Tree Talks with Forester Jeff

ARE TREE ROOTS BREAKING MY FOUNDATION OR DAMAGING MY RETAINING WALL?

In this week’s edition of Tree Talks, Forester Jeff examines the issue of tree roots pushing out retaining walls or breaking into building foundations.?Tree roots are opportunistic growing toward a source of moisture, and indeed if the foundation has existing cracks tree roots can enter and cause damage. However, the real root and foundation story is probably not what you expected. Let’s visualize tree roots as being tree branches underground.?A tree next to the house (depending on its location) could grow branches that touch and rub against your house, but they don’t have the power in most cases to enter the house (I know it depends on the building).?Similarly, as tree roots grow, they don’t possess great hydraulic strength that will penetrate building foundations.?Tree roots will be blocked and deflected away from solid built foundations.?What other issues are we overlooking??Could it be the soil??Alabama has an abundance of clay soils which exhibit a net negative charge, making it great for packing when dry to create solid areas to pore concrete foundations.?Water on the other hand has a positive charge, that bonds with the negative clay charges.?When water molecules bond around dry clay particles additional space is needed resulting in soil expansion or ground heave.?Surprisingly most tree roots are in the upper 12 – 24 inches of soil, depending on the tree species.?Often trees next to houses are condemned and removed under the auspices that the tree is causing the foundation or retaining wall to shift.?Trees (depending on species) can use several hundred gallons of water daily in the growing season through a process called transpiration.?Your tree may be providing the service of removing excess water to deter additional damage.?Recommendations vary with the situation, but often the best choice is leaving the tree rather than removing it.?Consider contacting a Registered Consulting Arborist for an independent diagnosis prior to removing trees for the above problems.