Chippenham Equestrian Project update

Posted on 10 January 20188 April 2019 by Debbie Newman

December 2017 before Christmas:

Coming on apace with the new equestrian project in Chippenham. The stables and horse walker are going in this week, together with 400 m of native hedge for screening and 300 m of mains power trenched and connected.

Native hedges are quite simply hedges that have developed in an area naturally over thousands of years and continues to thrive, There are many extremely popular hedges that are native to us here in the UK such as box, beech and hornbeam, as well as alder buckthorn, hazel, guilder rose, spindle, dogwood, holly, dog rose, wild privet, Hawthorn. Native hedges are also beneficial to the local eco systems, acting as the perfect shelter for local wildlife. Yew is poisonous for horses so would not be used in this instance.

Roadside dismantle of unbalanced and dangerous Sycamore Trees, Devizes

Posted on 10 January 20182 July 2018 by Debbie Newman

Today we undertook a roadside dismantle of unbalanced and dangerous sycamore trees on the main road into Devizes – so all hands on deck. The owner was concerned about the trees falling onto the highway. The three trees were 80ft tall but sitting on top of a 40ft bank so 120ft over the road surface below.

December 2017

Copper Beech Tree Dismantle, Potterne

Posted on 10 January 2018 by Debbie Newman

We had to dismantle this veteran beech tree in December, following a survey using a Picus test…

The tree, Fagus sylvatica purperea, had a diameter 2150mm, an 8m circumference and was 18m tall

We used Picus Sonic Tomograph technology; this is a specialised electronic instrument which can ‘look’ internally into a branch or tree trunk and display a computer-generated image of its condition. It achieves this by measuring the speed that sound travels through the wood in a number of different positions and directions. Sound travels fastest through solid wood. Decayed wood will slow its path. By measuring the speed that sound takes to pass through a tree, an idea of its condition can be obtained. In this case, the Tomograph showed a central cavity surrounded by advanced and early decay and the report’s conclusion was to fell the tree as soon as practically possible, and for the work to be carried out by a fully-qualified and insured tree surgeon to BS3998 (tree work) which of course we are!

You’ll see from the pictures below that there is very little viable timber at the base. What there was, was cut up for the client’s use.

For more information about our tree surveys, please see here: https://www.conservation-contractors.co.uk/services/tree-surveys/ or if you are concerned about one of your trees and think a Picus test would be sensible, please email William.

Erecting a Faraday Cage for one of our utility clients

Posted on 10 January 2018 by Debbie Newman

Today’s mission was to erect a Faraday cage for one of our utility company clients…..

We were erecting security fencing around a large transformer for Wessex Water; but given the nature of the transformer and metal security fence, it then becomes a Faraday cage, so the electricians have to earth the fence.

January 2018

Erecting a Faraday Cage for Wessex Water

Posted on 10 January 201823 February 2018 by Debbie Newman

We were erecting security fence around a large transformer for Wessex Water in Salisbury today. But, given the nature of the transformer and the metal security fence, it becomes a Faraday cage so the electricians have to earth the fence.

Reduction to large willow trees in Cirencester

Posted on 4 January 2018 by Debbie Newman

Reduction to some large willows including one which had fallen across the river and on top of beehives !!

358 Security Mesh fencing – as a rat deterrent?

Posted on 7 December 2017 by Debbie Newman

Typically, 358 Security Mesh is the ideal solution for a wide variety of high-security perimeter and access control applications…The mesh is made from 75mm x 12.5mm x 4mm galvanised material and polyester-coated welded mesh fabric and is

Climb resistant – its tiny spaces and welds at each intersection eliminate foot and finger holds and also stops objects being passed through
Very effective against the use of hand cutting tools
Comes in standard heights from 2m up to 6m

We had to replace 55m of 25-year old fencing along 3 sides of a garden, two of which had a footpath running along the outside. Because of the footpath, fields on the other side and the fact the householder wanted to continue feeding the birds, our solution for endeavouring to keep any rats at bay was to break up some of our high security 358 prison mesh into 30 cms strips and fix to the gravel board at the bottom of the fence into a channel we had dug. This then was then back-filled with the soil so the green mesh is scarcely visible. So hopefully this will do the job. The mesh is galvanized and green plastic coated.

“Delighted with the work from William and his team. Really nice, hard-working, professional guys who talk things through with you, keeping you informed. Great job done and I love the mesh idea. Just brilliant. Thank you”. Debbie Newman

The first picture below is how you would more normally see this mesh being used. Some work we undertook in Blandford in the summer for Wessex Water. Then a close up of how the mesh really looks, and finally how it is in situ fixed to the gravel board.