In article ,
"Bioboffin" writes:
|
| As it happens a tree surgeon came to the door today and quoted £500 for full
| removal (there are about 12 stumps). After he left, I went out with a hand
| axe, and managed to remove two of the stumps (which were quite well rotted).
| Others are still very solid.
|
| I'd appreciate some wisdom from this group - is £500 a reasonable sum for
| the job? Should I persevere and dig them out myself? Should I leave them for
| another six months and risk the wrath of SWMBO?

Buy a grub-axe (pick-mattock), which is like a pickaxe with a 4"
wide blade on one side, and obtain an electric drill with a small
grinding wheel. You also need a solid spade. Sharpen your axe
well and the mattock blade roughly, and dig the stumps out. Not
a problem.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

We have a patch of land at the front of the house (about 4m x 5m) which was
previously (25 years ago) planted with Cornus shrubs. 18 months ago we had
them cut down, but this left stumps which in some cases are quite extensive.
They were killed with brushwood weed killer at the time of cutting. I
decided to use the biological approach and cover them with forest bark, in
the hope that decay would take its course, and they would be easy to remove
a year or so down the line.

Unfortunately SWMBO feels that NOW is the time to replant, and would like a
weedproof membrane, covered by slate or similar, planted at intervals with
new shrubs etc. Some of the remaining roots are still resisting decay and
are rather extensive.

As it happens a tree surgeon came to the door today and quoted £500 for full
removal (there are about 12 stumps). After he left, I went out with a hand
axe, and managed to remove two of the stumps (which were quite well rotted).
Others are still very solid.

I'd appreciate some wisdom from this group - is £500 a reasonable sum for
the job? Should I persevere and dig them out myself? Should I leave them for
another six months and risk the wrath of SWMBO?

John.

(Nick Maclaren) wrote in
:


In article ,
"Bioboffin" writes:
|
| I'd appreciate some wisdom from this group - is £500 a reasonable
| sum for the job? Should I persevere and dig them out myself? Should
| I leave them for another six months and risk the wrath of SWMBO?

Buy a grub-axe (pick-mattock), which is like a pickaxe with a 4"
wide blade on one side, and obtain an electric drill with a small
grinding wheel. You also need a solid spade. Sharpen your axe
well and the mattock blade roughly, and dig the stumps out. Not
a problem.

He could buy his wife the mattock and let her do the job, as she is the one
who wants it done.

(This whole 'swmbo' thing is a mystery to me. My husband sorts jobs he
wants done. I sort jobs I want done. Unless one of us is ill and it's a
very physical job I can't see why you need someone giving orders.)

Victoria

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"Bioboffin" writes:
|
| As it happens a tree surgeon came to the door today and quoted £500 for
full
| removal (there are about 12 stumps). After he left, I went out with a
hand
| axe, and managed to remove two of the stumps (which were quite well
rotted).
| Others are still very solid.
|
| I'd appreciate some wisdom from this group - is £500 a reasonable sum
for
| the job? Should I persevere and dig them out myself? Should I leave
them for
| another six months and risk the wrath of SWMBO?

Buy a grub-axe (pick-mattock), which is like a pickaxe with a 4"
wide blade on one side, and obtain an electric drill with a small
grinding wheel. You also need a solid spade. Sharpen your axe
well and the mattock blade roughly, and dig the stumps out. Not
a problem.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Thanks very much. This is in line with my own thoughts.

John.

"Victoria Clare" wrote in message
. 240.23...
(Nick Maclaren) wrote in
:


He could buy his wife the mattock and let her do the job, as she is the
one
who wants it done.

He has in fact alread ordered one. Why don't they sell them in garden
centres?

(This whole 'swmbo' thing is a mystery to me. My husband sorts jobs he
wants done. I sort jobs I want done. Unless one of us is ill and it's a
very physical job I can't see why you need someone giving orders.)

Victoria

I am sure she could do it herself, however, I'm the one with the long
holidays!

Take care,

John.

In article ,
"Bioboffin" writes:
|
| He could buy his wife the mattock and let her do the job, as she is the
| one
| who wants it done.
|
| He has in fact alread ordered one. Why don't they sell them in garden
| centres?

Because garden centres cater primarily for the sort of gardener
who belives that watching Ground Force is gardening :-)

You need a rural hardware store or an agricultural suppliers.
Devizes has two places where you can buy them; I don't think
that Cambridge has any left, though it is possible that some
of the builders' merchants still have them. As they last for
ages, I don't look out for them.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Janet Baraclough.." wrote in message
...

The job will be much easier using the right tool, which is a mattock
(or a pickaxe would do if that's what you happen to have).A mattock
looks a bit like a pickaxe but has a pointy smashing bit at one end of
the blade and a broader flat digging edge at the other.(Use each end to
break into the soil round a clump, hack roots or winkle underneath
them..then use the handle as a lever). Either borrow, or buy one for a
fraction of £500 at a builder's yard.

Should I leave them for
another six months and risk the wrath of SWMBO?

Do not incite the wrath of SWMBO! We really mean it.

Janet.


Thanks for your advice!

On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 14:24:32 +0100, Janet Baraclough..
wrote:

The message
from "Bioboffin" contains these words:


The job will be much easier using the right tool, which is a mattock
(or a pickaxe would do if that's what you happen to have).A mattock
looks a bit like a pickaxe but has a pointy smashing bit at one end of
the blade and a broader flat digging edge at the other.(Use each end to
break into the soil round a clump, hack roots or winkle underneath
them..then use the handle as a lever). Either borrow, or buy one for a
fraction of £500 at a builder's yard.


Wickes sell em - abat 20 quid if I
remember rightly ;-)

"andy" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 14:24:32 +0100, Janet Baraclough..
wrote:

The message
from "Bioboffin" contains these words:


The job will be much easier using the right tool, which is a mattock
(or a pickaxe would do if that's what you happen to have).A mattock
looks a bit like a pickaxe but has a pointy smashing bit at one end of
the blade and a broader flat digging edge at the other.(Use each end to
break into the soil round a clump, hack roots or winkle underneath
them..then use the handle as a lever). Either borrow, or buy one for a
fraction of £500 at a builder's yard.


Wickes sell em - abat 20 quid if I
remember rightly ;-)

I ordered one from tooled-up.com

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=14881

which arrived on Friday morning (only 8 days after order placed!!!). I got
fed up waiting for the pick-axe handle to go with it, and bought a handle
from Wickes for £6.99. Spent about an hour yesterday and removed 8 roots.
This morning arms a bit sore (I'm more used to thumping keyboards). I expect
to have completed the job this weekend in a total of about two hours. (and
for this the guy from L.A. Tree Services of Peteroborough wanted £500).

Many thanks to the members of this newsgroup, who pointed me in the right
direction and gave me the motivation to do it myself.

John.