Advice on Cutting down Trees

DHFrame

I have a row of 30-40 Trees on my land that runs for about 50-60m which run along side an adjacent farmers field. The farmer has an established border with electric fence on his side so the trees don't provide any kind of barrier for cattle etc...

They are a massive light blocker. They are becoming really out of control so I want to cut most of them down. It will also provide a lovely view to fields that run on for miles.

My questions are: Do I need to get permission and what as a rough ball park figure would be the cost? And finally, are we better off waiting until winter when they don't have leaves or will the wood itself be very hard in Winter?

Thanks in advance!

D

Calahonda52

What sort of trees are they, the reason I ask is that they might be sold as firewood, pricing otherwise is difficult
Better wait till winter when sap is at its lowest.
Where are you located, roughly... rural setting

Do you intend just cutting then down or removing roots as well?

This may not apply in rural setting
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2009/act/27/section/43/enacted/en/html

DHFrame

Calahonda52 wrote: »

What sort of trees are they, the reason I ask is that they might be sold as firewood, pricing otherwise is difficult
Better wait till winter when sap is at its lowest.
Where are you located, roughly... rural setting

Do you intend just cutting then down or removing roots as well?

This may not apply in rural setting
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2009/act/27/section/43/enacted/en/html

Thanks for your reply. They are all a broadleaf, not 100% now. No conifers. Definitely no Oaks. I would probably leave the stumps I think. Maybe make a feature out of them possibly? I am about 3 miles out of Abbeyliex travelling towards Rathdowney so yes, countryside alright.

Very helpful thanks. Maybe I could upload a picture to get a breed?



http://imageshack.com/a/img924/7977/QS7Tt3.jpg

It's the row at the back of the photo. What you can see in the photo is about 1 third of the total row of trees.

CJhaughey

You need a felling license, don't be tempted to think that they won't move on this if you don't get one.
There have been plenty of cases taken against people for illegal felling so move carefully and in accordance with law IMHO>

DHFrame

CJhaughey wrote: »

You need a felling license, don't be tempted to think that they won't move on this if you don't get one.
There have been plenty of cases taken against people for illegal felling so move carefully and in accordance with law IMHO>

Thanks for the advice. I definitely want to go down the right avenue alright. I wouldn't dream of doing something like this without making sure of the legalities etc.. Thanks!

Big Job if it's permitted?

magicbastarder

Calahonda52 wrote: »

What sort of trees are they, the reason I ask is that they might be sold as firewood

if they're a decent size, a sawmill or woodturner may be interested. they'd want to be a very good size for the former though, i'd guess.

_Brian

Also worth double checking they are definitely on your side of the boundary or are they on the boundary itself, of so surely the farmer is 50% responsible and should be included in the decision.

Don't take it that the electric fence is the boundary.

DHFrame

_Brian wrote: »

Also worth double checking they are definitely on your side of the boundary or are they on the boundary itself, of so surely the farmer is 50% responsible and should be included in the decision.

Don't take it that the electric fence is the boundary.

All great advice coming through thanks. Is there a way to find out who the land owner is?

_Brian

DHFrame wrote: »

All great advice coming through thanks. Is there a way to find out who the land owner is?

You should start with your own maps of the portfolio and see how confident you are about the boundary.

Is there an open drain on one side of the trees ?? And if so on which side?

Pedalare Pedalare!

Yeah, as other posters have said. Felling licence. No way around it as such

magicbastarder

DHFrame wrote: »

All great advice coming through thanks. Is there a way to find out who the land owner is?

shouldn't be an issue if the farmer agrees. that said, if they're on his side of the boundary you could argue they're his responsibility.
talk to him, and only go legal if there's problems, i'd guess.

Stealthfins

If you buy a chainsaw,do a proper chainsaw course and do it yourself,it'll probably be cheaper.

shane b

My Mother got 4 large trees cut last year which were quite close to the house. She was afraid if they fell during a storm they could impact the hose. It cost 750 euro to cut the 4 tress and the timber would be left in large rings for us. We decided to get the rings split into logs as the person involved also had that equipment which cost another 500 euro. We had rings before that were very labour intensive to split thats why we went with that option.

invicta

DHFrame wrote: »

All great advice coming through thanks. Is there a way to find out who the land owner is?

You mean to say,
You don't know who your next door neighbour is??

Man, he (or she),should be your first port to call

magicbastarder

you misread the question.
the OP clearly knows who the neighbour is, the question is about determining the boundary - i.e. whether the OP or the neighbour is the owner of the land.

invicta

Has he spoken to the neighbour, there has been no mention of his( or hers) take, on this?
Maybe, there could be trouble over cutting the trees,as they are growing in a bounds ditch, and better find out before, rather than, after!

DHFrame

invicta wrote: »

You mean to say,
You don't know who your next door neighbour is??

Man, he (or she),should be your first port to call

We only moved in a few weeks ago. It's a 7 acre field and we haven't seen a farmer in the field so far. The field in question has no roads near it and is surrounded by more fields. I will check the boundary advice kindly posted here. It's all very valuable info so thanks so far. I saw a rotating blade the other day on a extendable arm, that might be the way forward instead of doing it manually with chain saws.

I will look into getting a felling licence and I can hopefully talk to the land owner. I am pretty certain they are our trees. I don't see a ditch of any kind.

I don't think I would get a chainsaw course done myself as I am **** scared of heights.

DHFrame

invicta wrote: »

Has he spoken to the neighbour, there has been no mention of his( or hers) take, on this?
Maybe, there could be trouble over cutting the trees,as they are growing in a bounds ditch, and better find out before, rather than, after!

Yes, as mentioned this post is not about circumventing neighbours and the law. Thanks.

DHFrame

shane b wrote: »

My Mother got 4 large trees cut last year which were quite close to the house. She was afraid if they fell during a storm they could impact the hose. It cost 750 euro to cut the 4 tress and the timber would be left in large rings for us. We decided to get the rings split into logs as the person involved also had that equipment which cost another 500 euro. We had rings before that were very labour intensive to split thats why we went with that option.

mmm, a bit more expensive than I thought. Imagine felling 30+
Maybe it's a case of being selective and only removing a few. Probably no need to remove every single one I suppose.

Calahonda52

OP: how far from the house is the boundary, you say its a 7 acre field.
What point on the compass are the trees vis a vis the house
Re the picture,if the sample in the pic is representative, I wouldn't exactly call them trees: my shredder would do most of it ......
lots of ivy as well so makes them somewhat less attractive as firewood
if you have full access to the fence, perhaps someone local with a teleporter...

DHFrame

Calahonda52 wrote: »

OP: how far from the house is the boundary, you say its a 7 acre field.
What point on the compass are the trees vis a vis the house
Re the picture,if the sample in the pic is representative, I wouldn't exactly call them trees: my shredder would do most of it ......
lots of ivy as well so makes them somewhat less attractive as firewood
if you have full access to the fence, perhaps someone local with a teleporter...[/quote

The line of trees in question are about 40m away from the back of the house. We are on a 1.5 acre site. The line of trees are following the line of an adjacent field which is roughly 7 acres going off into the distance beyond the trees. This is the reason we want rid because this line of trees is dense and blocks any view of the adjacent 7 acre field, which is a rather nice view. They are also blocking quite a lot of light and are particularly imposing.

Is this a job you might be interested in Calahonda?

Oldtree

Seems to me that if you are only 7 weeks into living the house you are making a big decision on these trees very quickly. It is an awful shame to remove a line of mature trees 40 m from your house for "blocking light" and "view" reasons, are they not a lovely view in of themselves.

Their leaves will fall for the winter and allow light through then. Would you not consider living in the house for a year or so before removing the trees, to be sure of your decision.

You will need to apply for a felling licence:

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/forestservice/treefelling/legalrequirementsfortreefelling/
http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/forestservice/treefelling/treefelling/

Oldtree

forgot to mention you can search online and then buy copies of folios here: (press "proceed as guest" and then zoom in on map and click field then buy folio)

https://www.landdirect.ie/index.html

Calahonda52

The reason I asked about the compass point, which you didn't answer, is that they may provide a windbreak to the house, especially in winter.
I agree with Oldtree here, 40 meters from house blocking light, 7 weeks in in mid summer.....

Not interested in the work thanks

DHFrame

Oldtree wrote: »

Seems to me that if you are only 7 weeks into living the house you are making a big decision on these trees very quickly. It is an awful shame to remove a line of mature trees 40 m from your house for "blocking light" and "view" reasons, are they not a lovely view in of themselves.

Their leaves will fall for the winter and allow light through then. Would you not consider living in the house for a year or so before removing the trees, to be sure of your decision.

You will need to apply for a felling licence:

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/forestservice/treefelling/legalrequirementsfortreefelling/
http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/forestservice/treefelling/treefelling/

It's being a considered decision. I like trees but these are very light sapping. Light doesn't just come from above where the sun is. It comes from all angles. The problem with a very dark wall is your eyes can't adjust properly to the light so your pupils dilate and the sky becomes blown out and darkens the environment even more so. I know this because I am photographer, some may scoff at this but light comes in as a dome from all around not just from one point in the sky. These trees are making the light inside our house incredibly dark. There are also an abundance of trees in this area. 1000s of them.

Calahonda52 wrote: »

The reason I asked about the compass point, which you didn't answer, is that they may provide a windbreak to the house, especially in winter.
I agree with Oldtree here, 40 meters from house blocking light, 7 weeks in in mid summer.....

Not interested in the work thanks

Compass point meaning what direction does the wind mainly come from?

looksee

Sorry OP, I know you want advice about chopping trees down, but I have to say the same as some of the others. You have only just moved in, at least give the trees a year round before deciding. You have moved into the countryside, and you want to chop it down and tidy it up. Get to know the countryside a bit before turning into a bit of parkland/suburbia. Find out what kind of wildlife is living there, how much weather they are protecting you from.

However, more to the point - you do not have to chop them all down. Get a bit of advice and remove the scrub and the trees in poor condition (there are a couple). You may find this is enough to offer your photographer's eye the light it needs. (Hint, don't use that photographer's explanation to any of the locals). Do not attempt the job yourself, it needs someone (probably expensive) to do any more than pull out the scrub.

magicbastarder

i missed out on the OP only being in situ for seven weeks.

to echo what the others said - one of the best pieces of advice i would give someone moving to a new place is to do absolutely nothing for at least three months, which cannot be reversed.
as others have asked - what direction from your house do the trees lie?
and i wouldn't just look at it from a photographer's point of view, unless your reason for buying the house was to take photos from it.

Chinasea

It seems a terrible shame to go chopping down the trees. Often people mistakenly think the trees are blocking light when in fact they may not be. Small internal alterations can make a huge difference I.e lighter coloured walls, heavy dark curtains not to mention the dreaded net curtains. If you must chop, don't chop'm all.

Save trees they breath life.

DHFrame

I will wait till next summer before I make any decisions.

Thanks!