Can I keep these Leyland Cypress trees this close to the house?

[akom]

I have these two Leyland Cypress trees that are over 30' tall now ... they are about 2' from the foundation, and are planted in a tiny strip of soil between the house and concrete driveway. A landscaper told me that they are a hazard to the concrete/foundation/house. They are nice though, so my questions are:

• Can I keep these, and, if so, will topping/trimming them keep the roots in check?
• What would be reasonable replacements? (All I can think of is an Emerald Green Thuja)

Location: Asheville, NC (Zone 7), West-facing location (partial shade, full afternoon sun).

Thanks!

 

[Raintree]

Long overdue for replacement, emerald greens would work. Look up columnar evergreens for ideas.

 

[Tobystihl]

Hazard to the foundations and a fire risk too!

 

[ElevatorGuy]

They shouldn’t have been placed there to start with. Those need to go!

 

[akom]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the vote of confidence.
I didn't want to cut them down if I could help it, as they are beautiful and are loved by birds, raccoons and opossums.

 

[Whiskers]

Degroots Spire would also be a narrow thuja option

 

[akom]

Went with Emerald Greens. Thanks everyone!
The half-dead little pines by the steps may be next up for replacement.

 

[ElevatorGuy]

Much better!

 

[Whiskers]

Lol, before and after pics. Looks great, now you can see the nice house.

 

[benjo75]

100% better!

 

[mncutter]

Massive improvement to curb appeal in addition to avoiding headaches with your house. Nice work!

 

[Section VIII]

I'm a former home inspector and we wrote up ALL vegetation planted too close to the home/building/structure. Mostly for roots possibly damaging the home and a way for pests to enter the home.

 

[computeruser]

I'm a former home inspector and we wrote up ALL vegetation planted too close to the home/building/structure. Mostly for roots possibly damaging the home and a way for pests to enter the home.

Was the root issue raised in your write up based on supposition or something more? How did you define “too close” for this purpose?