undermined tree(s)

[lxt]

My neighbor is doing a full blown remodel/renovation he has an excavator come in & do some work, well he`s friends with the "digger" & is given permission to use the equipment when the owner is not around.

So the neighbor & family use the excavator to grade the yard...severely grade the yard undermining the tree(s) between his property & mine thus removing aleast 2ft of earth & severing the majority of the root system, should there be a failure it will cause major damage to my property.

The house caught fire & now they`re redoing it themselves, im sure they dont have any liability insurance or homeowners insurance, I have approched them about the potential hazard & they told me; "you do trees go ahead & take er out" but they dont want to pay me!!!!!

SOooo, when this tree dies & becomes a worse hazard or falls over on to my property it wont be an act of "god" cause they initiated it & knowing how insurance companies are...my Home owners will fight over reason/cause of loss........I just want to protect myself & property!! these folks are real idiots & have no care..........suggestions please!!!!


LXT...........

 

[tomtrees58]

take pics now tom trees

 

[TDunk]

Document everything

 

[Blakesmaster]

I'm really interested how this works. Any info from others? Would it fall under the same guidelines as trimming canopy's back to the property line? Is that even legal if it eventually causes the failure of the tree?

 

[teamtree]

Sounds like you may own their property some day. I would document as much as possible and contact an attorney who specializes in these cases. If you are not certified...keep your mouth shut. Probably a good idea to do that anyway. Send them a letter from your attorney explain the situation.

Post a pic for us to view....please.

 

[pdqdl]

What a nightmare !

You do not live on Elm Street, do you?

1. Check with your local authorities as to whether or not they have a building permit for the repair to the fire damage. They may have acquired one for the initial modification, but you can bet they did not get another when they burned the house. In some areas, you need a different permit for repair to fire damage.

2. See if you can find out who the owner of the excavator is. He might have an interest in knowing what mischief has been done with his machine, and you might prevent someone else from having a similar or worse nightmare.

3. Consider taking them up on removing the tree. After it is all on the ground, offer to remove the debris for an additional fee. If they protest: act dumb, and earnestly assure them that you thought they would use the excavator to load all the tree waste into a dump truck.

 

[BC WetCoast]

I worked with a couple who had a similar situation. They owned a tree near the property line, the neighbour during some relandscaping, cut half the root system and under mined the tree. They weren't going to do anything. My clients couldn't afford to remove the tree. We talked to the city and had the supervisor of insectors out and although they were totally sympathetice, they said they were powerless. Ultimately, we were able to convince the power company to remove the tree, because if it failed, the powerlines were at risk.

 

[treeslayer]

. Consider taking them up on removing the tree. After it is all on the ground, offer to remove the debris for an additional fee. If they protest: act dumb, and earnestly assure them that you thought they would use the excavator to load all the tree waste into a dump truck.

Very good idea. cut it down and walk away.:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[treeseer]

cmon lxt you can find a camera can't you?

Document and send a certified letter to them, copying the city attorney and their insurance company and yours, notifying them they have created a hazard. If they do nothing in 30 days then they and their ins are liable for failure. copy the machine owner too.

 

[pdqdl]

Treeseer: how is he going to get their insurance companies name OR address? They don't sound like the sort to pass that along.

I doubt if a city attorney is going to even respond to what would undoubtedly be called "a civil court issue".

Maybe his own insurance company can figure out if the neighbor has any coverage, but I doubt they would try. In my limited experience, the insurance companies figure that fixing tree problems is easier after they fall than hiring lawyers to fight about it before they do any damage.

 

[lxt]

Pictures are coming, what I did was contact my home owners ins. & they told me......to see if they provided my borough with a copy of insurance, if they did then get info & go from there.

If they didnt...then this can be a wonderful situation!!(bad that is) cause now the borough gave them permission to do what they have done knowing they have no liability insurance...so the borough may have a part in this too!

this is the problem with home owners doing their own renovation without having to post a bond or some form of liability insurance, the burden is on the victim or potential victim to prove who is at fault....

im taking pictures after this post will pu em up for you guys too see!!!


LXT...............

 

[Slvrmple72]

take pics now tom trees

+1

 

[lxt]

 

[lxt]

Ok, got some pics for ya! my house is the one on the left, the trees belong to my neighbor doing the renovation, I dont know how well you can see what has been done but they have removed about 2ft of earth from the root flare down and all along the side of their house.

so those 3 trees only have the root structure on my property side keeping them in place!!! "God" only knows where they will end up should they fail, & after the winds we got on new years eve & what hit our area in sept. I am a little worried!

whats sad is I am told this is a civil matter & the law may only act after or during the commission of an event...or something like that!! Ive studied law but am lost here!! seems to me that I have to wait for the tree to fall on my house then I can do what all americans do..."sue" I am trying to avoid damage & dont want to wait, Ive put alot of work, $$ & time into my house to have it damaged!!

the irony would be....the owner of a tree service has his house crushed by a red maple!


LXT..............

 

[treeseer]

they have removed about 2ft of earth from the root flare down and all along the side of their house.

so those 3 trees only have the root structure on my property side keeping them in place!!!

bit of an exaggeration there. They did not dig to china--still anchor roots under there. Yes it's seriously bad but it can be mitigated by clean cuts on the roots and soil/mulch replacement.

You gonna prune em some on your side, right?

"I doubt if a city attorney is going to even respond to what would undoubtedly be called "a civil court issue".

You'r eright, but the mere act of copying the town atty is worth the $2 to mail it.

"Maybe his own insurance company can figure out if the neighbor has any coverage,"

Heck yes it just takes them a phone call, and they have a vested interest in keeping the trees off lxt's house.

Hey lxt where exactly is the property line?

 

[BC WetCoast]

I was definitely expecting a larger and deeper hole starting closer to the tree. Can't see for the leaves, but what is the size of the largest root that was cut and how far from the tree did the excavation start?

If the excavation starts about 2' from the edge of the tree, you still have over 60% of the root mass unaffected. A little crown reduction and I would be comfortable with those trees.

I have a 60' red cedar along my property line. When the house next door was demo'd and redeveloped, the builder excavated to the property line. Tree is still standing.

 

[pdqdl]

It looks to me like the trees might make it, although there is certainly an increased risk of failure. Are those trees on the north side? If your prevailing storm winds are from the south; you'll probably be ok.

At least if the trees are removed or fail, it won't be your shade that gets lost.

Probably too late to suggest it, but it might have been a good idea to remove all the trees before that area was graded, and then do the job right. It looks like you have water running toward both your foundations, but the neighbor fixed his (barely).

 

[lxt]

It is hard to get a good idea of the earth removed with the leaves & the fact they tapered what they dug out, Believe me in person its more revealing than with the pics posted!!

I was gonna try to put a measuring/yard stick & a neon level line from root base to ground to give an idea of how much was removed....but that takes time & I would have had to tresspass to do such!!

the roots of what I have measured range from penicil diameter and smaller to the larger roots being 2 inches & a few the size of a human wrist, kinda the best descriptions I can give.

If you guys look in the background you will see some trees that have been blown over by the recent storms....thus my concern, my thought is alot of these trees are already stressed & the fact that the soil contains lots of rock & shale (not good rooting material) add to that soil compaction, limbs torn off from the bachoe(not pictured but can be), grading & digging that they have helped things along in the wrong direction & they dont plan on resolving it.

the code enforcement & permit officer actually came down to view it yesterday so I got to talk to her.......she definately understands the concern and said it is a civil matter, no doubt about it!!

I will try to post pics with an object or something to give a comparisson to show the extent of what was done.

UNDERSTAND..... these folks have no plan to mitigate & try to save these trees, they`re putting down 1-2" topsoil, seed it & bingo....done!!

LXT................

 

[lxt]

BTW, the property line is where my fence is...I know hard to see!
the trees are totally on their property, the ordinance in my area allows a fence to be placed directly on the line.


LXT...........Guy nice Article in the December issue! fuuny that issue even talks about managing trees during construction!

 

[treeseer]

Guy nice Article in the December issue!

Thanks; dumb title, shoulda been "Black Bumps". February Dendro will be...different.

fuuny that issue even talks about managing trees during construction!

Yeah that is a hot issue now with the BMP coming out soon.

"the roots of what I have measured range from penicil diameter and smaller to the larger roots being 2 inches & a few the size of a human wrist, kinda the best descriptions I can give."

For a middle-aged red maple that does not sound Too severe.

You gonna prune it or what?

Another option to treeco's is to realize the helplessness of your position and be proactive. Just approach them and offer to root prune and mulch. Tell em you only want to mulch the area near the trees because those nasty tree roots will kill the lovely grass.

That will buy you some root health and stability and hopefully peace of mind in the future.