Question about house add-on near cedar elm tree

[jhkillam]

Hello,

I am planning an add-on to the back of my house and there is a cedar elm nearby that I'm concerned about. My architect told me that there are no specific rules/laws in my jurisdiction about distance from trees so the decision is ours based on level of concern about how the health of the tree or the integrity of the foundation may be impacted. Essentially my question is how close would you advise I can build to this tree without removing it? I'm less concerned about branches falling on the roof (there are lots of trees already close to the house where this is an ongoing thing to manage) and more about just not killing the tree or having roots cause significant foundation movement. There are a couple other trees that I assume were here when the house was built (1979) that are within 3-4ft of the house, you can see a pecan tree in 2 of the pictures that's very close to the corner of the house.

Some pictures are attached, location is just south of Austin TX. Thanks for any input!

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Where will the addition be?

 

[jhkillam]

Trying to determine that based on advice about proximity to the tree. Added some approximate markup to these photos

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Idk....
I have some questions about your addition.
I better keep my mouth shut and let the tree experts take over.

 

[Del_]

I'd remove it.
You're going to have to dig a foundation and that is going to do significant damage to the root system.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Odds of survival are pretty low, that close to your footer.

 

[jhkillam]

Odds of survival are pretty low, that close to your footer.

The lines in the picture are not necessarily how close I need to get, I was just trying to illustrate the location for clarity about where I'm working. What is a reasonable distance to have better odds?

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Okay. I'm going to ask.
What is the purpose of the addition? Is it an additional room to the house, having access through the house, or more like a storage shed with access from outside.
Honestly, I would be more concerned with the near-zero pitch roof it will have.
But, Idk anything about construction... and I'm not an arborist. Just a homeowner with lots of trees in the yard, and just had a new roof installed on a mobile home that extended onto a covered back porch... with very little pitch.
One reason I got the new roof was because the joint between the home roof and the porch roof leaked in that valley.

 

[ElevatorGuy]

The lines in the picture are not necessarily how close I need to get, I was just trying to illustrate the location for clarity about where I'm working. What is a reasonable distance to have better odds?

The reasonable distance is where your existing foundation is… Want the addition, Take out the tree.

 

[lone wolf]

OP, will the foundation be a poured slab or concrete block? With some luck a slab might not kill it but digging for the foundation will destroy lots of roots, forget that idea !

 

[jhkillam]

OP, will the foundation be a poured slab or concrete block? With some luck a slab might not kill it but digging for the foundation will destroy lots of roots, forget that idea !

Not sure, we are just having the first couple meetings with the architect so it's still very early. I can ask about this.

The reasonable distance is where your existing foundation is… Want the addition, Take out the tree.

Okay. I'm going to ask.
What is the purpose of the addition? Is it an additional room to the house, having access through the house, or more like a storage shed with access from outside.
Honestly, I would be more concerned with the near-zero pitch roof it will have.
But, Idk anything about construction... and I'm not an arborist. Just a homeowner with lots of trees in the yard, and just had a new roof installed on a mobile home that extended onto a covered back porch... with very little pitch.
One reason I got the new roof was because the joint between the home roof and the porch roof leaked in that valley.

The purpose is relocating the master bath to be larger and then the existing master bath will become mostly closet space. We're aware about the roof pitch and the architect is considering that issue in the plans.

 

[Bullseye T&L]

@jhkillam I'm going to state the obvious. With all the money you're putting into an addition, you should probably pay a good local consulting arborist to come out. Many will come out there and walk the area with you and give you all the pros and cons, and some suggestions, for probably under $250. If you do decided to build that close to tree, you'd be wise to have one on board anyway because you may want to treat that tree with a growth regulator prior to cutting through the root system - and you WILL have to cut through the root system to some degree to pour footers. The arborist will be the ones to have to do the treatment. The best time to get an arborist on board is during the planning phase.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

The way I see it, Roots will be the biggest concern and then any limbs, tree itself etc damage.

If digging doesn't produce root issues, growth of the roots which can cause heave in the slab, growth into block or poured walls, water penetration, issues. The tree and roots should GO. I often see where people put cute little trees within 3-15 feet of a building, never considering how BIG the tree will get, how far the roots will spread etc. Then they encounter problems and learn too late.

 

[Del_]

Okay. I'm going to ask.
What is the purpose of the addition? Is it an additional room to the house, having access through the house, or more like a storage shed with access from outside.
Honestly, I would be more concerned with the near-zero pitch roof it will have.
But, Idk anything about construction... and I'm not an arborist. Just a homeowner with lots of trees in the yard, and just had a new roof installed on a mobile home that extended onto a covered back porch... with very little pitch.
One reason I got the new roof was because the joint between the home roof and the porch roof leaked in that valley.

Most likely it will be a gable type roof addition similar to what is already on the back of the house.

 

[Del_]

OP, will the foundation be a poured slab or concrete block? With some luck a slab might not kill it but digging for the foundation will destroy lots of roots, forget that idea !

Slabs need footers too.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Slabs need footers too.

You are right, but since the OP is in TX, I am sure that depth of footings is relatively shallow considering minimal chances of frost heave like here in the Mid Atlantic, Far/ North/ Mid West, North East, Canada. I am sure his architect/engineer will address this.

 

[BrentStir]

@jhkillam I'm going to state the obvious. With all the money you're putting into an addition, you should probably pay a good local consulting arborist to come out. Many will come out there and walk the area with you and give you all the pros and cons, and some suggestions, for probably under $250. If you do decided to build that close to tree, you'd be wise to have one on board anyway because you may want to treat that tree with a growth regulator prior to cutting through the root system - and you WILL have to cut through the root system to some degree to pour footers. The arborist will be the ones to have to do the treatment. The best time to get an arborist on board is during the planning phase.

I agree with bullseyes comments, but unless the tree has girdling roots on the house side, the tree should go. Cheaper now than after construction. Plant another tree further away.
If the slab/foundation is within 3 feet, another foot is needed for supports, and unless your construction workers are really careful, damage to the trunk is almost inevitable.
Best advice, take tree down now, stump out- no restrictions to addition, then plant a good sized tree further away when all done.
Retired Forester

 

[TNTreeHugger]

I agree with bullseyes comments, but unless the tree has girdling roots on the house side, the tree should go. Cheaper now than after construction. Plant another tree further away.
If the slab/foundation is within 3 feet, another foot is needed for supports, and unless your construction workers are really careful, damage to the trunk is almost inevitable.
Best advice, take tree down now, stump out- no restrictions to addition, then plant a good sized tree further away when all done.
Retired Forester

And soil compaction.

 

[Breckinridge Elkins]

I bet you end up with a 12"x12" footing and you'll have to cut all those rafter tails off to achieve a shallower roof pitch, assuming a shed roof and not a gable. You can copy those 3-tab shingles on your existing roof on the new roof down to 2:12 pitch if you double the felt underneath but I don't know what kind of wind you get. 4:12 is a safer bet, All of that is academic. It looks like you have about 10ft from the wall to the tree so unless you are just building a storage closet the tree has to go.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Honestly the fact that your architect isn't reccomending removal has me concerned about him