You Only See Half The Tree – Maintaining Homes with Trees
A tree is a fine addition to any house lot. Although they may require some care and attention while they’re young, once they reach a certain age they can take care of themselves, rain or shine, hot or cold. However, trees never really stop growing until they die, and although it’s fairly easy to trim them away from power lines and sidewalks above ground, it’s harder to stop their roots from destroying important pipes or buried power lines if they are sited incorrectly or else simply grow too large. Here are some ideas on maintaining homes with trees.
Tree roots are amazing in how they slowly but surely apply force to the soil and rocks around them. Given enough time to grow and push, roots have been known to crack open solid rocks. They also tend to compact the soil around them simply by taking up an ever-increasing amount of space.
Not only does this spell trouble for any sewage pipe or cable line they encounter, but if they’re planted too close to a house they may do the sort of damage to your foundation that would take water and shifting soil decades to accomplish. If that happens, not only will you have to cut down the tree and destroy its roots, you’ll also need to repair your foundation, a prospect that’s as expensive as it sounds. That will mean having to shop around carefully to find a good, reliable contractor who can get the job done as quickly, safely, and inexpensively as possible.
If you live in Maryland, DC, northern Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania, then we at AA Action Waterproofing would like to offer our services. We have over 27 years of experience working with foundations, basements, and crawlspaces, and we maintain an A+ ranking with the Better Business Bureau. In all that time, we’ve never met a basement we couldn’t repair, and so whether your problem is tree damage, water damage, or even just age catching up with an old house, we’ll have a solution that’s right for you.