metasequoia glyptostroboides in garden

[kaethe]

I am looking at buying a building plot and have just been informed that there are 2 dawn redwoods at the end of the garden about 10metres in height. The vendor of the land is a garden centre, they have pruned the trees every couple of years. In all the research I have conducted, there are differing opinions on the roots (deep root, flat root) but all seem to say this tree is unsuitable for a garden. There is a house behind the plot and one either side. The house we would build will have a cellar. the plot is in Germany not the UK. Can anyone give me an idea if the risk of purchasing this plot is worth it and what damage the roots can do to the garden and house?

[Steve Bullman]

Can you give us an idea what distance the trees are going to be from the actual buildings?

[daltontrees]

It's not clear whether the trees are outwith the boundary of the land you want to buy. If they are to be on your land and are not protected by any local laws you could always cut them down. If they are to be on land retained by the garden centre, you could make their removala condition of you buying the house plot. And as Steve alludes to, it depends how close they are to the proposed house position.

[kaethe]

I don't have the dimensions with me at the moment, but about 20m. They are on the plot itself and we have been told that they cannot be removed because they are protected by council policy (as said, this is not in the UK so checking separately). Not sure if this is because the vendor is looking to earn from the trimming or if they really cannot be removed

[Giles Hill]

You don't have anything to worry about with the roots at that distance, just make sure your engineer is aware of the trees when designing the structure. I don't think they will have any cost implications on the structure.

[Amelanchier]

You don't have anything to worry about with the roots at that distance, just make sure your engineer is aware of the trees when designing the structure. I don't think they will have any cost implications on the structure.

 

I agree with Giles.

[arnoldbuchsassinger]

20m is ok, if you read BS5387:2012, and the subsidence guidelines, and building regs, you are well outside range, however other things to remember, when the plot is sold, LTO may place tpo on trees, which is fine, however look at orientation of trees and plot, when they get bigger and the house is built are they going to impact on the house from resale, views, shading,garden shading and water uptake etc. There are lots of people garden grabbing, and then discover a monster living in the corner. Making foundations a tad deeper is peanuts in the scheme of buying a plot, and building it anyway. Without a picture it is difficult, think you will be fine though