Birch tree very close to house.

Racheloa85

Hoping someone can re assure and advise me.

We are FTB’s and have had an offer accepted on a house we very much like however there is a very large birch tree in the front garden about double the height of the house and only 1.5metres away.

We will obviously get surveys etx but I am worried about subsidence even apparent now or in the future and heave/damage if it is removed.

Who is best to look into this for us a tree surgeon, a structural engineer ? I will be grateful for any advise.

Simby

If you like the house check it’s not protected and you would be allowed to remove it as well as getting you mention

volc25

If you look at my posts you will see I started a thread today where I am about 4 years ahead of you.

FTB that bought a house near trees and its becoming a bit of a slow nightmare.



Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't even risk it. Id walk away.



Is this house old? Do you know what type of foundation it has? Do you know the soils in the area of the house?



However if you do still want the house, dont bother with a homebuyer report. Go for full structural engineer report, commision this yourself and ask them to pay attention to the drains and the substructure (the foundations).


I find it very hard to believe a tree twice as tall as your house within 1.5 metre of it has not caused foundation issues already but I guess there is a possibility if it hasnt.


If the report comes back saying foundations are sound, then remove the tree straight away (you'll need a tree survey done) and you should be ok.


Here's a report saying pruning trees doesnt work, regardless of heave, only removing the trees will stop subsidence occurring.


http://dealgas-treeconsultancy.co.uk/dealga/files/resources/Tree%20Related%20Subsidence%20Pruning%20is%20not%20the%20answer.pdf

D_M_E

When I took out buildings insurance - required by your mortgage provider if you will be getting a mortgage - one of the questions asked by the insurers was "Is there a tree closer than 5 meters (could have been 15) away from the property".

Try a comparison site and do 2 quotes - answer YES for the first quote and NO for the second, and see what difference it makes to the premiums.
Do each quote either in different browsers or one in a private session and one in normal.

In our case the difference was about £600 about 3 years ago, yours could be more or it could be less.

A tree that size and that close would see me walk - no run - away.

Cakeguts

Was the house "good value for money" cheaper and bigger than you would expect for the area? If so that is because it has a problem and that problem is a birch tree. The tree is making it difficult to sell because most buyers realise that there could be a problem.

volc25

D_M_E wrote: »

When I took out buildings insurance - required by your mortgage provider if you will be getting a mortgage - one of the questions asked by the insurers was "Is there a tree closer than 5 meters (could have been 15) away from the property".

Try a comparison site and do 2 quotes - answer YES for the first quote and NO for the second, and see what difference it makes to the premiums.
Do each quote either in different browsers or one in a private session and one in normal.

In our case the difference was about £600 about 3 years ago, yours could be more or it could be less.

A tree that size and that close would see me walk - no run - away.

Our insurance didnt ask us about trees being within a certain distance. The questions were is the house free from significant cracking and when we mentions trees close by they asked if we owned them and if we thought they are they causing us current problems.

agrinnall

According to this (US) site birch tree roots are one of the most damaging to buildings, so you should definitely investigate whether there is a current issue and also confirm whether it can be removed in the future.


https://homeguides.sfgate.com/characteristics-birch-tree-roots-70069.html