Trees are that one thing in your environment that can bring many good characteristics, such as shade to your home, water filtration, and a staple to your landscape. But what you don’t know is that trees can also cause serious damage to your foundation, plumbing systems and pavement/cement work in your yard. The two main ways in which trees can cause this damage are from poor planning regarding placement of trees in your yard and choosing the wrong type of tree to plant.
- Foundations can be affected by tree roots and the pressure that roots give on whatever they grow through and around. Although roots are slow-growers, they are in search of water and nutrients from the ground, and they also move the soil around them. By the roots doing these things, they dry out the soil and cause displacement of the soil around the foundation, making the soil the building is sitting on not be able to support the structure.
- Plumbing can be damaged by particular trees that develop their roots as far as they need to go in search of water and moisture. Due to standard plumbing systems, pipes being made perforated to allow movement from interior plumbing roots are able to grow through these holes with ease and can completely block pipes or split them to the point that they are no longer functioning to the capacity that they are intended.
While we know that trees add beauty to the landscape of your yard, you also want to take the necessary precautions when planting trees in your front yard to prevent foundation damage down the road. As a homeowner, you want to know what type of trees you are planting, and you also want to make sure they are planted at least 50 feet from the home and certain systems. If by chance the tree is an existing structure, you may want to have it cut down and roots removed if it is causing issues for your foundation.
