Tree roots and garage

danrv

Hi
I have tree at the rear corner of my single garage. The roots are showing through the grass verge and starting to lift a concrete path to the rear. Pics show a small root at the exterior corner and also in the grass. There’s a gutter soak away at the front and it seems one root has headed towards that.
Also have noticed a bit of damp in the inside corner even though there’s a damp proof course in place.

It’s an exposed corner plot and the tree does go some way in shielding the house wall from the elements. A survey though did highlight the tree as a possible problem.
Any help appreciated.

Davesnave

It's a beech tree and it's going to damage the property eventually, if it hasn't already, mainly because they don't stop growing until they're 70' high. But cutting it down in one fell swoop might not be the right thing to do either, depending on the soil, so take the advice of a tree surgeon who knows the area. A gentler reduction to zero might be called-for.

There will be someone along in a moment warning about TPOs, which should certainly be considered, but any reasonable tree officer would be sympathetic, I'm sure. Like a majority of other houses, yours will manage fine without the protection afforded by the tree. Of course, it would be good if you could plant something smaller and in a better place once this one goes.

danrv

Davesnave said:

It's a beech tree and it's going to damage the property eventually, if it hasn't already, mainly because they don't stop growing until they're 70' high. But cutting it down in one fell swoop might not be the right thing to do either, depending on the soil, so take the advice of a tree surgeon who knows the area. A gentler reduction to zero might be called-for.

There will be someone along in a moment warning about TPOs, which should certainly be considered, but any reasonable tree officer would be sympathetic, I'm sure. Like a majority of other houses, yours will manage fine without the protection afforded by the tree. Of course, it would be good if you could plant something smaller and in a better place once this one goes.

Thanks for the reply and for identifying the tree. Nobody in the neighbourhood seems to know what it is.
It’s actually made up of four trunks but not sure if it was planted on purpose.
I can reduce some of it down as I have access from the garage roof. Would be quite an easy job for a tree surgeon too.
Hopefully they can advise on the best course of action to prevent any further root damage.

Davesnave

danrv said:

Davesnave said:

It's a beech tree and it's going to damage the property eventually, if it hasn't already, mainly because they don't stop growing until they're 70' high. But cutting it down in one fell swoop might not be the right thing to do either, depending on the soil, so take the advice of a tree surgeon who knows the area. A gentler reduction to zero might be called-for.

There will be someone along in a moment warning about TPOs, which should certainly be considered, but any reasonable tree officer would be sympathetic, I'm sure. Like a majority of other houses, yours will manage fine without the protection afforded by the tree. Of course, it would be good if you could plant something smaller and in a better place once this one goes.

Thanks for the reply and for identifying the tree. Nobody in the neighbourhood seems to know what it is.

It's a very common tree. Only a hornbeam is similar, but unlike some people who post here, you supplied pictures clear enough to see the leaves are shiny, not matt.

Rural_Puppy

Is it your tree?

stuart45

Beech make excellent firewood.

danrv

Rural_Puppy said:

Is it your tree?

Yes. The small strip of grass is mine but the grey tarmac area belongs to the council.

Grenage

I love trees but that's way too close to the house; its multiple trunks would make me think someone had cut it back early in life.  The slightly raised soil could also account for the damp.

It's not that big so it should be relatively simple to remove and level the area.  As stuart45 mentioned, beech makes fine firewood.

danrv

Grenage said:

I love trees but that's way too close to the house; its multiple trunks would make me think someone had cut it back early in life.  The slightly raised soil could also account for the damp.

It's not that big so it should be relatively simple to remove and level the area.  As stuart45 mentioned, beech makes fine firewood.

Thanks. I quite like it and would prefer just to trim it but I think it needs to go.
Not sure if there’s much damage caused other than the slightly raised path at the rear.
The house sits around 90cm above the level of the garage and there’s a slight raising of the house floor. The long hallway has a kind of ‘apex’ and the lounge skirting has a raised point. 
This is in the middle of the house and about 6 or 7m from the tree. Not sure if this is linked. The roots would have to pass under the lower garage first.

frankie

Get a QUALIFIED tree surgeon in, ask their advice about taking it down and stump grinding if they can get close enough to the wall.

Davesnave

danrv said:

Grenage said:

I love trees but that's way too close to the house; its multiple trunks would make me think someone had cut it back early in life.  The slightly raised soil could also account for the damp.

It's not that big so it should be relatively simple to remove and level the area.  As stuart45 mentioned, beech makes fine firewood.

Thanks. I quite like it and would prefer just to trim it but I think it needs to go.
Not sure if there’s much damage caused other than the slightly raised path at the rear.
The house sits around 90cm above the level of the garage and there’s a slight raising of the house floor. The long hallway has a kind of ‘apex’ and the lounge skirting has a raised point. 
This is in the middle of the house and about 6 or 7m from the tree. Not sure if this is linked. The roots would have to pass under the lower garage first.

The neighbours have 2 modest sized poplar trees. I've found roots at the surface over 10m away from them but none seem to  have penetrated the foundations of our barn just yet. I've just had a text to say they're being felled on Wednesday, so I'm pleased, though it's us who have to pay.

I doubt if the flooring anomalies in your house are related to the tree, but better safe than sorry. The neighbours have no idea we'll probably be seeking planning on the barn in a year or two!