We all love a beautiful landscape and trees are a very important part of this but, if trees are situated close to your home, could they cause some damage to the structure? Let’s look at the kinds of problems you may experience when trees are too close to a building:
Many homeowners worry that tree roots will damage the foundations of the home. This can happen when roots make their way into cracks that already exist in the foundations. Another problem is that if the roots of the tree grow large enough they can actually grow under the home’s foundations and cause them to lift.
It is not just the foundations of the home that can incur damage from closely situated trees. For example, falling tree limbs and branches can cause a lot of damage to the roof as well as power and communication lines. They could even cause injury to someone. This will be even more likely to happen if the tree is very old.
If leaves and branches start to accumulate in gutters they will clog up and, if not cleared out quickly, you may start experiencing problems with water intrusion.
Trees close to the home may also allow more opportunity for rodents and insects to gain easy access to the house. Also, if a fire broke out, trees may cause the fire to spread a lot quicker.
If you would like more advice on this subject or if you have any other home inspection related questions, please feel free to contact us, we will be happy to help you.
