How far should a tree be from your house in case of storms?

juneg

How far should a tree be from your house in case of storms?

With all the storms lately, Can anybody advise how you could tell if a tree is dangerous and might fall in a storm?

Its an 40 yr old house and garden with mature trees
thanks

looksee

It depends on what kind of trees they are (some trees have less secure root systems than other), how tall they are (distance from house compared to height of tree) and whether they are healthy. And even then one could come down unexpectedly, so there are no guarantees. You really need to consult someone with real expertise to look at them if you are concerned. They could tell you if there are any diseased or dangerous branches, and maybe thin out some of the head if they are top heavy. But without seeing them and having some expert knowledge its impossible to make useful guesses.

juneg

it's a scots pine and its near enough and tall enough to cause damage if it came down. It is healthy.

Oldtree

You need to consult an arborist to get an on site opinion if you are concerned. It would be a prudent thing to do even without concerns if you are a tree owner. There is a lot to consider esp as a tree owner is liable for the tree. But this should not be used as an excuse to remove trees without a valid reason.

Sonnenblumen

OP - it all depends on what tree variety, but to answer your question, the planting distance should be the at least the equivalent of the mature height of the tree. Scots pines are reasonably robust but I have seen one planted one within 3.0 m of the house and there are silly cases where Eucalpytus has been planted between two properties and is now taller than both properties.

It will be fun when the fun starts.:eek:

When it comes to trees, people can be silly and/or inconsiderate.

Skrynesaver

I vaguely remember there being a rule of twice the mature height being the best distance for a shelter belt from the house.

Oldtree

have a read of this:

http://www.trees.org.uk/faqs/Distance-trees-to-building

Where you are dealing with an already planted mature situation you need professional advice.

Oldtree

Skrynesaver wrote: »

I vaguely remember there being a rule of twice the mature height being the best distance for a shelter belt from the house.

that would depend on the content of a shelterbelt. What you most want to avoid is a funnelling effect as with leylandii. They can end up acting as a wall and when wind hits the wall, it begins to vortex either side of the wall. The wind can the go up and over the "wall" and end up coming down to ground level at a distance of twice the height of the wall and at twice the original speed, removing tiles from roofs very easily, not really achieving the shelter that the planter would want. A good shelterbelt can be made up of deciduous trees that can effectively slow down the wind to 50% of its original speed by allowing it to percolate through the shelterbelt. This is the best result that can be had and is used extensively in orchards in the UK.

vinnie13

i heard about twice the distance of the mature hight..get someone to have a look at the condition of trees and see about getting them down if needed.if theres a saw mill near by drop in they might do a deal if you give them the timber it could save you a small fortune

Oldtree

Goodwin Arborist will be able to advise you or point you in the direction of your local arborist:

http://homepage.eircom.net/~goodwinarborist/

Cowabunga

As was already suggested get an arborist on site. Knee jerk reaction of removal or "lop n top" is wrong, wrong wrong. Any tree can be put down in a certain storm. Trunk taper, roots in there surroundings and crown inspection is necessary amongst several other inspections. And remember that a good crown thinning as opposed to reduction to reduce wind sail effect is often a better option, and so for the case of a scots pine...

juneg

Oldtree wrote: »

Goodwin Arborist will be able to advise you or point you in the direction of your local arborist:

http://homepage.eircom.net/~goodwinarborist/

thank you. It is also breaking up the tarmac on the driveway with its roots. One seems to be heading for the house.

Oldtree

juneg wrote: »

thank you. It is also breaking up the tarmac on the driveway with its roots. One seems to be heading for the house.

That is an issue that has many potential problems, (depending on the tree type) foundation/drain issues, trip hazard for visitors and avenues of decay into the tree via damaged roots.

Sonnenblumen

juneg wrote: »

thank you. It is also breaking up the tarmac on the driveway with its roots. One seems to be heading for the house.

Is it your intention to retain the trees? If area damage is taking place, removal is probably something you need to consider. In which case, you'd probably be better contacting a number of tree surgeons to do a site inspection and quote (usually free) for removal etc.

Some remedial works will need to be done following extraction etc.

Oldtree

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Is it your intention to retain the trees? If area damage is taking place, removal is probably something you need to consider. In which case, you'd probably be better contacting a number of tree surgeons to do a site inspection and quote (usually free) for removal etc.

Some remedial works will need to be done following extraction etc.

It would be in-appropriate for a tree surgeon, who is not an arborist, to advise on the retention of these mature trees.

Oldtree

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Is it your intention to retain the trees? If area damage is taking place, removal is probably something you need to consider. In which case, you'd probably be better contacting a number of tree surgeons to do a site inspection and quote (usually free) for removal etc.

Some remedial works will need to be done following extraction etc.

It would be in-appropriate for a tree surgeon, who is not an arborist, to advise on the retention of these mature trees.

Oldtree

duplicate

Sonnenblumen

Oldtree wrote: »

It would be in-appropriate for a tree surgeon, who is not an arborist, to advise on the retention of these mature trees.

Why so?

Just to remind you, we do not know the OP's location (didn't stop you shilling), nor do we know the type of trees, their condition or size. All we know is that they are probably large (40 year old garden) possibly fully developed and we do know is that they are causing damage to the property.

IMO a good and experienced tree surgeon would be very capable of providing practical advice to the OP.

Oldtree

Nomatter how good the tree surgeon is, unless he/she is a qualified arborist then they cannot comment on the retention of these trees. For starters their insurance would not cover such advices. arborsts are trained in evaluation systems that unqualified tree surgeons are not. Cheap is not always good. The arborist can advise on works and then the op can ask for a quote from both the arbist and the good tree surgeon

Sonnenblumen

Oldtree wrote: »

Nomatter how good the tree surgeon is, unless he/she is a qualified arborist then they cannot comment on the retention of these trees. For starters their insurance would not cover such advices. arborsts are trained in evaluation systems that unqualified tree surgeons are not. Cheap is not always good. The arborist can advise on works and then the op can ask for a quote from both the arbist and the good tree surgeon

tree surgeon = arborist = tree surgeon

Oldtree

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

tree surgeon = arborist = tree surgeon

Sorry not the case i'm afraid. There are many short courses available that one could call oneself a tree surgeon after, not so an arborist. You need to do a little research to inform yourself.

Arboriculture is a separate professional field to Forestry.

blackbox

A healthy scots pine is unlikely to come down, but they do tend to shed their lower branches, which can be quite heavy.