Emergency fence repairs after storm damage

The Met Office gave plenty of warning before yesterdays heavy rain and very high winds but there is absolutely nothing one could have done to stop the gales blowing down fencing, uprooting trees or causing structural damage to sheds and garden buildings.

The Met Office have issued a severe weather warning for today (Saturday 14th November)

Severe gales spreading across southern parts of the UK. There are currently widespread south to south-west gales along the coasts of south and west Wales and south-west England, with locally severe gales and gusts of 65 to 70 mph. This morning the severe gales are expected to become more widespread across the southern half of the UK.

Tomorrow Sunday 15th November, heavy rain will continue but winds will become lighter. Monday is set to see a return of the wind with an unsettled outlook for the rest of the week with heavy rain.

Who to call?

We have a UK wide network of contractors who may be able to help you with emergency fence repairs, insurance quotes, emergency tree work or garden clearance should you fall victim to the weather.

Please either fill in the web form on the 'find a landscaper' page of search the regional list for a contractor near you.

Comments

[David Channon]

London
South West London escaped with relatively minimal damage on Saturday and Microbee's tree teams were not inundated with calls. We saw a lot of deadwood, which by rights should have been spotted and removed brought down and a few footpaths blocked but no serious disruption.
The rain has however softened soil a fair bit and, if the high winds return as expected later this week, things could get worse.
Kent
Kent saw a lot of deadwood and overburdened branches brought down. I saw a large willow, previously damaged by lightening shed a trunk near Tonbridge in an extremely strong gust on Saturday afternoon.

Microbee's general advice to householders with trees is to check them now that the leaves are coming off. If you see dead branches or the fruiting bodies of fungi, get a specialist in to check them and if necessary deadwood them before they become a problem.

[David Channon]

Just to add to my previous notes.
One additional thing to look out for on garden trees is Ivy. It tends to hide problems on trees like dead or dying branches by smothering them in its own growth.
Being evergreen it also doesn't allow an easy inspection of the underlying support.
Ivy increases the "Windage" of a tree. Like the sail on a boat, it increases the profile of every branch and trunk and when strong winds come, the pressures can be far in excess of what strengths the tree grew to to support itself.
If it is also hiding dead wood, the results can be catastrophic. More on www.trees-london.com

[Simon Rotheram NDTM & Arb. Tech.Arbor.A]

Luckily the rain and high winds occured once the majority of the trees have dropped thier leaves which reduces the windsail and chance of failure.

I would advise that tree owners have thier tree stock inspected on a regular basis, build up a good relationship with a local reliable contractor and they will probably inspect your trees visually once a year free of charge, at Beechwood Trees and Landscapes we often return year on year to our clients there fore undertkaing a proactive approach to the maintenance of trees rather than costly emergency work. If you would like one of our qualified Arboriculturists to provide a free inspection please email us office@beechwoodtrees.co.uk