Poplar Tree with Close Proximity to House not picked up by Level 2 Survey

Welham07

We recently (Oct 2014) bought a house. We had a Home Buyers Survey and a 30 -40 year old Poplar tree, within 10 ft of the house, was not sited as a problem. It is 30 ft tall & has previously been topped. The paving around the base has (and was then) blown.

We have been investigating getting it taken down because of light blocking issues & the tree surveyor has told us that these trees can cause structural problems to our house & should never be allowed in close proximity & should have been highlighted by the surveyor. The brickwork on the house is starting to crack & you can see where the roots have affected the patio.

What is the best course of action - do I have recourse with the surveyors and how do I approach the problem?

All help greatly received.

Thanks

KRB2725

Have the problems with the patio and the cracking of the bricks only started since you moved in?

Freecall

A 30 foot polar tree within 10 feet of your house will eventually cause damage and should be removed.

Do not attempt to simply chop it down though. Depending on soil conditions and the age of the tree (you say it has already been topped so the height will not tell you how mature it is), it will need to be removed carefully.

It may even need to be done in stages over several seasons. Complete removal in one go can result in land heave which could cause significant damage to your house. You really need to speak with a specialist in order to agree a removal plan.

Welham07

The patio was damaged when we moved in but not flagged on the survey. the recent visit by a tree surgeon re: removing it flagged up the cracking brick issue. We have had 4 professionals round to talk about how best to remove the tree & have had 4 completely different opinions about what we need to do so I'm very confused. It could also affect our neighbours house.

First & foremost I need to approach the surveyor re: the fact the tree & it's potential issues didn't even feature on the survey but I'm not sure how to do this & if I should alert my buildings insurers first, or should I get a secondary tree specific survey done before I approach anyone?