Paddy1000111

You know I wish I was him! At least I would know what I was doing and not just winging it! 😂

Not sure what the situation with protected species and what they class as a disturbance is? If you have an eagle eyed twitcher who films you climbing up a tree and fondling live nests I bet they would have a good case.

Getting into it, started chatting with a local company that deals with live edge kitchen worktops and stuff and they needed some milling work done then got more and more milling enquiries. I used to do various woodwork and have smaller planer/thicknessers etc so I adapted. Told the company I had no experience but they said they would work with me to figure it all out. Hopefully should have a mill by the end of next week as Rob sorted me out at chainsawbarsuk and have the deposit paid on an 881 to pick up when I needed it as I didn't want it sat about burning warranty not doing any work!

I think he was joking about how bats don't roost at night but I agree, bats are no joke!

Nice photo and nice tree 👌 looks like a painting!

Maybe just keep it in your name and nurture it yourself if you're concerned? Let it grow and if they want to buy a house it will make a big difference? The only reason for them to have it in their name is to spend it themselves or to put their feet up about saving for a deposit?

It's tough but it's all based on them personally. You could give it to someone who's 25 and they could keep it safe and use it wisely or you could give it to someone who's 40 and they could go an buy a motorbike and kill themselves on the first trip. It's also dependant on the amount, I think the more it is the more wisely it's cared for. I inherited some money from my grandfather at 24 and I never used it for anything but big business investments where the finance would be a killer or property as I knew taking £10 out the fund would lead to £100 then then £1000 then more. There were times I was "skint" but never used that money as I knew it would be a slippery slope.

Basic math really. £430 for a tree motion Evo. Let's say you get five years use. 252 working days a year, let's say you use it 200. 200x5= 1000 working days use that's 43p a day. In all seriousness though it's become an industry standard. Trustworthy, reliable, comfortable, adaptable. I looked around and tried lots of different harnesses. The only one I think comes close by the look of it is the monkeybeaver which I would love to try but it's not CE marked. The tree motion doesn't have a direct competitor. The rest are all very different and whilst they aren't bad, they aren't the same. Also, considering that you can't get them second hand you can only compare them to a new focus which is more than the old one

People ask that quite a bit when talking about savings accounts as it's a risk because you might not win anything. Just try it for a year and see what happens. A 0.2% account over a year with 10k will generate £20. If you win a prize once it's £25. At £20 a year you aren't risking much with a chance to win £1m. I have the maximum amount you can have in premium bonds and I win 0-6 prizes a month with on average 3 £25 winnings so there's no reason over a year you shouldn't win once

Depends on the amount but I have always stuck with premium bonds. I made over £1500 in winnings last year but I did have one month where I won £1125. I won £125 this month. I put money in there for a year originally to see what would happen and it's been my best account by far! If it's a smaller amount with current rates you need to work out how much it makes and take a risk. I would rather stick money in an account that has the chance to make them £1m than make them a measly £300 in interest over 10 years!

Wouldn't call it lying, I mean it's not wrong. You are required to check for any physical signs of nesting birds before carrying out tree work as even climbing the tree is a disturbance. If anything I'm just congregating information that the average joe who watched spring watch once can understand

Sorry, did I ruin your joke? 😂

Well, Swifts rarely nest in trees since humans built them new, waterproof, protected homes in our roof spaces. Personally I've never seen a swift nest in a tree but I'm sure it rarely does happen. Same with swallows really, they're a cavity nester so unless you inspect every nook and cranny in the tree with a torch they are extremely hard to spot. I know what you're saying though, of course if you are up a larger tree on a harness then it's easier to tell fresh from old. I usually find that people ask when dealing with small pruning jobs where you're using poles on housing estates when there's obviously no nest but it is what it is. I got asked today by a passer by when there was obviously no nest 😂

If anyone asks I always say that it's a requirement under the wildlife and countryside act 1981 to carry out a full inspection for active birds nest prior to the beginning of work. Technically it's not BUT it sounds good and usually stops any more questions and makes people aware that you know what you're doing. You can't tell if a nest is old or new until eggs start falling out anyway

I am that spanner. 😂 In all seriousness though, I agree. Just always worn type C through habbit but mainly because my type A was a pair of Stihl ego or whatever the base level was and I hated them, baggy and would tear on thorns with a nice little set of ribbons coming out for show. I'd rather be in type A but just done things by the book as I haven't always been working for myself

Hi guys, I know this question has been asked 1,000,000 times but new models keep coming out and companies keep changing designs. With the weather picking up I'm sick gaining 2kg in water weight through the day in type c's when doing pruning jobs etc from the ground. Does anyone have any advice for some nice cool type A trousers that aren't going to be sweaty and uncomfortable but don't break the bank, say sub £150? Cheers!

That is a hell of a deal. A 2014 machine with 40 hours seems fishy? Maybe a new tacho? I'm sure they're genuine though

I really like the climber70 bags from rescued from landfill. Massive bags that can carry all the stuff you want. Only thing to note is if you're looking for one bag you want to keep it all separate when wet. Put steel and alloy together and you're asking for a bad time when mixed with wet ropes. Just look at boats.

And the vicious circle continues, same as every industry I guess. If you're a plumber, you don't get an apprentice so they take over your company when you retire, you're just training the competition!

I think the small start up firms may not be hit as hard as the bigger firms. Small start-ups have small overheads, less kit on lease as a lot is second hand, less staff etc as they rely on freelancers. It will obviously separate the wheat from the chaff but I think the bigger companies that have bought lots of new kit, taken bounce backs etc etc will be hit hardest. I don't think they will go under but I think they will make redundancies and hand back kit moving forward

Chatting to my friends who are still working in it by the sounds of things its going to be at least 2 years until full recovery. There's going to be a spike after the pandemic with everyone going on holiday, all flights will be maxed out, hospitality maxed out etc etc BUT you have to think of all the companies that have gone under. Whilst the industry is going to be booming, airlines, hotels and agencies don't pop up overnight. Using random numbers for example, let's say before the pandemic there was 500 jobs in one sector and everything was flooded before the pandemic, too many people too little work. After the pandemic there will be say 200. I think it will take 2 years to get to 400 because most of these companies learnt their lesson that there were too many slackers and the usual too many chiefs not enough Indians story!

Funny that! My experience is my old aviation buddies and there's bugger all work on and most are unemployed or doing a "filler" job like working at princess yachts. The engineering sector has been fully shafted!

I'd disagree about the 80% thing. Everyone I know on furlough has for the most part been better off. The only people who are worse off have been the single adults/couples living on a shoe string budget prior to lockdown who weren't really getting tree work done beforehand anyway. Everyone else has saved money with no holidays, no nights out, no parties, no school trips, being able to look after the kids so no childcare, mortgage holidays, more cooking at home as they have more time etc etc.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not on about spunking thousands on shiny kit. Just wash the van, give it a polish, do some paint touch ups, maybe touch up missing paint on the chipper, logo work shirts are about £7, maybe re-design your business cards, touch up your website etc. Maybe you broke the rear light on a trailer and it's been left, stick a new lens on. The old saying says you can't polish a turd but you can roll it in glitter for under £100. You don't need to spend loads to give a good first impression 🤷🏼‍♂️

I don't believe it... you're saying that the 10K machine will make me more money than the £45 interest? In all seriousness though, I completely agree. I don't think there will be a huge rush in little companies popping up mind. If you've been made redundant etc it's an expensive industry to get into and with no promise of work going from a well paid job to becoming self employed is a long process to becoming self sufficient financially. Obviously finance helps but with no job and no income getting a good finance deal and being able to make repayments on all the kit is a big overhead. I think money is also best put into company image, clean vans, nice looking equipment, smart uniforms and company reviews. I've been undercut on some jobs but the customer has gone with me through good kit, a professional look and good reviews. Suddenly a £30-£50+ difference in prices doesn't matter when they are getting a professional company compared to a "man with a van". One of the best things I did (from customer feedback) was invest £10 in carbon copy quote forms. Fill out the customer data bit, what needs doing, tick a load of boxes. Lets the customer see what they are paying for. Giving them a proper form full of info with a quote on it looks more professional than a DIY business card with a number written on it. In relation to the house sale stuff more of my work recently has been from new buyers wanting trees sorted first thing. Of course a lot of that is leylandii bashing but it is what it is. More house sales=more work!