trees growing near house walls - what to do?

[quatro]

Im buying a bungalow which has 2 trees near to the side wall, a cherry and a crab apple. Both have been there for a fair number of years, at least 10 at a rough estimate.
What steps should I take to minimise damage to foundations - shall I leave them, prune them hard, remove them gradually, or cut one down at a time.
I quite like them, but like the thought of undamaged bungalow walls better...

 

[breezer]

if its the roots you are worried about, 3 options.

Dont buy bungalow

Buy bungalow and then move it

Remove the trees

the tree roots will probaly continue to grow, i would take option 3

 

[quatro]

Thanks for that advice I think I will talk to a tree surgeon and take his advice which will probably be to cut them down - shame though.........the trees are pretty but a bungalow that is standing is prettier!

 

[lisap]

I heard that you can cause damage if you remove the trees too as the water that the trees take up is no longer being removed or something like that ( ) so best to see a tree surgeon!!

 

[Bodgeit and scarper ltd]

How close are they?

 

[marsaday]

those trees are not BIG as such and the root system will be the same. If no damage to the building by now then you will probably be ok.

when you cut down a tree to get rid of it you will also apply a strong chemical killer (root out for eg) to stop the tree from growing again. this will mean the root system dies and decays. over time the area that the root occupied under the ground becomes hollow and the soil falls in on itself - resulting in soil movement. if a root was under the foundation and this happened then you can have problems. the bigger the tree the worse the problem.

get some advice before you go to cut down - you may not need to.

 

[Miniape]

If you insert a cut-off barrier, say from Plastic sheet piling, this will act as a barrier to the tree roots in the future. Clearly if any damage has been done already it will not recitfy this but it is one way to keep the tree and protect the house.