i'm a nc newbie and have just started reading this newsgroup. here's my
dilema. i just built a house and i've got a little piece of woods that i've
been clearing. i've got about 5 piles of brush, each about 4 feet tall. i
don't have a chipper but would like to chip it all into mulch to keep weeds
down in the woodsy part. i haven't been able to find a chipper to rent.
how big a chipper do i need and where might i find one to rent? the biggest
branch might be 3 inches around. would it be less expensive to have it
hauled away? all opinions welcome and thanks.

robin in east durham

In "rac" writes:

i'm a nc newbie and have just started reading this newsgroup. here's my
dilema. i just built a house and i've got a little piece of woods that i've
been clearing. i've got about 5 piles of brush, each about 4 feet tall. i
don't have a chipper but would like to chip it all into mulch to keep weeds
down in the woodsy part. i haven't been able to find a chipper to rent.
how big a chipper do i need and where might i find one to rent? the biggest
branch might be 3 inches around. would it be less expensive to have it
hauled away? all opinions welcome and thanks.

Depending on your yard size, neighbor proximity and local regulations, you
could maybe burn it. You wouldn't have chips for weed-control but you'd
have some nice ash to augment the soil.

I don't know about east Durham, but Smith Hardware on Hillsborough Street
in Raleigh rents various types of equipment; 851-4622. If they don't rent
chippers, you might try other small garden/hardware stores, since they
seem to offer rentals more reliably than the big chains.

MAL



--

rac wrote:

i'm a nc newbie and have just started reading this newsgroup. here's my
dilema. i just built a house and i've got a little piece of woods that i've
been clearing. i've got about 5 piles of brush, each about 4 feet tall. i
don't have a chipper but would like to chip it all into mulch to keep weeds
down in the woodsy part. i haven't been able to find a chipper to rent.
how big a chipper do i need and where might i find one to rent? the biggest
branch might be 3 inches around. would it be less expensive to have it
hauled away? all opinions welcome and thanks.

robin in east durham

First thing to do is to talk to some of the neighbors to see if they are
in the same situation. You might be able to swing a deal where several
people split the cost of the rental. Second thing is that you should
rent one of the big machines. This would be the kind you need to tow,
rather than something that can fit in the back of a pickup. These are
the only ones that can reliably handle limbs instead of just sticks.
They will also let you get rid of your piles quicker. I would think you
could get one from a company that rents to contractors rather than
homeowners. This means places like Triangle Equipment Company or such.
Look in the yellow pages in sections such as construction equipment...

Chuck

It may be cost effective to check out your local tree service company. I
know that they can grind stumps/ shred limbs, etc. You wouldn' need to haul
the thing (shredder)and it's safer (you could be fish chum in an instant).

Good luck,
S
"rac" wrote in message
om...
i'm a nc newbie and have just started reading this newsgroup. here's my
dilema. i just built a house and i've got a little piece of woods that
i've
been clearing. i've got about 5 piles of brush, each about 4 feet tall.
i
don't have a chipper but would like to chip it all into mulch to keep
weeds
down in the woodsy part. i haven't been able to find a chipper to rent.
how big a chipper do i need and where might i find one to rent? the
biggest
branch might be 3 inches around. would it be less expensive to have it
hauled away? all opinions welcome and thanks.

robin in east durham

Yep, that's what I was thinking, too. I know several years ago,
maybe after the hurricane, we had huge amounts of debris. We
paid our tree guys to come out, chip it up and haul off the large
stuff. Seems like it wasn't terribly expensive... maybe $150.
and my guess is it would be close to the amount you would pay to
rent a really large chipper.
HTH,
Jw
"Nonya" wrote in message
...
| It may be cost effective to check out your local tree service
company. I
| know that they can grind stumps/ shred limbs, etc. You wouldn'
need to haul
| the thing (shredder)and it's safer (you could be fish chum in
an instant).
|
| Good luck,
| S
| "rac" wrote in message
| om...
| i'm a nc newbie and have just started reading this newsgroup.
here's my
| dilema. i just built a house and i've got a little piece of
woods that
| i've
| been clearing. i've got about 5 piles of brush, each about 4
feet tall.
| i
| don't have a chipper but would like to chip it all into mulch
to keep
| weeds
| down in the woodsy part. i haven't been able to find a
chipper to rent.
| how big a chipper do i need and where might i find one to
rent? the
| biggest
| branch might be 3 inches around. would it be less expensive
to have it
| hauled away? all opinions welcome and thanks.
|
| robin in east durham
|
|
|
|

Or you could call the city and see if they are still doing storm pickup

then just haul it to the street

I have a small 12hp chipper and it is a days work to do a pile,

If you want to get it done quicker rent a big chipper like the other people
said.

They are safe as they pull the material into the chipper instead of you
feeding it in. So you only have to lay the material in.

it would take maybe 1-2 hours to do a large pile
"rac" wrote in message
om...
i'm a nc newbie and have just started reading this newsgroup. here's my
dilema. i just built a house and i've got a little piece of woods that
i've
been clearing. i've got about 5 piles of brush, each about 4 feet tall.
i
don't have a chipper but would like to chip it all into mulch to keep
weeds
down in the woodsy part. i haven't been able to find a chipper to rent.
how big a chipper do i need and where might i find one to rent? the
biggest
branch might be 3 inches around. would it be less expensive to have it
hauled away? all opinions welcome and thanks.

robin in east durham

rac wrote:
i'm a nc newbie and have just started reading this newsgroup. here's my
dilema. i just built a house and i've got a little piece of woods that i've
been clearing. i've got about 5 piles of brush, each about 4 feet tall. i
don't have a chipper but would like to chip it all into mulch to keep weeds
down in the woodsy part. i haven't been able to find a chipper to rent.
how big a chipper do i need and where might i find one to rent? the biggest
branch might be 3 inches around. would it be less expensive to have it
hauled away? all opinions welcome and thanks.

Grand Rental Stations are in Cary and Raleigh; they rent the big chippers
for $150 a day. It would definitely pay to check out what a tree service
would charge to chip the 5 piles for you and leave the mulch. Remember
that the new mulch will rob nitrogen from the soil as it decomposes.


--
Brent Harsh - KD4PBO
Cary, North Carolina, USA

thanks everyone...great suggestions. i think i'll call a tree service and
go that route.
robin

Hey, Robin, welcome to tri.gardens!

I read through other responses to your post (as usual, to avoid restating
the obvious or making a total fool out of myself), but they did not address
a few issues that came to mind immediately for me:

Do you have to hold the branches to feed them into the chipper?

The reason I say this is because I have a Yardvark
(mini-chipper/shredder/vacuum) -- and I found that it was simply *too
painful* for me to deal with the vibration that a dead branch over 3/4"
causes as it's fed into the chipper, i.e., the branch will not be pulled
into the chipper unless you push it -- during which time, the motion of
the chipper will be transferred back through your wrist into your arm in a
*most unpleasant* way. Fortunately, in VT, I could spend my time chipping
branches from my 2 weeping willows, especially after I gave them
haircuts" -- so I could happily feed into the Yardvark 15' of pliant willow
with no effort!

What do the neighbors do?

Believe me, I am quite serious -- they may have dealt with this before
& "know somebody," or they have cousins who haul stuff away, or......

Have you considered a burn pile?

I have to admit that I'm not an advocate of burn piles.
But,........sometimes, it's the only way to go (unless you plan to give up
everything else you ever hoped to accomplish outdoors!). I did come around
eventually to the idea of "burning," in general, after moving from suburban
NJ to VT after realizing two things: A) 4 acres in northern VT is *vastly*
different from a 50' x 150' lot in NJ; and b) Wow! The high school football
field that was burned last fall really is the greenest thing around each
spring......and every spring, hmmm.....

My point: Keep an open mind. Ask the neighbors what they do. And check
triangle.gardens newsgroup on a regular basis, 'cause it's a great group, in
my not-so-humble opinion!

Anne Lurie
NE Raleigh





"rac" wrote in message
om...
i'm a nc newbie and have just started reading this newsgroup. here's my
dilema. i just built a house and i've got a little piece of woods that
i've
been clearing. i've got about 5 piles of brush, each about 4 feet tall.
i
don't have a chipper but would like to chip it all into mulch to keep
weeds
down in the woodsy part. i haven't been able to find a chipper to rent.
how big a chipper do i need and where might i find one to rent? the
biggest
branch might be 3 inches around. would it be less expensive to have it
hauled away? all opinions welcome and thanks.

robin in east durham

Anne Lurie wrote:

Hey, Robin, welcome to tri.gardens!

I read through other responses to your post (as usual, to avoid restating
the obvious or making a total fool out of myself), but they did not address
a few issues that came to mind immediately for me:

Do you have to hold the branches to feed them into the chipper?

NO!!! You DO NOT HOLD the sticks as they are going in. Just toss them
in, the chipper will do the rest.

Or you could call the city and see if they are still doing storm pickup

then just haul it to the street

I have a small 12hp chipper and it is a days work to do a pile,

If you want to get it done quicker rent a big chipper like the other people
said.

They are safe as they pull the material into the chipper instead of you
feeding it in. So you only have to lay the material in.

it would take maybe 1-2 hours to do a large pile
"rac" wrote in message
om...
i'm a nc newbie and have just started reading this newsgroup. here's my
dilema. i just built a house and i've got a little piece of woods that
i've
been clearing. i've got about 5 piles of brush, each about 4 feet tall.
i
don't have a chipper but would like to chip it all into mulch to keep
weeds
down in the woodsy part. i haven't been able to find a chipper to rent.
how big a chipper do i need and where might i find one to rent? the
biggest
branch might be 3 inches around. would it be less expensive to have it
hauled away? all opinions welcome and thanks.

robin in east durham

rac wrote:
i'm a nc newbie and have just started reading this newsgroup. here's my
dilema. i just built a house and i've got a little piece of woods that i've
been clearing. i've got about 5 piles of brush, each about 4 feet tall. i
don't have a chipper but would like to chip it all into mulch to keep weeds
down in the woodsy part. i haven't been able to find a chipper to rent.
how big a chipper do i need and where might i find one to rent? the biggest
branch might be 3 inches around. would it be less expensive to have it
hauled away? all opinions welcome and thanks.

Grand Rental Stations are in Cary and Raleigh; they rent the big chippers
for $150 a day. It would definitely pay to check out what a tree service
would charge to chip the 5 piles for you and leave the mulch. Remember
that the new mulch will rob nitrogen from the soil as it decomposes.


--
Brent Harsh - KD4PBO
Cary, North Carolina, USA