Chopping a silver birch tree in my new house

mrbg07546

Just bought a house and there's a 6ft silver birch on front garden. To about 8 meters from house . I want to chop it down . I presume because solicter searchs never bought up anything I can take it down and remove stump with out asking for permission from council?

kinger101

You can be absolutely sure that there won't be a tree preservation order on a 6 ft silver birch, so if it's on your property, chop away. Do it before there's any chance a bird might nest in it.

mrbg07546

Thanks.

I got a laborer in to do some building work.

Will a pick, crowbar saw and a spade be enough to get the stump out?

Or should I apply chemicals?

Davesnave

mrbg07546 wrote: »

Thanks.

I got a laborer in to do some building work.

Will a pick, crowbar saw and a spade be enough to get the stump out?

Or should I apply chemicals?

What chemicals dig a tree root out of the ground? It won't re-grow from any root fragments left behind, if you remove the main ones.

A fit person should be able to remove the main root in under half an hour using those tools, if 6' is height, not the circumference of the trunk!

Hoploz

6' silver birch? So the trunk has a diameter of about 2 inches max? And you're worried about how to get it out? You could pull it up in half an hour with a simple garden fork to remove the root ball!

glasgowdan

Is this a pee take? ;-)

Ectophile

6 foot? That's barely bigger than a seedling. If the ground's hard, you may need a mattock. Otherwise a spade, and maybe a small saw to cut any roots that aren't practical to dig out.

robatwork

And here's the problem with the UK today.

Nobody knows what the hell units to use. The OP mentioned 6 feet and 8 metres. Maybe he means 6 metres and 8 feet.

Most builders' merchants use mm to size up lengths of wood. So you can buy a 1200mm length of 4 by 2 (inches).

Nobody seems to know what height and weight they are in the new money - even in a hospital they will weigh you in kg but measure you in feet and inches.

Recipes now are mainly in litres, but we never seem to use decilitres like most of Europe.

Fuel has been in litres for many years but we still talk (and think) in miles per gallon.

Track races are in metres but marathons are always quoted in miles.

Food tends to be packaged in grams but market traders have been fined for refusing to stop using pounds and ounces (or inappropriate apostrophes).

Never mind Brexit - we need a referendum to decide what units we are going to use and change once and for all.

Davesnave

I don't think it's the problem, but it's a problem, for some anyway.

I remember reciting all my measurements in yards, perches, chains and furlongs, so there has been some change!

From a personal perspective, I tend to use whichever side of the tape happens to be the 'right' way up.

Hoploz

I wonder whether the OP has read the replies anyway. If the units were incorrect and it was 6m tall, 8' from the house, you'd think he would have corrected himself.

So, assuming it is a 6m high silver birch....

Same applies as before.... I'd estimate the girth of the trunk to be approx 3" at that height, looking at my woodland garden which is full of them at all sizes. Still not much bother to remove, still requires a garden fork, but yes a bit more than the half hour's work. Still get the root ball out without too much bother, but might require cutting a few trailing roots as they'll be a bit longer.

macman

If you are in a conservation area, you may need the LA's approval to prune or remove it.