Trees within close proximity

[MrsGib]

Hello

 

Firstly, we are really grateful to have found this forum - so thank you in advance.

 

My husband and I have recently put an offer in on a house and the offer has been accepted.

 

The house runs alongside a cemetery, and the cemetery is tree-lined. Within five to ten metres to our hopeful new house are some rather substantially sized trees; Horse Chestnut, Sycamore and Yew trees. The trees all 'belong' to the local authority. We have checked and there are no TPOs on any of the trees.

 

We also have some trees in our garden, a couple of apple trees and a few others - however, these are much further away. We love that the trees are there - they really add beauty and character to the area.

 

We have some concerns (after reading horror stories) about the damage that can be done when trees and buildings are in close proximity to each other.

 

We are considering getting a full structural survey on the house but wondered if an Arborist report would be of more benefit. Could anyone please assist and tell us what the content would usually be within such report?

 

We really love the house and are really keen for the sale to go ahead, but we are new to tree ownership so want to make sure we get things right from the very beginning.

 

We are really grateful for any advice and look forward to hearing from you.

[treequip]

Your lender might well insist on a tree report

[Mark Bolam]

I would go for a full tee report, the trees in your garden sound ok, more the Church trees.

You need a fully qualified arboriculturalist for this, not an arborist.

You'll get some good advice on this site, but a house purchase is such a major thing that you really need a professional on site.

If you state your location someone on here will almost certainly be able to help, or recommend someone who can.

Good luck with the move, and welcome to Arbtalk!

(I'm not an arboriculturalist, I'm just a blunt instrument with a sharp chainsaw).

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

[Mark Bolam]

Actually, a tree report would be better than a tee report.

Unless you like golf, obviously.

 

 

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[tree-fancier123]

there's a big horsechestnut about 5 metres away from my place, roots into the joins in clay drain pipes is a problem. It's not horrendous though, the drain pipes can be replaced with plastic which is much less susceptible to roots. 10 metres away sounds like it would be a lot less bother.

You can google tree consultants 'your area' to get quotes to do full report. Ideally someone with a level 6 diploma in arboriculture. I gather people do inspect trees with the lower level 4, but my impression is those with level 6 are worth seeking out for their more in depth knowledge

Edited September 24, 2016 by tree-fancier123

[gooseflight]

I'm, with Ed. You're buying the house not the trees.

 

Also, bear in mind that removal of the trees may cause problems rather than solving them -- ground collapsing around root voids etc.

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

Also, bear in mind that removal of the trees may cause problems rather than solving them -- ground collapsing around root voids etc.

 

Hmmmmmm, not sure

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

Hmmmmmm, not sure

 

Sorry, that wasn't very constructive or helpful

 

So, perhaps in theory there may be a risk of this but I'm not aware of it being a problem in practice. But, as always, I stand to be corrected / open to hear differently.

 

Damage to property's post-tree removal can occur but in my experience this related to "subsequential heave" generally involving the removal of very large trees that significantly pre-date the property / building and where it is founded on shrinkable soils (clays) with inadequate foundations. Further, and again in my experience and, anecdotally, a view shared by others, the frequency of this is far less than that of subsidence.

 

As others have said it is for the structural engineer to best assess true risk here and for the arboriculturist / consultant to inform that assessment from the tree perspective.

 

Hope this is a bit more helpful n apologies again.

 

Regards..

Paul

[gooseflight]

Hmmmmmm, not sure

 

No, fair comment. You would have to be unlucky -- poor construction, susceptible soil type etc.

[10 Bears]

Sorry, that wasn't very constructive or helpful

 

Perhaps not - but it was exactly my reaction too!

 

 

Damage to property... post-tree removal..."subsequential heave" generally involving the removal of very large trees that significantly pre-date the property / building and where it is founded on shrinkable soils (clays) with inadequate foundations.

 

I wholly second this view. It reads to me that the OP is generally concerned about the "horror stories" of "trees and buildings... in close proximity to each other", which I take to mean that she is worried bout subsidence issues (even though she doesn't mention it), but particularly so as Mrs Gib further refers to getting a buildings structural report.

 

I've said it many times before on here - just because you have clay soils, it doesn't automatically mean they are the shrinkable types (ie with volumetric change potential as a response to moisture levels), so while the buildings structural report may be a sound route to go down to determine the build quality of the house, it wont address the potential issues of soil type and condition, which ultimately will determine if there is a cause for concern relating to trees/buildings and potential subsidence damage.

 

All other concerns relating to trees/buildings, such as the perceived potential for catastrophic failure, amount of light that will be in the garden, or whether or not the trees will drop leaves, will be covered by a standard tree inspection, or in reality, not really be a cause for concern in any case.

 

As others have said it is for the structural engineer to best assess true risk here and for the arboriculturist / consultant to inform that assessment from the tree perspective.

 

Again seconded - the structural engineers report will not (...or shouldn't!) discuss trees, and likewise, any decent arb report will not discuss the structure of the building other to report depths of foundations as discovered when excavating a root pit for instance. Its all about staying within your own scope of expertise.

 

A point to Mrs Gib - as others have said, let us know where you are and someone will be able to provide the right service to you to help you resolve your issues. Amongst other things, subsidence investigations are work that I carry out within my line of business, but I usually only cover the NW of England for this. An indication of where you are will help greatly.

[onetruth]

An arboricultural report/tree report will report on the trees. If it is the structure of the house you are concerned about then you need a structural report. This should be done by a person with the relevant experience and qualifications, and that is unlikely to be an arboriculturist, rather it would be a structural engineer.

 

Personally I have little if any faith in such reports, structural, damp, woodworm etc as what you end up with is a survey loaded with caveats from a contractor, recommended by either the estate agent or mortgage company, who are looking for their next job and a quote for unnecessary work. You rarely, in my experience, get the person best qualified to provide an impartial survey.

 

^ I agree with all of this, but this isn't really my area of expertise.

 

In my opinion...

 

If the trees are 10m away, that's probably not a big deal. There are cases of damage caused by more distant trees, but it's not common. 5m is close for a big tree, but it would still be unusual for structural damage to occur, rather than the norm.

 

If the house is on "shrinkable" soil (think clay) then damage is a little more likely. You should be able to find out for yourself if this is the case. If the house is modern (sounds like it wont be) it is less of an issue - I believe building regs were amended in the 70's to ensure foundations could better tolerate fluctuations in how saturated the ground is.

 

I, personally, would go for another viewing and have a good look for any signs of cracking in the walls. If I didn't see any, I'd be happy. As was said before, if you're getting a mortgage the bank will probably insist on specific reports. Insurers might do the same.