ok for the job .err yeah have tried and tested them on hundreds of jobs ffs i will do the jobs on Monday for him and nothing more after this Anyway rant over now lol

And what about saying my tools are crap.that is some douche bag

Well it’s easy to say that maybe It was unfair in hijacking someone else’s client but wasn’t my intention in potentially being unfair and client had requested to deal with him directly . unprofessional though for him to then charge the client an extra 150 on top of original quote .bet he looses the customer anyway . Have decided Getting rid of the guy .dont need to be working with people like this

Just wanted thoughts about this please . have been doing various jobs for a local company on a subcontractor basis providing all my own gear etc. Firstly a regular client I had worked for a few times requested I deal with him directly and wanted my contact number so agreed to offering my services .then when I was on the job the other bloke spotted me there and threw his toys out the pram then insisted on invoicing client himself and payed me standard day rates but made 150 quid markup which was a cheek for doing absolutely nothing as I tried to explain though it’s entirely clients decision who they wish to give the work to and that he had contacted me. and tonight received text this eve from above douche bag implying my tools not up to the job for upcoming work and do I want to borrow his. find that pretty rude as he knows I’ve plenty of great gear and i was tempted to dump all the work and himself altogether .also had a strange call from his last week saying that he thought there wasn’t enough waste generated from a job maybe implying I didn’t do enough but job was done to spec. I don’t particularly need the work but maybe I should just say don’t be a jerk or I’m off?

Maybe a 4 stroke .a friend had a similar ex hire one .didnt seem very powerful though compared to modern machines

On this subject.i was looking at a few mountain ash /Rowan the other day which looked to have very similar issues like the early signs of the ash dieback .just interested to know does it spread to just the native ash? I often find ash saplings in peoples garden which they want gone so got a growing collection in pots .not planting them out for a while though

I’ve found that If you don’t hit the ground and cutting clean wood then a new good quality Stihl chain will stay sharp and cut fast for at least 15hrs You could also buy some spare chains and get a local tool shop to sharpen them in batches

Some Poplar I’ve seen is only on 7 yr rotation.sweet chestnut is a bit overlooked though .lucky to get 10 years out of any treated softwood fencing material