Neighbors conifers are too big and too near?

2

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  • System
    System Posts: 178,077
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    broonbear wrote: »
    wait till it's dark get some friends round and get them to cut them down , councils are a waste of time, courts are a waste of time make sure your in the pub at the time, of course you know i'm kidding i don't condone that sort of behaviour
    Good idea. Get some friends to cut down trees that are only 12 feet from your house? That's one way to quickly demolish your extension!

    Even experts get it wrong. Some 'friends' with no experience doing it at night is a recipe for disaster.
  • Leif
    Leif Posts: 3,727 Forumite
    phill99 wrote: »
    So the neighbour had had conifers in his garden before you built the extension. You now want HIM to take them down because of YOUR extension.

    That seems fair.

    I had exactly the same thought.

    The OP said "we obviously need the conifers to come down completely to stop the roots growing"

    I'm afraid I find that incredibly selfish. What gives you the right to decide what they can grow in their garden?

    They are legally entitled to grow trees on their land.

    As I understand it, the law is that you may sever any roots on your property, but if in doing so you destabilise the tree, and it falls, then you are liable for any damage. So, you could put in a root barrier, subject to not weakening the tree. I have done that on my boundary. The neighbour has a young maple, which may get quite large (damn), so I put down a 1m deep barrier of breeze blocks wrapped in membrane to act as a deterrent. That will allow me to grow fruit trees without the Maple's roots dominating.

    However, in your case the trees are conifers, and as I understand it conifers grow deep roots, but with limited spread. This might mean that there is no threat anyway.

    In law, if the roots of the neighbour's tree cause damage, then they are liable. Assuming it can be proven of course. However, in this case I feel sorry for the neighbour to have such a selfish person as you. (Blunt, maybe, but you do sound selfish.)
    Warning: This forum may contain nuts.
  • Leif
    Leif Posts: 3,727 Forumite
    I suspect that the fact that you built the extension knowing the risk and taking (supposedly) adequate steps to deal with the risk, confers some element of knowledge and acceptance on your part, which *may* affect the outcome.

    That does sound reasonable, the extension was built in the knowledge that the conifers were already present. However, I too am no legal beagle.
    Warning: This forum may contain nuts.
  • Avoriaz
    Avoriaz Posts: 39,110 Forumite
    broonbear wrote: »
    wait till it's dark get some friends round and get them to cut them down , councils are a waste of time, courts are a waste of time make sure your in the pub at the time, of course you know i'm kidding i don't condone that sort of behaviour

    Of course nobody will notice the sound of axes, chain saws and probably rowdy and half drunk friends chopping their fingers off, or worse. :rotfl:

    And the OP won't be bothered by trees falling against the extension and bringing that down too. :D
  • Leif
    Leif Posts: 3,727 Forumite
    JethroUK wrote: »

    mentioned this to them during the summer but they haven't acted yet

    slight complication is that the owner doesn't actually live on the property, which in fact they just rent out (so neither are that fussed about our problem) - the owner actually lives across the road and thats who we spoke to

    Since they rent the property out, they probably do not care about the trees, but they would (quite rightly) see no reason to pay to have them removed. So, offer to pay for them to be felled. If either of you have a wood burning stove, then the wood might be worth having.
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  • Yorkie1
    Yorkie1 Posts: 11,537
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    Leif wrote: »

    However, in your case the trees are conifers, and as I understand it conifers grow deep roots, but with limited spread. This might mean that there is no threat anyway.

    I had always understood the opposite, namely that conifers had shallow roots. Certainly those I've dug out (albeit not on that scale) have all been surface rooted.
  • Leif
    Leif Posts: 3,727 Forumite
    Yorkie1 wrote: »
    I had always understood the opposite, namely that conifers had shallow roots. Certainly those I've dug out (albeit not on that scale) have all been surface rooted.

    Many/most conifers have a deep tap root:

    http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_deep_do_pine_tree_roots_grow_into_the_ground

    Apparently they do have a lot of shallow growth, but I've not been able to find any quantitative information.

    Poplar, Willow and Cherry are known for having invasive roots. My own observations suggest that Beech has a lot of very thick surface roots, with the top often exposed on shallow chalky soils. You can see when a Beech or Oak has blown over that there are very thick surface roots. They say the roots spread out at least as far as the canopy. When I dug my garden next to the neighbours conifer hedge, I found thin roots spreading out a few metres from the hedge, no more than 1" thick if that.
    Warning: This forum may contain nuts.
  • JethroUK
    JethroUK Posts: 1,959 Forumite
    edited 6 January 2013 at 2:25AM
    I know that Einstein says everything is relative but I've noticed that some people measure their own success by others mis-fortunes - you'll often see them rubber-necking at accident spots, hoping they may see someone else life ebbing away which hence makes them feel 'glad to be alive'

    I will always try to distance myself from the same - So I will now be ignoring Leif

    I find the pleasure he is getting from my home being under threat, at best uncomfortable, and at worse offensive, and I for one dont want to witness it

    Thanks to everyone else for constructive comments about this - looks like I'm in a difficult position - I'll offer to pay for the trees removing, otherwise looks like I'll have to wait until they cause damage to my home before I can do anything about it
    When will the "Edit" and "Quote" button get fixed on the mobile web interface?
  • davidlizard
    davidlizard Posts: 1,582
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    Having such trees close to the house can result in structural problems to your property, either directly from the roots, or indirectly from the amount of water the trees take from the soil.

    Typically, insurers often want to know if there are sizable trees near your property. What have they said?

    Also, bear in mind if the trees are removed, then the water is no longer removed from the soil, and this too can cause problems.

    Bear in mind some leylanddi can typically grow 3 feet a year. They get to a point where they are no longer manageable, which it sounds like these are.

    Have a chat with the council to see what can be done.

    Bear in mind any dispute with your neighbour must be declared when selling.
  • Furts
    Furts Posts: 4,474 Forumite
    Having such trees close to the house can result in structural problems to your property, either directly from the roots, or indirectly from the amount of water the trees take from the soil.

    Typically, insurers often want to know if there are sizable trees near your property. What have they said?

    Also, bear in mind if the trees are removed, then the water is no longer removed from the soil, and this too can cause problems.

    Bear in mind some leylanddi can typically grow 3 feet a year. They get to a point where they are no longer manageable, which it sounds like these are.

    Have a chat with the council to see what can be done.

    Bear in mind any dispute with your neighbour must be declared when selling.

    Back to JethroUK.

    The above comment about removing trees is correct. If your extension was built with a "ground bearing" slab there is a real risk of structural problems. If it was built with a suspended slab, or block and beam floor then it should, hopefully, be OK.
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