Huge red oak next to house

Discussion in 'Woody Plants' started by outoftheattic, Sep 3, 2007.

  1. outoftheattic

    outoftheattic Member

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    KINGSPORT, TENNESSEE
    My neighbor has a 80-100 foot red oak approx. 24 inches from his house and that is approx. 20 feet from mine. This season has been unusually dry. I suspect that the tree is affecting the foundation of my house and causing my brick to crack. Is that possible?
     
  2. smivies

    smivies Active Member

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    Given its age & the fact that your area has probably experienced several droughts similar to the current one over the life of the tree, it's highly unlikely that this particular tree is causing damage that only appeared this year.

    It's more likely that the drought is causing the clay subsoil to dry out at a greater depth than in recent years. When clay dries, it can shrink substantially causing shifts in the foundation. Trees can contribute to the clay drying out as they uptake water but your foundation is probably shallow (basement??) and would have moved anyway in this dry spell. The crack will probably close up again when the weather gets wetter and the clay re-expands.
     
  3. outoftheattic

    outoftheattic Member

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    Thanks! you've been a great help.
     
  4. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    It could well be responsible for this sort of subsidence. Get an ISA-registered professional arboricultural consultant to examine the situation in person.
     
  5. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    I live in Broadmead, a suburb of Saanich which is just north of urban Victoria, where huge trees grow through porches or decks, are protected by covenants, and nestle up next to houses or vice versa... I am new enough to this area, from the east coast, that it does make me nervous but actually it appears that the trees don't do any damage at all other than when one is weakened in some way or an unusual storm happens and part of it falls on the roof. Trees should be pruned frequently and that prevents excessive damage to real estate. I would like to make a plea for the "don't take it away" but root-prune or branch-prune or better still, do both argument until one is sure of what is happening: tree roots tend to do more damage to sewer lines than to foundations, according to This Old House tv series [but should still be carefully pruned by experts].
     

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