Building a house next to a huge pine tree

[allankwnyc]

Any advice appreciated. Just bought this land and want to build the house on the hill and not cut down that gorgeous pine tree. Is this possible ?  Or do I have to build on the flat land

[Chris at eden]

It possible but why would you want to.  Engineering solutions are likely to be expensive and the tree is always going to dominate.  Then there is the perceived risk from tree failure to contend with, you ma not like it so much when it’s whipping around in the wind above the roof. I do development site impact assessments and method statements for a living and have been for the last 15 years. I would always recommend appropriate clearances where possible.  I suppose if you live in a hot country then the shade will be a benefit. 
 

if you do want to build near the tree then you will need to look at specialist foundations such as tree safe. See here: 

Treesafe - Abbey Pynford

ABBEYPYNFORD.CO.UK

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If you are looking to build near trees with a TPO, our patented Treesafe foundation is tree friendly and will help your get planning.

 

 

Then you need to consider things such as service runs and hard surfaces. Like I said it’s all achievable but it will be expensive. You will need some proper advice from a tree consultant really. 
 

Chris

 

[peds]

Depends what you are building and who is building it. If you are doing absolutely everything yourself and putting a log cabin on ground screws, then you can take us much care as you want and take the tree into account. If you are building a McMansion and having the contractor with the cheapest quote drop thousands of tons of stone and concrete into the ground, they'll probably drive a digger over it at some point.

 

 

[Chris at eden]

2 hours ago, Botty Cough said:

Take it out and plant some more where they will be suitable.

If you dig that close to the tree it will likely be damaged ..

Not really. There are loads of engineering solutions to avoid damage and he clearly wants to retain the tree.  In that case it’s either engineer around it or move the house. 
 

Planting replacements is all very well but none of us will see them at maturity.  If the OP want a big tree in the garden then fell and replace isn’t an option.