I'm now going to cut this large hedge, which is roughly 12feet high at it's lowest point.
It is roughly 6 feet thick and 60 feet long. Cutting this hedge normally takes all day.
Before starting I am lubricating the hedge cutters using some spray penetrant.
Cutting the front of the hedge is relatively simple and can be done very quickly for the
majority of the hedge. Later on I will be using my van and also scaffolding
to trim the top of the hedge as it rises considerably as it gets closer to the house. I realise
that most people will not have this equipment, but this is how I cut the hedge.
I'm starting off using the cordless hedge trimmer to trim the front of the hedge, this
is the easy part. This is a simple process as I just follow the concrete plinth at the
bottom and try and keep the hedge as straight as possible. You can see that by using this
hedge trimmer I can reach the full height of the hedge, although I cannot reach the
top.
As I'm going along I stop every now and again to clean up the leaves and place them in the
compost bin. Then I go back and trim the edge again. After a couple of passes the front
of the hedge is reasonably flat.
Now for the hard part, this is difficult and time consuming. I start off by fixing
a platform to the roof rack of the van and cantilever it out so that I can get close
to the hedge. I have to do this so that I can reach the other side of the hedge. You
can see that handrails are fitted to the platform and so it is very safe. I have tried trimming
the hedge on a 3 way ladder but it's almost impossible due to the height of the hedge
and the camber of the drive.
I'm now cutting the hedge ensuring I keep the trimmer as level as possible. Once I have
trimmed as far as I can reach I then use the rake to drag off any of the cut leaves or
branches. If you don't do this you may think you have a neat hedge until a few days later
when some stragglers that have been missed start to pop up all over the place.
Once I have done as far as I can reach I then reverse the van back and keep repeating this process
After raking the hedge I then trim it again and then rake it off again.
Once I get so far back I can no longer reach from the van and so I now have to erect
a scaffold tower. At this point the battery has gone flat on the hedge trimmer and so now I have to
use a petrol trimmer, which is noisy and produces toxic fumes
The scaffold tower enables the highest part
of the hedge to be trimmed using the same technique, once I get so far I can no longer
reach from the scaffold and have to stand on the garage roof for the final cut.
So, if you are thinking of buying a house with a large hedge don't bother- you are much
better off with a fence as it's much less hassle
I hope you have enjoyed watching me do a days graft, thanks for watching the video and please
subscribe if you have not done so already.