Something I didn’t think about when I moved into my home was the impact small trees and roots would have on my life. What I thought was a nice decoration for my window turned out to be a nightmare that should be shared with all of you.
I have a window in my home that when you look out it, there is a small tree just a few feet from the window. It’s not large, and on first glance, you wouldn’t think anything of it. I loved to sit by the window and see all the birds some and perch on its branches and even had a few build nests.
What I didn’t realize was that this beautiful tree had a root system, and that root system was burrowing deeper into the ground and branching out. I first notice some issues in the basement when I went down and saw a crack in the wall by the tree. I didn’t think much of it at the time. The house was old, and the basement was bound to have some structural issues. Weeks, possibly months, went by before I went back into the basement, and by then, that crack had become a gaping hole, and jutting out from that hole was roots from my tree.
When it rained, the water rain through that hole and just complete soaked everything. I knew I had to do something quick because winter was coming and the last thing I wanted was frozen pipes because of a giant hole in my basement wall.
What came next was an exhaustive and expensive process. I cut down the tree, left the stump, and then dug around to make sure I had found all the roots and where they were going. The root system was ready to burst through in several other places, and if I would have waited another year or so, then I would have needed to replace the entire basement wall. I cut out and removed the stump, but then came the tedious process of removing all the roots. It was back-breaking work, but it had to be done. When the tree was out and the root removed, I then had to repair the giant hole in the basement.
The cost of the entire job was not small: I had to rent equipment to dig out and remove the stump plus the many man hours required to do the job. It cost me hundreds in actual money and lost time. Please, next time you see a beautiful tree growing near your home, make sure its butting heads with your foundation.
See also:
- How to Handle a Root Problem Without Hurting Your Tree
- Epic Fail: Stump Removal
- Quick and Easy Fix: Resolve Cracks in the Basement
- Plumbing Help: Cleaning Up a Wet and Stinky Basement
- Top 5 Things to Do With a Finished Basement
- Dear Mr. Fix-It: How to Plaster a Hole in the Wall
- Buying a Home: Emotion Versus Common Sense
- Retro Does Not Mean Bargain Basement
- For Sale: 5 Ways to Add Value to Your Home
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