# leylandii tree removal



## mickjs (22 Nov 2012)

Hi all

I have 19 leylandii trees that are approx 50 feet tall. they look a mess and scare the [email protected]@p out of me in high winds in case they topple over so they have got to go, I am skint and trying to do this as cheap as possible. I've had a few quotes and simply cant afford to have someone cut them down and take them away.

I can afford prices quoted to cut them down and leave them.

Is the wood from these trees useful and what's the likelihood of finding someone to take it away?

Any advice greatly appreciated.


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## marcros (22 Nov 2012)

slim to no chance.

as you have found, cutting trees down is relatively cheap. disposing of them starts to get expensive. there is a huge volume of stuff to get rid of, and i fear that even burning them on site is not likely to be an option.

sorry


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## MARK.B. (22 Nov 2012)

The grain tends to be all over the place making it almost unworkable ( have seen some carved that looked ok but was not easy to get a great finish). If you are able to do the work and have the space to leave it lying around for a year or two you could always cut up the wood for logs (can be a sod to split even with a hydraulic splitter) if you cant burn them yourself then you could sell them to recoup the cost of felling. They do burn well once seasoned and I have kept warm for the past few winters burning this type of wood. The main drawback with a large quantity such as you have is the amount of waste green stuff to dispose of,one way apart from having a bonfire or two is to hire a chipper/shredder for a day or two and compost the chipped/shredded material.
If only you were a bit closer as my woodpile is running a little low.


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## dickm (22 Nov 2012)

It's certainly *useable* if converted into board, though not for much more than indoor rough work and unlikely to repay the cost of conversion. Burns well when dry, but only in a closed stove as it spits like anything. So if you can log it (even a B&D electric chainsaw would help tackle something that soft) and dry store for a year or so, then you've either got free(ish) firewood, or something that would sell when dry.
But as others have said, it's the brushwood that is the real killer. Processing brash from a 30m by 3m by2m overgrown Leylandii hedge in daughter's garden occupied two 4hp chippers for most of two days, and still left several trailer loads to go to the tip.


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## CHJ (22 Nov 2012)

I know it's a lot of bulk to dispose of, and being in a city type environment makes things more difficult but if you are bothered about them standing then I would say get them down to ground level then worry about the disposal.
Time is a great healer with tasks such as this and it's surprising what you can achieve with a good saw and strong loppers in condensing the debris for storage and subsequent disposal. 
Two or three bin bags full of loppings every time you go past the local community recycle point can shift an awful lot of rubbish and a local add for free logs could help with the bigger stuff.

You can even make start on reducing the wind risk by lopping of the reachable branches a bit at a time, may not look pretty until the trunk comes down but so what. Could even be an advantage in tapering off the moisture extraction ramp in the adjacent soil.

Although if Brum is anything like us the trees are at risk of floating out on their own.


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## MARK.B. (22 Nov 2012)

but only in a closed stove as it spits like anything.

Good point Dick Forgot to mention that #-o


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## pip1954 (22 Nov 2012)

hi go on free cycle some one will snap your hand off, :shock: 
we took one large conifer out this year we had four people after them but you will need to get rid of the greenery .
we cut 21 down at the bottom of the garden a couple of years ago (my son cut them down) the logs where cleared by a local in our village the green stuff we put through a shreader spread it out on a area at the bottom of the garden over a couple of years it has nearly gone .
believe me free cycle some one will want it =D> =D>


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## Nicknoxx (22 Nov 2012)

You need someone with a big shredder. Getting rid of the wood will be easy on freecycle and the greenery will go too if it's been shredded.


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## tomatwark (23 Nov 2012)

I had this problem a couple of years ago 100 foot long by 10 foot high by 7 foot wide one.

The trunks where not a problem as my father in law had them for his stove.

The greenery was more of a problem, I started to burn it but the smoke was not neighbour friendly so had to give up on the idea.

In the end I rang our local council and explained the problem.

I told them I had a van and could move it but there was going to be a large amount, to my surprise the guy I talked to said he would ring the local recycling centre and come back to me.

When he called back he had arranged for me to call in over a few days first thing in the morning with a van load, it took 5 loads but the staff there could not have been more helpful, they shred and compost this sort of waste and then use it in the parks etc.

Give you council a ring and see what they say.

Tom


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## Sheffield Tony (23 Nov 2012)

I've taken a couple down, and also had a tree surgeon take down some.

Nothing went to waste. The green stuff once shredded composts surprisingly quickly, or was spread on allotment paths as a weed supressant, which it is quite effective as. Logs can be burned once well dry (wet leylandii is a recipe for a chimney fire because of all the resins). The wood, whilst not beautiful timber, is highly rot resistant - great for garden poles and other uses.

But then again, I took them down one or two at a time, so never had a vast amount to get rid of in one go.


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## acewoodturner (23 Nov 2012)

I felled 6 leylandii a few years ago which were about 40' high and about 18'' dia. It was a bit of a nightmare job as they were all leaning the opposite way to where I wanted to land them. Only one went the wrong way but luckily that was through a gap in the neighbours hedge and onto their lawn. Didnt leave a mark which was brilliant. The women whose garden it was was a right cheapskate and they were all left lying across her lawn as she refused to pay the full price. She was going to get her layabout son to cut them up and dispose of the brash. He didnt own a saw either and I believe that about 6 years later they are still on her lawn. I dont have any sympathy for her as she has a really well paid job and a massive house and garden and could easily have paid for the full job. 
I hate these trees with a passion, but if I have to fell any I do it in the rain if I can as they have so much dust and rubbish in them its impossible not to breathe it in whilst snedding them.


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## Eric The Viking (23 Nov 2012)

As the recession begins to bite I predict there'll be a rash of chimney fires.

If you do burn the stuff in an open grate, get a fine mesh fireguard (not the big childproof things) and have the chimney swept in the spring. Most fast growing softwoods leave a lot of soot and resin in the chimney, and even with fairly fine mesh you may still ruin the rug!

My grandparents burned a lot of softwood, and grandma was adept at dealing with chimney fires (even though they had the chimneys swept regularly).

IMHO Leylandii is horrid - shred it and give the chippings to a gardener.

E.


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## tekno.mage (23 Nov 2012)

Eric The Viking":ndkljc7j said:


> If you do burn the stuff in an open grate, get a fine mesh fireguard (not the big childproof things) and have the chimney swept in the spring. Most fast growing softwoods leave a lot of soot and resin in the chimney, and even with fairly fine mesh you may still ruin the rug!



We use open fires and on occasion have burned some nasty softwoods - yes you need a proper fine mesh fire guard and a sacrificial old wool rug to put in front of the hearth helps protect any flooring underneath. I'd recommend sweeping the chimney once at the start of the burning season (autumn) and again around January if you want to burn a lot of softwood. I've had a few chimney fires and although a bit scarey they are not really an issue in an old stone farmhouse (no timbers near the chimney stack - so you just let it burn itself out) but we always go up into the loft and check, just in case and look outside at the roof and surroundings. I'd be very worried about a chimney fire in a an urban Victorian terraced house though, where roof timbers may well be near the chimney stack and catch fire or in a more modern house (if they have provision for open fires).


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## WoodMangler (23 Nov 2012)

mickjs":2op55tlt said:


> I have 19 leylandii trees that are approx 50 feet tall. they look a mess and scare the [email protected]@p out of me in high winds in case they topple over so they have got to go,


Check the Forestry Commission web-site before you go any further with this. I had a similar situation, 25 trees about 40 ft tall right behind the house, on the boundary of a field we own. 

I asked the Planning Office if I could remove them, they said 'go ahead, no problem'. These being typical council planning officers I thought I'd better check... I went onto the Forestry Commission web-site, and discovered that there was a limit to how many cubic metres of wood I could remove at any one time, and if I exceeded it I'd be *liable to a fine of £2000 per tree*, and would *have to replant like-for-like*. I *could* request a license to do it in one go, but that would cost money and it might not be granted anyway.

You can fell up to 5 cubic metres per calendar quarter without a licence, so I ended up doing exactly that - the calculated total volume of wood was a little less than 20 cubic metres, so I had a quarter of it cut down at each 3 month interval over a period of year - with photographic proof signed by witnesses at each stage, just in case....

See http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/forestry.nsf/byunique/infd-6dfkw6 for the exceptions, another of them may apply to you (but don't assume the forestry commission agrees with your definition of what constitutes your 'garden').


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## Doris (3 Dec 2012)

Taken from the encyclopaedia of organic gardening......



> *A use for Leylandii timber*
> 
> A little known fact about the notorious Leylandii is that they can provide durable woods for external use. Their timber is not often available in the UK, so you may look upon an inherited overgrown screen of leylandii with renewed interest and begin to think of them as a more valuable resource than fodder for the chipper or shredder. If you can, dry the poles in a shed or garage for a year or more; they will give longer service than if used freshly cut.
> 
> Depending on the size of the trees, thier trunks may be used to make fence posts, pergolas and arches; side branches with a natural curve are useful for the tops of arches and pergolas, while others can be woven into trellises. Sadly, neither tree will regrow from the cut stump.


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## jimi43 (3 Dec 2012)

Doris":1vjdydfg said:


> Taken from the encyclopaedia of organic gardening......
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Right! That's it! Finally a use for those horrible trees between me and my next neighbour!

I hate the things more than any other plant..full stop! 

Jim


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## dickm (3 Dec 2012)

From experience in our last house, Leylandii is not THAT durable outside. There were three monsters in the garden when we moved in which had to come down (two completely missed all the obstacles and the third nearly missed the garden shed  ). Used some of the branches for trellises etc, but they were rotten in about 6 years. Ok, they were untreated, but the quote suggests that shouldn't matter.


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## marcros (3 Dec 2012)

jimi43":1t6nwjdg said:


> I hate the things more than any other plant..full stop!
> 
> Jim



+1


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