In our condo complex we have approximately 100 redwood trees that are approximately 30 years old. Now the developer in some case planted these trees within 5 feet of the building foundation. Then we have others that are within 10 feet. So, we took out one tree because it was hitting the roof line, another tree was was buckling the foundation wall the and was so close to the homeowner window that all they saw was this redwood tree, and another tree was pushing the foundation causing the wall to bow. We have a group of homeowners that fails to acknowledge the damage and believe the arborist is just try to make money by cutting down trees. These homeowners claim the redwood trees do not damage foundations. So my first questions is can roots from a redwood tree cause foundation damage? If we have a redwood tree that is within 5 feet of the foundation, is it possible to install a root barrier, or is their a minimum distance where on the placement of root barriers? Our trees are approximately 30 years old, how much bigger will they get and can we expect future foundation damage caused by the trees that our with 5 foot range of the building? What about the trees within 10 feet? We have another redwood that is within a few feet of a concrete patio. It is pushing up the patio thus pushing up the support beams for the second story patio. It has also pushed up the soil causing a negative slope and rain water drains toward the building. The idea here is to remove the concrete patio and replace it with a raised decks over the roots of the tree. Is this a good solution or will the roots damage the deck in the future. The associations plan was to identify the redwood trees that were the worst offenders and remove the trees and replace them with more suitable ones over time to minimize the impact. However, because of the opposition this plan has been shelved. Too me this seems like a nightmare situation for future homeowners. We probably have 10 trees that are within 5 feet of the foundation and another 20 that are within 10 feet. My fear is that one day in the future, that these trees will all have to be taken out all at one time. Am I over reacting to this situation?
Is there a basement, or just the foundation? How many stories of weight are sitting on this foundation? Do you like the trees a lot? Are these coast redwoods or giant sequoia redwoods? Sounds like they are too established to trench through some roots and install barriers. Some of those trees could still bust a root barrier with only 5 feet to spare, due to the girth of roots close to the trunk area. I've seen folks with small crawl spaces, modify their foundation before to bridge over the root system, when they don't have a concrete pad. Allowing the roots to grow beneath the structure. That was for a huge deodar cedar. If I recall correct, temp supports were put beneath floor joists of one wall area, then the concrete foundation cut and removed, then a steel beam inserted. And the beam was supported at both ends, holding up the joists and side of the single story home.
