Paddy1000111

That's what I thought but the cones look too long and thin?

Harnesses (and most fabric gear) usually have a 5 year lifespan from the day it's removed from the packaging or up to 8 years if it was stored. I.e if it was stored for 3 years it could be used for 5. It depends on the manufacturer though. A lot of manufacturers of metal kit like carabiners etc give it an unlimited service life and its life is based on damage/wear/function. AFAIK the lifespan of rigging kit is the same as climbing. Only difference is the loler cert lasts 12 months and not 6. Ropes vary a lot too. Tuefelberger drenaline for example has a lifespan of 10 years or 8 years in use. If you have it spLIFEd then it's 7 years, if its been slaiced then it's 5 years. Basically you're going to have to go through your kit, find the manuals online and find the expiry dates

I'll be interested with this one. The cones look Spruce like but the leaf formations and tree appearance is Cedar to me... Just not sure what specific type

If they aren't dangerous i.e over footpaths then I would leave them. They are a home to a lot of bugs, a food source for birds like woodpeckers etc. It's a bit like ivy, people are always trying to kill it off. It doesn't strangle trees and is a home for bats. If they become dangerous and over footpaths then get rid of them otherwise let nature do its thing. Trees have been pruning and caring for themselves a long time before we came along. I know that's probably not the answer you were looking for but having worked for a canal myself, part of the beauty is the history and nature that runs along the sides.

How tall are the trees/branches? Instead of using a silky you could look at using utility poles. You can keep adding them as needed although they eventually get a bit wet noodle like. Otherwise pay for an arborist. Are these branches dangerous?

I've been using a bag created by someone on eBay. They're £27 and called the climber 70 bag. The person does other sizes too. They're made from ends of rolls, recycled seatbelts etc and come with gear loops. They are 90% recycled, made in the UK and are really good quality, I have 3. It has enough room for a 14mm 60m line of tuefelberger sirius, some straps, a bag of carabiners, some bits and bobs and even a flying capstan... Can't recommend them enough!

Well, maybe knowing they have people after them trying to locate them, taking registration no., Reporting them etc might at least cut down their business activities. Plus having a thread with as many of their details online as possible means a Google search will out them as a bunch of pikies

That's a shame. They would be a 30 mins drive from me. Could have set up a sting op. Get them to go to a random address for a quote, snap some pics and get as much info as I could and then see if they're the ones who did your neighbor over!

I'm a little confused. Are they operating in Devon or are they operating somewhere else?

It was a big bang, a big flash and the oil from the transformer went into the stream and polluted the main rivers hence the cost! The price of cheap labour. I was across the road trimming my hedge when it happened ?

That's the trouble with this industry at the moment. Too many people who have a piece of rope and a rock climbing harness and are somehow then a "tree surgeon". Having watched a "tree surgeon" pull up, pull out his b&q chainsaw and pop on a £5 visor then fell a tree by making a cut right at the bottom of the V at the base so it split in half and fell straight across some 11kv power lines and rip a transformer off a pole leaving a farmer with a ~£200,000 bill for damage and environmental fees I feel I know it too well. People just don't seem to understand the training/skill/certification/insurance required to do it and seem to think that anyone with a chainsaw and a harness can do the job and most other tree surgeons are part of some racket where they all charge mega bucks.

Looks like I will have to spend just under £100 for the pole gaffs then... ouch. I'll persist with the tree ones for now ?

Definitely go and get your CS30/CS31 tickets or all you will be is a branch dragger and not allowed to pick up a tool. Buy yourself the PPE- Good waterproofs, Chainsaw trousers, boots (lace up not wellie type) and a helmet. If I can give you any advice it's to buy the best kit you financially can when you do buy stuff. All the cheap things (Apart from my Oregon Yukon boots) were rubbish and I spent more money again buying decent stuff. I don't know where you are but if you are in the south/towards Devon then I can highly recommend Hi-Line as a training company. They are spot on, good trainers, nice environment and very well priced.

I've been using the Oregon yukon lace type boots recently and they have been bang on. Haven't got wet feet yet and have been comfortable with spikes on etc! They size big though. I'm a 10 and got a 9 and they still feel very slightly large but my feet are skinny anyways.

I will have to look for a proper source. I only found out from a recent training course and when inspecting the tree I was told that the oak had honey fungus for the last 2/3 years and the training company mulched around the base (about 6 inches to 1ft deep). It stopped displaying symptoms of it and the tree seemed to be "cured" or at least it's life extended from the process.

There has been some recent research into honey fungus that showed that it only attacked living trees when it ran out of deadwood food. There's now advice going to forest owners to not have sterile woods as this is a fungus that eats deadwood until it runs out of food starts becoming "aggressive" and then causes living wood to die so it can feed. One "fix" I have seen is to mulch around the base of the tree with wood chippings. I doubt it is a permanent fix but it seemed to stop it attacking the tree when I have seen it used. In your case however the fungus is going to be feeding on the dead root stock of the old tree. I wouldn't worry about it for now.

Hopefully someone can help, I have a set of Klein spikes with tree gaffs fitted. Does anyone know of a distributor for the pole gaffs? Climbing with tree gaffs is driving me insane as it's like walking up a tree on stilettos, not that I would know what that is like ? Thanks!

+1 for the advice above. Get in someone suitably qualified as sadly a "tree surgeon" pretty much covers someone who has a chainsaw. Some advertised "tree surgeons" don't even have the basic NTPC quals... Get in a certified and insured surveyor. Is there something particularly worrying you about these trees? There's always a reason for a tree to fail and it sounds like the branch that fell was probably a V union or something that weakened it if it wasn't an obvious diseased/dead limb. Personally I would have had someone who's worth their salt inspect the tree (I'm not saying your guy isn't, everyone has a slip every now and again but you want a surveyor that has the quals and insurance) and then maybe look at a crown thinning programme for them to reduce their sail factor (how much the wind catches them). If you have a big tree that isn't caught by the wind so much then you have a lot less to worry about and the additional light through the canopy can make for attractive trees. If you have branches that you are concerned about but the assessor has deemed safe then maybe look at installing a bracing kit like cobra, especially if you have a neighbour that is kicking off about one branch in particular. If something happened and it went to court you have all your bases covered, you got in an certificated and insured surveyor who signed them off and then you had a qualified arborist install a cobra support system as a backup. You can only be held responsible for acting maliciously or with neglect.... If you are going to employ a crown thinning programme (maybe every 5 years or so) then I wouldn't bother with the cobra system. At the end of the day we have had erratic weather recently. Trees are growing fast and hard and because of the sun/heat they are keeping their full crowns later than usual and the weather suddenly turns and we have a strong wind and it overpowers the branch. Personally if you are that concerned with trees, and I mean this at your neighbours, then don't buy a house with massive trees in the back garden, move into a building where all of nature has been deleted... We live on the earth, it doesn't live for us

From my last set of training I believe that a written H&S assessment is only required if you have over 5 staff? Most things like chippers come with their own H&S assessment anyway?

The winches are the same. They don't have specialist ones made up. They do ones that are CE marked and EN specified as some are used for winching dingies onto yachts etc so become lifting equipment. The winches used on the grcs are just harken 2 speed self tailing winches. Up to you about which one you get spec wise. Have a look on their site. Most of there range is sub £700

I noticed there's two. One specifically for fungi and the other for tree pests and diseases. I take it the pests and diseases one doesn't mention fungi at all as it's not a pest or disease

Hi Khriss! For a minute there I didn't see the "s" in Gasping Housewives... Wondered how you got any work done! That definitely looks like the sort book I need though (body language of trees that is ?). Am I right in saying that it's 2015 and quite up-to-date with recent tree diseases etc?

I've been scouring the forums but can't seem to come up with a "up-to-date" answer. Does anyone have any advice on what books to purchase for tree work in general? I was hoping to consolidate my information down to a couple of books for the glovebox. Preferably a general quick reference to species, illnesses and pruning techniques and times for tree types? There seems to be tonnes of books (I have a few) but I don't want to carry a book that gives me 40 pages on hand saw types and what knife to use ?. I know asking "What book is best" is a bit like asking "what oil is best" but any ideas for quick reference books would be ideal!

I guess what I meant once they do that, they do what they can to make the other parties insurance company pay for their time doing so ?

I'm all for staying amicable with the neighbours. I was just curious, if you're unaware of the issues then you shouldn't really be liable but you can't give an all encompassing answer for anything with trees. I thought that leaves blocking a gutter/downpipe wasn't the financial responsibility of the tree owner as it's not damage but maintenance? Saying that, I would probably do the same as you although AFAIK under the law, general cleaning and emptying gutters isn't the responsibility of the tree owner. Bit like having a garden full of windfall rubbish... I used to do building work and I have seen wooden conservatory's/orangeries built on a ~300mm plinth with incorrect foundation work for the soil type and within a few years it has tipped off the end of the house leaving a crack up the back/joining face of >2-3". It sounds like the cowboy builders messed up. A lot of builders seem to think that because it's a single story wooden box that it doesn't need much ground work but levers and angles being what they are 1/4" drop on the outside can become a 2" crack quite easily. If it were me, and I could be held liable I would look at getting in an independent structural engineer/surveyor and get an independent opinion at my own cost. Insurance companies like to pin the blame on each other and never give an independent opinion. They may say that the root is a factor but improper foundations are another and could only leave you liable for 25% of the cost or something...