Guides for homeowners

Insurance claims for fallen treesStorm damage from a falling tree is usually covered by buildings insurance, but clearing the tree itself often is not unless it damaged something, and fences are typically excluded. Reducing a hedge that's grown too tall: what's realisticYew, beech, hornbeam, holly, hawthorn and privet regrow from old wood. Leylandii and most other conifers do not, which is the single fact that decides whether you reduce or replace. Who owns a boundary hedge?Ownership comes from the deeds, not from which side the hedge appears to sit; many boundary hedges turn out to be shared, and you may still cut your side back to the line. Access: what if the only way in is through the house?Plenty of gardens are cleared through the house. It is slower, it adds about 15 per cent to our estimates, and it needs protection, an agreed route and someone home all day. Asbestos in old sheds: what to check before removalIf a shed or garage roof is grey corrugated cement and the building went up before 2000, treat it as asbestos until a test says otherwise. Ash dieback: signs, risks and what to doAsh dieback thins the crown, marks the bark with diamond lesions and makes the wood brittle. Not every infected ash has to come down, but one near a road, path or building needs assessing. Best time of year for tree workMost major tree work is best done in the dormant season, roughly November to February. The nesting bird season and a handful of species rules decide the rest, and dangerous trees are dealt with whenever they are found. The best time of year to clear a gardenLate autumn and winter are usually best: growth has died back, you can see the ground, and there are far fewer active birds' nests to work around. Council garden waste collection Birmingham: what you can and can't put inBirmingham's brown bin subscription is suspended until further notice, so the options are the recycling centres, composting or a registered collection. Neighbouring councils still run schemes. Can I burn garden waste? Bonfire rules and alternativesYou can have a garden bonfire in England, but persistent smoke that affects neighbours can be dealt with as a statutory nuisance, and burning trade waste is a separate offence. Composting, the tip or a licensed collection are usually better. Can you remove a stump yourself?Small soft stumps in open ground are a genuine DIY job. Big hardwood stumps near walls, drains or buried cables are not, and hired grinders are the machine most likely to hurt you. How much does it cost to remove a tree stump?Grinding is £120–£400 a stump, digging out costs more once you add hire, spoil and topsoil, chemicals are cheap but take a year or more, and rotting is free but slow. A method-by-method comparison. Crown reduction vs pollarding vs topping: what's the difference?Crown reduction makes a tree smaller while keeping its shape, pollarding is a repeating cycle from fixed points, and topping is neither: it is crude cutting that stores up decay and cost. Do I need a waste carrier licence to remove garden waste?Householders do not need a licence to take their own garden waste to the tip, but you do have a legal duty to check that anyone you pay to take it away is registered. Do I need to be home for tree work?Be there for the first visit and for anything irreversible. After that, a written scope, secure access and a photo record matter more than your presence. Does stump grinding damage pipes and cables?A grinder works at exactly the depth garden services run, so the answer depends entirely on whether anyone checked before the wheel started turning. How long does garden clearance take?Most garden clearances are done in a day. A light tidy is two to four hours, a typical semi's garden is most of a day, and a heavy or abandoned plot runs to two days or more. How much garden waste fits in a van? Load sizes explainedA full van is about 12 cubic yards, roughly 70 bin bags, at £330 including disposal; how you stack the pile changes which band you land in. How to prepare your garden for a clearance crewHalf an hour of preparation saves an hour on the day: sort the parking, unlock the gates, mark what stays and tell the crew about anything buried, fragile or hidden. Is Japanese knotweed in my garden? What clearance firms won't touchHaving knotweed is not illegal, but spreading it can be, and no ordinary clearance crew should strim, chip or dig it, because every fragment can start a new plant. Landlord's guide to garden clearance between tenantsGardens are usually the tenant's day-to-day responsibility, but a deposit deduction only holds up with a check-in inventory, dated photographs and an invoice. Nearest tip to me: household recycling centres across the West MidlandsAddresses and booking rules for the recycling centres across the West Midlands, plus van permits, proof of address, what is charged for, and when one collection beats six trips. Probate and inherited properties: clearing a garden nobody's touchedSecure and photograph the property first, check the insurer's empty property conditions, agree the work with your fellow executors, and keep every receipt for the estate accounts. Selling a house with an overgrown gardenClear enough to show the garden's size, boundaries and access before the photographs are taken, deal with vegetation against the house, and leave mature or protected trees alone. Storm-damaged tree: who's responsible and what to doMake it safe, photograph everything, tell your insurer before you clear. Where a healthy tree fell in a storm, the damage is usually the affected party's own insurance claim rather than the tree owner's fault. Ten signs a tree needs attentionTen things you can check from the ground in twenty minutes, sorted into what needs a call this week and what can wait for the winter. Where the answer matters, get a report rather than a quote. Tree roots and house foundations: when to worryMost trees near houses cause no structural problem. The real risk is on shrinkable clay, with a thirsty tree close to shallow foundations, and felling can make things worse. Tree surgeon vs gardener vs landscaper: who do I need?Tree surgeons work at height with chainsaws and hold certified tickets for it, gardeners maintain planting, landscapers build. Hedges and small trees are where the three overlap. What happens to the wood? Logs, chippings and what you can keepKeeping the logs and chippings takes about £75 off the price, but they arrive wet, heavy and in the wrong place. What is worth keeping, and what is better going on the lorry. Wildlife and bats: why your tree surgeon might stop workEvery UK bat species and every bat roost is protected by law, so a tree surgeon who finds signs of bats must stop, take advice and in some cases wait for a licence. Can I cut my neighbour's overhanging branches?You can usually cut overhanging branches back to the boundary, but not beyond it, and protected trees and wildlife rules still apply. Do I need permission to cut down a tree in my garden?Most garden trees can be felled without permission, but a TPO, a conservation area, a planning condition, nesting birds or your deeds can change that. Do tree surgeons need to be qualified? NPTC, insurance and what to checkNo licence is needed to call yourself a tree surgeon, so check chainsaw certificates, insurance, waste registration and a written quote before you book. Fly-tipping: why the cheap "man with a van" can land you a fineYou are legally responsible for where your garden waste ends up, so check the carrier on the Environment Agency register and get a receipt before anything leaves your drive. When is it illegal to cut a hedge? Nesting season rulesNo date makes garden hedge cutting illegal, but damaging an active nest is an offence all year, so check carefully or cut from September to February. How to check if a tree has a TPOUse your council's online TPO map or register, check for a conservation area too, then confirm in writing before any work starts. How to clear an overgrown garden (with or without help)Work from the top down: check for wildlife and hazards, cut the top growth, pull brambles, dig out roots, then plan how the waste will leave the garden. Leylandii hedge removal: cost, roots and what's left behindTaking out a Leylandii hedge costs about £70 a metre with a £350 minimum; plan for stump grinding and soil improvement before you replant. Trees in conservation areas: the six-week notice explainedIn a conservation area you must give the council six weeks' written notice before cutting down or pruning most trees, even without a TPO. What to photograph to get an accurate tree quoteSend two to six clear daylight photos showing the whole tree with the house for scale, the base, what is underneath and the route in from the road.