How close can a tree be to the house?

[Hammer Handle]

I love shade on our house in the summer. Leaves in the gutters is a small price to pay....

But, how close can a tree safely be?

[18 inch Crappie]

Depends on what kind of tree, if you have a lets say a Oak tree that will get 30 feet wide when full grown, The closest I would put it is half that 15 feet that will put the tree right at your house, but I would move it out a little bit.

[Powerstroke]

It totally depends on the actual species of tree. If you're planting, you should look up the info on the tree and see how the tree grows. Some grow mostly upright while other will be wider than they are tall. Also roots can be a factor with trees near the foundation. I've seen foundation damage from roots and read stories of houses being demo'd because they were undermined by roots.

I would typically say At least 20ft from the house but more like 30.

[Hammer Handle]

I have a red maple near my house (about 10 - 15 feet away) and was wondering.

I don't want it to damage my foundation as it gets bigger.

[sparcebag]

15 ft is pretty close.the problem there is if you would notice any joints on block in your basement cracking,moving,bulgeing,its probably too late,and you'll be looking at foundation repairs somewhere down the road.I've seen roots destroy block foundations! but then again I've seen trees right up on houses with no damage,keep an eye on it.

[LwnmwnMan2]

If it were me, and the tree isn't too big, I'd take the tree down now.

For one, as it gets bigger, it's going to cost more to take down eventually.

I'd put an oak in if you still want it to be that close to the house. Either that, or move the tree out 30-40' in the direction of the sun, during the hottest part of the day. Better yet, put two trees in.

Like sparce said, once you see signs of damage, then not only are you going to pay more to have the tree taken down, but now you're repairing your walls.

The other suggestion I could think of, is to dig down the depth of your basement and see if there's any large roots moving in that direction. If there are, you could try chopping them off, since if you don't you could end up cutting the tree down anyways.

Obviously that last suggestion isn't something you can put on the honey-do list for this weekend.

[fishingforester]

Based on my experience, I wouldn't be too worried about a red maple 15 ft off the foundation. They don't get nearly as large as silver or sugar maples, and tend not to have roots that stay large for a long distance from the trunk. That being said, if it is an older foundation with existing cracks and maybe not asa strong as it once was, it may succumb to a tree that wouldn't normally cause damage. Of all trees that I have been called out for that have already caused foundation damage, I would say all were within ~6 ft of said foundation. With the exception of a linden that had grown to a diameter that the trunk was contacting the foundation, all other problematic trees were either silver maples, or large oaks that nobody wanted to cut down when they built the house. My $0.02.

[sparcebag]

The other suggestion I could think of, is to dig down the depth of your basement and see if there's any large roots moving in that direction. If there are, you could try chopping them off, since if you don't you could end up cutting the tree down anyways.

Lawn I was going to mention that, but thought WOW what a hassle!

[LwnmwnMan2]

 Originally Posted By: sparcebag

The other suggestion I could think of, is to dig down the depth of your basement and see if there's any large roots moving in that direction. If there are, you could try chopping them off, since if you don't you could end up cutting the tree down anyways.

Lawn I was going to mention that, but thought WOW what a hassle!

I agree..... also, I only mention planting an oak, since by the time it would get big enough to be causing a problem, the [PoorWordUsage] will probably be dead or in a nursing home anyways...

[reelemin]

15 - 30 feet, depending on size at maturity. No foliage should be touching the house, and no branches able to touch roof even with wind. Consider possible damage to foundation.