Trees causing house to subside.

[Power Harrow Pilot]

8m away from my house there is a large old sycamore tree. Over the last 8months I have noticed some large cracks appearing in my house. I think the house will have to be underpinned. My insurance broker is being a little bit vague, where do I stand? What is my next move??

 

[BRB John]

8m should be far away enough not to cause a problem surely? Next move entirely depends on your insurance policy...

 

[Turnip]

What makes you think it is the sycamore causing the damage? Several sycamores here near buildings and as @BRB John says 8m should be far away enough not to cause a problem.

 

[Still Farming]

Chop them down if issues then??
Between roots, water movements etc etc will effect house possibly

 

[serf]

8m away from my house there is a large old sycamore tree. Over the last 8months I have noticed some large cracks appearing in my house. I think the house will have to be underpinned. My insurance broker is being a little bit vague, where do I stand? What is my next move??

Depending if you had the drought as ( we did last summer down here ) it could be drought related affecting the footings ! If the maths add up for that ? Which they prob don't I'll get me coat .....

 

[Power Harrow Pilot]

Bit more info, the tree is not on my property, there is also an old established laylandi hedge 6 m from my house. Also not mine!!

 

[renewablejohn]

Chopping the trees down could create bigger problems then you already have. As a first step I would ring cut the tree roots at say 4mtrs from the house to allow the tree to keep growing but with substatial root prune. Being sycamore it should have a substantial tap root which at 8 mtrs should not affect the house. Cutting the surface roots should allow the subsoil to rehydrate and any cracks to close. Normally get it with clay soils and dry weather. Once treated I would wait a year to see if the cracks get any worse but on past experience it normally sorts out the problem.

 

[renewablejohn]

Bit more info, the tree is not on my property, there is also an old established laylandi hedge 6 m from my house. Also not mine!!

Now your talking. Cannot understand why people ever plant them sounds like a good insurance claim against your neighbor.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Chopping the trees down could create bigger problems then you already have. As a first step I would ring cut the tree roots at say 4mtrs from the house to allow the tree to keep growing but with substatial root prune. Being sycamore it should have a substantial tap root which at 8 mtrs should not affect the house. Cutting the surface roots should allow the subsoil to rehydrate and any cracks to close. Normally get it with clay soils and dry weather. Once treated I would wait a year to see if the cracks get any worse but on past experience it normally sorts out the problem.

I was thinking removing the tree could cause more hydrological changes to the soil, as I guess the tree transpires a fair bit.

 

[renewablejohn]

I was thinking removing the tree could cause more hydrological changes to the soil, as I guess the tree transpires a fair bit.

I am always wary of doing to much damage to old sycamore trees due to being very good at keeping soil stable. You quite often find them on embankment schemes just for that purpose.

 

[Lincs Lass]

Is it possible to get a digger in ,expose all the roots on your side and cut them .
You might be lucky to claim structural damage from the neighbours insurance .

 

[grainboy]

2 yrs ago. Had cracks appear in a 80’s build corner cluster, area it’s built on was clay.,
The only tree near was a white thorn, about 10ft away from the building, and about 8in dia,
This was deemed the cause, but I was sceptical,
However, removed white thorn, let the ground settle, and in time the cracks closed up,
House insurance then paid for remedial work,
And all seems fine now,
Underpinning was mentioned, but advice was that it would just move the problem to the next weak point,

 

[br jones]

sycamore is a weed ,get rid sort the house

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Chopping the trees down could create bigger problems then you already have. As a first step I would ring cut the tree roots at say 4mtrs from the house to allow the tree to keep growing but with substatial root prune. Being sycamore it should have a substantial tap root which at 8 mtrs should not affect the house. Cutting the surface roots should allow the subsoil to rehydrate and any cracks to close. Normally get it with clay soils and dry weather. Once treated I would wait a year to see if the cracks get any worse but on past experience it normally sorts out the problem.

Sound advice.

Had weeping willow with same issues. They wanted to fell the tree but I stopped them

They ended up fitting a root barrier which so far seems to have solved the issue. Remember it could be more than one tree causing problems….

 

[Courier]

Had something similar with an old farmhouse.
NFU mutual agreed a £50k rebuild fund in 1995.

 

[puppet]

Is it possible to get a digger in ,expose all the roots on your side and cut them .
You might be lucky to claim structural damage from the neighbours insurance .

You might end up with some very large cracks when the next gale blows it over.

 

[Lincs Lass]

You might end up with some very large cracks when the next gale blows it over.

Bit of luck ,send it back in the neighbours garden .

 

[Nigel Wellings]

Tree roots are probably the most common cause of subsidence, amazing how far they sometimes travel and in a drought year seem to find more ways of finding any moisture. Roots extending more than 8m from tree are not unusual. Get onto your household insurers about it. They will monitor the cracking as well as get an arboricultural specialist in to try and establish if it is the tree roots causing problem or just clay/soil shrinkage after drought. The process I am afraid is not quick and Insurers are much more reticent to pay for underpinning than they were in years gone by (due to cost). You will have to claim off your own insurers to start with and they will then decide if they can make a recovery from the tree owners.

 

[HatsOff]

I differentiate between shrink/swell ground movement and subsidence.

Shrink/swell ground movement caused by trees does cause cracks but at no point is the house unsupported, it's that the soil has changed volume and what is sat on top has shifted.

True subsidence is when the ground has been removed (for example, drain leaking washing out soil), or has lowered its load bearing capacity (for example, ground water raised and weakened the soil).

I've not known a case of underpinning being needed for shrink/swell ground movement - best thing is to remove or mitigate (for example, root barriers or severe pruning) the cause and then repair. Repairs can be just repointing and cosmetic or crack stitching if bad enough.

Also, if removing, it is best to stagger it over a few seasons. Cut back half a tree then remove the rest the next year. This smooths out the soil finding a new equilibrium.

 

[renewablejohn]

Tree roots are probably the most common cause of subsidence, amazing how far they sometimes travel and in a drought year seem to find more ways of finding any moisture. Roots extending more than 8m from tree are not unusual. Get onto your household insurers about it. They will monitor the cracking as well as get an arboricultural specialist in to try and establish if it is the tree roots causing problem or just clay/soil shrinkage after drought. The process I am afraid is not quick and Insurers are much more reticent to pay for underpinning than they were in years gone by (due to cost). You will have to claim off your own insurers to start with and they will then decide if they can make a recovery from the tree owners.

Typical insurers response. What that does not say is the whiff of tree root problem will sky rocket your insurance premiums and any underpinning will drastically reduce the value of your house and will also need ongoing monitoring costs.