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I've been asked to give a price for removing a Prunus and a low Berberis hedge growing round the bottom of it, then laying turf in the space left to match up with the existing lawn where the shrub and hedge are planted. The adjoining border needs straightening off to give a straight edge to the lawn. I can probably come up with a reasonable estimate for the turf and laying it, but I'm not sure how long it might take to get the shrub and hedge out, or the best way to go about it. Also I'm not sure how much of the existing lawn and border might end up damaged by digging out roots - I'm assuming all of the roots will need to come out to prevent later regrowth.

The shrub is about 6' (W) x 8' (D) x 6' (H) - pics below.

I'm working on my own but might be able to get some help if it's not really possible with only one pair of hands. I was thinking of getting the hedge out then taking most of the big shrub down with a chainsaw and maybe leaving enough on for leverage if it's needed. Maybe a bit close to the public highway for the chainsaw though.

Any advice would be appreciated.

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  • Firstly it looks a good 'fill-in' job, so try and 'save' this job until later in the year.  It's going to be a bit of graft for a day plus reinstatement. The hedge roots should grub out fairly easily. The Aucuba is a little heavier, but shouldn't be too bad.

    • Thanks Colin. And you're right - it's Aucuba.
  • Your fine to use a chainsaw there trust me, just wiz out the bush with the chainsaw and dig out the root, the little hedge won't take long to remove. The bush would take about 10 minutes to cut down and throw on the van, digging it out might be a bit more of a ball ache and for the price it might just be worth paying a tree surgeon £100 to whip it out and stump grind the lot 

    • Thanks Rory. I hadn't thought of grinding it. I know a couple of tree surgeons so will ask them what they think. It would depend on how much mess the grinder would make as well.
  • Chainsaw or pruning saw as close to ground level as possible. Dig out roots. Use a digging bar and you will get it done in no time.

    I have herd of using a hand winch to pull the entire shrub and root ball out the ground in one go. Always wanted to try it but haven't got round to it as yet.

    I tend to think grinding has an increased risk of future ground level sinking also the mess if your going to lay turf will be a night mare.
    • Thanks. I've thought about using a winch before as well but never had the time to fully investigate what's needed. All In all it doesn't sound like too much to handle, just some proper graft. Better take care of my back!
  • Including the roots I reckon I would have it out with in a day! Have recently completed a much larger job producing 14m3 of waste in just a morning.
  • use a spit to dig the hedge out first then cut the side branches off the Aucuba with a pruning saw or loppers leave the main stems to pull it out  dig a trench round it, work underneath pulling it over 4 hrs. should cover it plus rubbish away jobs like that are always easer with 2 of you 

  • Thanks for all the advice - I think I've got a fair idea now. Just need to get the price right, which so far I've failed at miserably when it comes to hedge trimming - I've secured 1 in 4 hedge jobs so far!

    • Hi Austin we charge somewhere about £1 per sqm on hedges subject to height, waste removal and minimum pricing of course. I think that locally it is competitive rate.
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