9 Reasons Hiring a Tree Removal Expert Can Keep Your Trees From Damaging Your Home
Trees are a fabulous asset to any property and offer shade, privacy, protection, fruit, and a place to enjoy nature. Unfortunately, some trees cause issues if they grow close to your house, and if they are in decline, they can potentially cause serious damage. Large trees, over time, may have an impact on your house’s foundations, roof, retaining walls and fences. The consequences of ignoring changes in your trees or their impact on your home could be catastrophic.
Understanding the risks associated with unsafe trees is important for every homeowner. This blog highlights nine reasons why hiring a professional Arborist helps protect your home and family. Removing dangerous trees early helps prevent costly repairs, avoids emergencies, and keeps your home safe and secure for the future.
1. Identify Issues That May Impact the Structural Integrity of the Tree
A declining tree, one that is in poor health, or a tree that is compromised, is not always obvious. Branches that have broken or torn off may leave a wound that the tree is unable to completely seal or heal over. This may become a site for pests and pathogens to enter the vascular system and compromise its health. Any wound site should be tidied up to allow the tree to heal completely and promptly.
Heartwood decay may be identified by fungal bracts that appear on the trunk; they may look like mushrooms. Monitoring of these bracts, and removal of limbs that show signs of decay, will help with any decisions around the safety of the tree, property and people.
A professional Arborist can perform a visual assessment to detect issues early. They can proactively remove limbs or even the entire tree before it becomes a danger. Early intervention protects both people and property.
2. Safe Removal of Dangerous Trees Before a Storm
New Zealand’s weather can bring strong winds, heavy rain, and storms that put trees at risk of failure. Trees that are weak, damaged, or diseased have a higher chance of toppling in bad weather. Trees that fall on homes, driveways, or vehicles during a storm may have to wait for more favourable weather before they can be removed.
Qualified arborists have the training and equipment to assess a tree’s risk of failing during a storm. Warning signs such as excessive leaning, cracks in the trunk, fungal bracts, tip dieback, ground heave, and deformed foliage may indicate a tree is in poor health.
Proactively removing dangerous trees before extreme weather protects your property and family from harm and may also avoid emergency situations that can disrupt your life and result in costly call-outs.
3. Remove Dead Trees That Could Fail at Any Time
Dead or dying trees lose their structural stability. Branches and trunks can snap or collapse without warning. Dead trees pose a serious threat, particularly if they are near homes, driveways, or power lines.
An arborist and tree removal expert is experienced in safely managing dead trees. Removing these trees presents added difficulty and risks, as a dead tree does not behave the same way a healthy tree does. Dead trees are particularly dangerous and unpredictable, so any removal should involve a very considered and well-planned approach from a professional.
A qualified arborist may use many methods to remove the dead tree, including utilising other healthy trees to form rigging systems and anchor points to support controlled lowering of branches to the ground.
In some cases, mechanical support with a hiab or crane could be the best option. Hiring a professional means the job is done safely and carefully.
4. Prune Branches Away From Power Lines
Trees near powerlines are your responsibility. Careful management ensuring a good clearance zone around powerlines will minimise any disruption to the power. Branches that touch the powerlines can arc and burn the foliage while tripping the power supply, ultimately causing a power outage. Branches overhanging power lines can be dangerous. Strong winds, heavy rain and storms may break branches, which can damage your roof or cut your electricity supply. Falling branches can cause broken tiles and damage to the roof, and even snap lines or break power poles.
Professional arborists assess the danger and plan a methodology to trim or remove branches safely while causing no damage to the lines or property. In some cases, removing the entire tree is the best way to eliminate the risk.
Maintenance of your trees around your powerlines will minimise any risks of power outages and potential damage to your property.
5. Monitor Potential Threats From Roots Compromising Your Home’s Foundations
Tree roots can cause house foundations to be compromised. Roots searching for water can cause some soil shrinkage and sinking, compromising soil stability. As roots grow and expand, they can also put physical pressure against the foundations, causing them to crack or shift. Any leaks in plumbing may see roots exploit this and cause further damage as they seek water during times when water is scarce.
Planting near homes should involve some research to ensure the species is appropriate for the space and proximity to the house.
Arborists can advise which species are more likely to affect the foundations of your home and ways to potentially prevent damage in the future.
6. Avoids Costly Roof and Wall Repairs
When a tree falls on a house, repair bills can quickly escalate. This could involve roof damage, electrical damage, as well as damage to windows and walls. Although insurance may cover the bulk of the costs, the disruption can be hard to manage with power outages, managing repairmen or painters, and insurance companies, as well as relocating when necessary.
Removing dead or declining trees before they cause damage is a cost-effective choice. Our arborists are tree removal experts and can provide clear advice on which trees are dangerous and need attention. Acting early protects your home from preventable harm and can offer peace of mind knowing your property is secure.
7. Remove Trees No Longer Fit for the Space
Sometimes, large mature trees no longer suit the design of your property. Homes may have undergone alterations or additions, new buildings may have been added, or a swimming pool may have been installed. Large trees near buildings, driveways, or walkways can limit options for landscaping or outdoor use.
Hiring an arborist and tree removal expert can create a clear space for more suitable landscaping. Once a decision has been made, these trees will need to be removed carefully to ensure no damage is done to the surrounding garden and property. Once removed, you can redesign your outdoor area to include more appropriate trees with the future in mind.
8. Helps You Stay Covered by Insurance
Insurance companies have many and varied policies regarding trees and their liability. Having a tree removal expert assess and address risks shows that you took reasonable steps to protect your home. If an insurance company can prove that the tree was visually and clearly in decline or dead, and you did not take any action, you may not be covered.
If you have a tree that you suspect is not in great health, call the professionals to assess the tree’s stability. Arborists can use a number of indicators to assess your tree’s safety and general health, which include excessive leaning, cracks in the trunk, fibre buckling, or decayed wood that may not be immediately obvious.
9. Protects Your Home’s Value and Your Family’s Safety
A large tree can be considered an asset or a liability to potential buyers. The presence of a substantial mature specimen tree may provoke conversations around the structural integrity of the tree and potential issues around safety and maintenance.
An assessment by an arborist can give confidence to potential buyers as well as provide critical information to the homeowner on what proactive work may be required to ensure the tree is safe.
Removing a dangerous tree may increase the value or appeal of your property.
Don’t Ignore Potentially Dangerous Trees Near Your Property
Dangerous trees that fall can cause more than just damage. They can disrupt your life, leave you with an uninhabitable home, and harm those that you love.
Early action not only saves money but also safeguards your family’s place to live. If you notice signs of tree damage or poor tree health, don’t wait until it’s too late. Call an expert like The Treeman to make a professional assessment and provide some guidance on how to improve the tree’s health or eliminate the threat of a large branch breaking or a tree failing altogether.