HEAVE help 😊

[Mark Bolam]

The tree at the front with ‘the canopy covering the road’?

It barely covers the verge.

 

Does your surveyor understand the Plasticity Index of clay soils?

Does he/she even understand heave?

 

Say an oak drinks 150,000 litres of water a year.

Whether you knock the tree over in a oner, or over 5 years, the soil (if it’s clay with the necessary PI) will still expand the same amount that adding 150,000 litres of water will cause it to.

 

You could possibly slow heave, you couldn’t stop it.

 

Lastly, I think ‘lovely house’ is pushing it, but I’m a snob.

[monkeybusiness]

41 minutes ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

How many houses do you own?

 

Must be 100’s or even 1000’s?

 

Can’t be just the 1 surely?

 

An odd question you might think - given the topic of discussion. 
 

Reason I ask is that I can only imagine someone that buys and sells 1000s of houses as an everyday, routine, Laissez-faire, sort of process might fail to notice the public visual amenity, exceptional presence and ‘qualities’ of a significant tree - subject to a TPO - in their front garden. 
 

It’s just too unimaginable a state of carelessness to even contemplate such an oversight might have been made by someone (if like the majority of the UK) engaged in probably the largest single purchase of their life. 
 

Words fail me...  (not really, it’s just that they are not allowed 🚫)

I’m thinking it’s a spam post tbh. Otherwise an investor who has bought (very cheaply) a run down house with known subsidence issues (that we’ve yet to see) with the aim of bulldozing their way through the planning dept, fix the house up and capitalise on their foresight (whilst further depleting the area of some of the only decent features in an otherwise bland overdeveloped shitatopia hutch-fest). 
But I might be a bit cynical…

 

 

[harvey b davison]

Keep the trees , demolish the houses, the trees were there first. Apart from the one at the back needing a trim, there doesn't seem any evidence of anything wrong.

[1j1o1n1o1]

Haha kevin, who put 20p in you buddy? 
 

im going to ignore your question about how many houses we develop because it adds no context whatsoever. The bottom line is these trees are damaging the house. 
 

the tree to the front of the house is stunning agreed, however, it’s causing quite a few issues, for example it’s hitting buses, the council have been contacted many times about it from neighbours sadly, the current owner doesn’t really care and if I showed you internal images you would see why. 
 

If there’s a way to keep the trees without the house being further damaged I’m all ears. 

to clarify, I have the drainage report showing damaged drains, I have a structural report from a chartered surveyor blaming the trees. Do I need anything else? 

 

for everyone else that’s commented I appreciate your replies 

example of internal cracking, mirrored on external brickwork through mortar 

 

[tree77]

31 minutes ago, 1j1o1n1o1 said:

Haha kevin, who put 20p in you buddy? 
 

im going to ignore your question about how many houses we develop because it adds no context whatsoever. The bottom line is these trees are damaging the house. 
 

the tree to the front of the house is stunning agreed, however, it’s causing quite a few issues, for example it’s hitting buses, the council have been contacted many times about it from neighbours sadly, the current owner doesn’t really care and if I showed you internal images you would see why. 
 

If there’s a way to keep the trees without the house being further damaged I’m all ears. 

to clarify, I have the drainage report showing damaged drains, I have a structural report from a chartered surveyor blaming the trees. Do I need anything else? 

 

for everyone else that’s commented I appreciate your replies 

example of internal cracking, mirrored on external brickwork through mortar 

 

Hi

 

The issue with the branches over the highway is fairly easy to resolve without removing tree, just pruning works.

 

The issue with the drains, generally a case of repairing your drainage network to current standards, without seeing the report im sure it states a number of defects and lots of root engross via the broken pipe work, personally not enough grounds to remove the tree.

 

The issue of possible subsidence to your property needs to be investigated properly, so structural engineer report, trail pits dug with soil samples taken for analysis, level/crack monitoring, normal roots found in the trail pit are also sent for identification to.

Without having this level of detail it will be hard to justify the removal of a TPO tree.

 

There's a few companies now who inject the soil with resin to stabilise clay soils and retaining the tree, Geobear is the one I know of, only seen it used on demos, looking promising though.

[Steven P]

I wasn't sure till you posted the latest photo, developer wanting to get rid of a tree that was in the way, rip out the exiting lawn and trees, put in new turf at the back, and tidy up the hedge along the front and adds to the kerb appeal for a quicker sale.

 

Wouldn't have got as much slack if you'd posted the last pic as well maybe.

 

Just as a question, how much will it cost to repair the house, I assume it is more than just cutting down the tree, plastering inside and repointing outside? I assume some sort of repairs to the foundations are needed? Wondering if given your valuable time for all the chasing about and paperwork (lets say £25 an hour?), the cost for a tree surgeon to fell the trees, and so on, and I would also assume it will cost more to repair the house if the trees are still there? So what is the difference in cost between repair + remove tree (including all those costs) and repairs leaving trees in place?

[spudulike]

If you can't fit a finger in the crack then it really isn't subsidence IMO!!

[tree77]

29 minutes ago, Steven P said:

I wasn't sure till you posted the latest photo, developer wanting to get rid of a tree that was in the way, rip out the exiting lawn and trees, put in new turf at the back, and tidy up the hedge along the front and adds to the kerb appeal for a quicker sale.

 

Wouldn't have got as much slack if you'd posted the last pic as well maybe.

 

Just as a question, how much will it cost to repair the house, I assume it is more than just cutting down the tree, plastering inside and repointing outside? I assume some sort of repairs to the foundations are needed? Wondering if given your valuable time for all the chasing about and paperwork (lets say £25 an hour?), the cost for a tree surgeon to fell the trees, and so on, and I would also assume it will cost more to repair the house if the trees are still there? So what is the difference in cost between repair + remove tree (including all those costs) and repairs leaving trees in place?

Another consideration would how do you value the tree, applying cavat value may mean that the tress value is greater than cost of repair. 

[ledders666]

It's a shame it's so easy to blame the trees with such little evidence. As said by previous people, the PI of the soil is required as only certain soil types cause tree related subsidence.
If its not shrinkable clay, it won't be the tree causing damage.

I'd suggest putting some effort in to find someone who cares enough about trees to carry out so tests and do your best to retain the trees.

You currently own the trees and getting rid is an easy option. But there are not so easily replaced and may be appreciated by future owners of the house and people who can see them. (Assuming it's not tree related subsidence)

[daveatdave]

it might be a re pro house as they seems to be a lot of notices in the windows the tree needs pruning but i do not think it is causing problems to the house more like its footing problems will need underpinning 

the drive and paths seem to be substandard in there construction the council might have put a notice in to cut the cony hedge clear of the footpath 

it needs a lot of work on the property outside will cost a few £s