Mysterious Tree

aaronsharkey

Hi Boards
In my garden there is a tree relatively close to my house, My da is worried that the roots will damage the foundation. I am trying to find out what it is and if it is necessary to remove it and what is the way to go about it, I attached a photo of the tree, any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks

Oldtree

Mountain ash, dont think there is any problems with that tree for now. Exactly how far is it from your foundations?

read this:

In spite of what you may read in newspapers or be told by insurance companies, there are no fixed minimum recommended distances that you should plant trees of certain species from buildings.

When choosing a tree or trees to plant, you should give careful consideration to design, in particular how they will fit with their surroundings when they have reached their mature size. Young trees are frequently planted in spaces which are too small to allow them to grow to maturity, and a consequence of this is that they may be disliked as they develop, frequently resulting in heavy pruning or removal. Consequently, it is important to consider the ultimate size of the tree when choosing what and where to plant.

If you live in an area where there is heavy clay soil it is possible that trees in close proximity to buildings may cause structural damage to them by causing soil shrinkage which can lead to downward movement called subsidence. This is rare and cannot easily be predicted and there are many factors which affect it including the nature of the soil, tree characteristics, foundation design and climate. In areas of heavy clay soil where building foundations are known to be shallow this issue should be considered when deciding where to plant trees and how to manage existing trees – further advice should be sought as necessary.

http://www.trees.org.uk/faqs/Distance-trees-to-building

the opposing view: see here for insurance guidelines ():

http://www.subsidencebureau.com/subsidence_trees.htm

The 7 meters suggested by the insurance viewpoint for a mountain ash is rediculous. Now if it were a poplar then that would be another story.

aaronsharkey

Thanks The tree is 4 meters away from the house so what would you suggest in that situation

catastrophy

Sorbus tend to have a deep root profile so I wouldn't be overly concerned about the foundations being damaged, however each situation is different. It looks like a relatively young tree and could possibly be moved in the dormant season for peace of mind.

Northumbria

Rowan (Mountain ash)

Oldtree

aaronsharkey wrote: »

Thanks The tree is 4 meters away from the house so what would you suggest in that situation

The current size of the tree and the distance to foundations would not overly worry me.
You can mitigate any root issues you are concerned about by putting in a root barrier adjactent to the foundations, or at about 2 meters from the tree.
I think this tree is a bit large to replant elsewhere for it to do well, without a lot of husbandry.