Tulip Tree advice

[Adam1990]

Hi guys 

 

Im looking for some advice on a rather large Tulip tree I have in my back garden which is about 5 1/2 meter from the house and it does have a TPO on it.

 

Here are the questions I have as I don't have much knowledge about trees:

 

. We have recently noticed a lot of woodlice around the outside of our house and after cutting the lawn yesterday I had a poke around the trunk of the tree because there seams to be a fair bit of the bark that is really really easy to break off... And yup I found a lot of woodlice around the base of the trunk! is this normal and would this be the cause of lots of woodlice around the outside of the house? 

 

. We moved into this house in July last year and picked it because it was the most house we could get for our money and wasn't too bothered by the tree.  Until it made the garden unusable last year because the Aphid rain was horrendous. So after discovering what I did yesterday and in the event that the tree does need to go, my only concern now is if it does need to come down what is the chance this could cause heave? I live in the south of the UK between Portsmouth and Brighton and looking online its possible I have either a clay or loam soil type and the tree is older than the house, but I don't know by how much.

 

 

 

 

[Khriss]

18 minutes ago, Adam1990 said:

Hi guys 

 

Im looking for some advice on a rather large Tulip tree I have in my back garden which is about 5 1/2 meter from the house and it does have a TPO on it.

 

Here are the questions I have as I don't have much knowledge about trees:

 

. We have recently noticed a lot of woodlice around the outside of our house and after cutting the lawn yesterday I had a poke around the trunk of the tree because there seams to be a fair bit of the bark that is really really easy to break off... And yup I found a lot of woodlice around the base of the trunk! is this normal and would this be the cause of lots of woodlice around the outside of the house? 

 

. We moved into this house in July last year and picked it because it was the most house we could get for our money and wasn't too bothered by the tree.  Until it made the garden unusable last year because the Aphid rain was horrendous. So after discovering what I did yesterday and in the event that the tree does need to go, my only concern now is if it does need to come down what is the chance this could cause heave? I live in the south of the UK between Portsmouth and Brighton and looking online its possible I have either a clay or loam soil type and the tree is older than the house, but I don't know by how much.

 

 

 

 

Possibly the biggest Tulip tree i have seen. A mature tree of this size will have many 'features' like woodlice / dead wood / fungal decay. Possibly the TPO will have been placed on it fr the house build.  I would contact yr Tree Officer and a competent arborist ( who will do the work if any is needed) for more pertinent advice. K

[woody paul]

Looks like it has had some work done not long ago. 

Tree officer maybe able to tell you why it was done if he can look back in records. 

[Adam1990]

27 minutes ago, Khriss said:

Possibly the biggest Tulip tree i have seen. A mature tree of this size will have many 'features' like woodlice / dead wood / fungal decay. Possibly the TPO will have been placed on it fr the house build.  I would contact yr Tree Officer and a competent arborist ( who will do the work if any is needed) for more pertinent advice. K

Thanks I wasn't sure what is normal and what I should be concerned about. I guess the main concern if it is serious is the risk of heave after removal 

[Adam1990]

7 minutes ago, woody paul said:

Looks like it has had some work done not long ago. 

Tree officer maybe able to tell you why it was done if he can look back in records. 

It was reduced in size as we were moving in last year, this was already in place before we purchased the house because I think from memory the planning application took over 8 weeks and it was over due a trim. 

[dumper]

You give no age for your property but guessing it’s post 1980s you might get some heave if it was removed but more likely the foundations severed the roots during construction. It not possible to give a definitive answers to your heave question without a site visit and trial pits and maybe not even then.however if it was in that position in my garden I would not be worried I would enjoy the tree

[Adam1990]

5 minutes ago, dumper said:

You give no age for your property but guessing it’s post 1980s you might get some heave if it was removed but more likely the foundations severed the roots during construction. It not possible to give a definitive answers to your heave question without a site visit and trial pits and maybe not even then.however if it was in that position in my garden I would not be worried I would enjoy the tree

Sorry that probably would help... It was Built in 1977 and the TPO was placed in 1970, but it gives no indication of what size the tree would have been at the time. 

 

I know tulip trees are apparently fast growing but I can't find any information on how long it would take to get as big as it is. Im guessing if it was a lot small when the house was built there would be less chance of heave?   

[dumper]

Why are you worried about heave ? Do you have cracks in your plaster or in the pointing of your brick work that move through the seasons

[Adam1990]

1 minute ago, dumper said:

Why are you worried about heave ? Do you have cracks in your plaster or in the pointing of your brick work that move through the seasons

There is a vertical crack in the living room which goes from floor to ceiling which we didn't discover until we removed some wall paper and a crack in the loft breeze block on the same wall but nothing on the external wall. So i'm hoping that its just seasonal movement but waiting on a structural surveyor to come and have a look.

[dumper]

Before blaming the tree I would want to know more about the construction of the house especially the foundations 

my cinical guess is the surveyor will take the easy solution and blame the tree

[Adam1990]

1 minute ago, dumper said:

Before blaming the tree I would want to know more about the construction of the house especially the foundations 

my cinical guess is the surveyor will take the easy solution and blame the tree

That was what I was thinking. If they blame the tree and it's not, it could just cause chaos.

 

I've requested all planning documents for the house from the council but will have to wait until after lockdown for those.

 

Looking at building regulations the house was built in a grey area by the sound of it..... If they had the regulations in place when it was being built it should have piled foundations to compensate the tree eventually or possibly dying. Worst case the foundations should be at least 1 meter deep for the type of house and area.