A beautifully landscaped garden with rolling lawns and magnificent trees is a dream for many home buyers! After all, who doesn’t love a nice piece of land full of mature trees? But beware – trees can also be a liability and big trees can lead to big bills! Large trees that are growing too close to your house can be a costly hazardous. Before you buy a home because you have fallen in love with the mature trees and well-established garden, hire a qualified arborist to visit the property with you to assess the trees and give you some advice about whether you will need tree removal completed in the near future. Or you might find those magnificent mature trees close to your new home quickly go from strong selling point to bitter disappointment.The Dangers of Large Trees – Above GroundThere are a number of benefits to buying a house with a well-established garden. Large mature trees around your home are a natural energy saver. Strategically placed trees can save you over 50% on your annual air-conditioning costs in summer and in winter evergreen trees can reduce the need for heating by up to 50%. Trees can also provide privacy from your neighbours and reduce urban noise by 50%. But these same trees can be a threat during strong winds and winter storms.Large trees can be toppled by severe storms, strong winds, or lightning strikes and can come crashing down on your home or vehicles. It is not just the entire tree that you have to worry about either, large broken branches can be blown around and pose a serious threat to the safety of your home and family. To protect your property, always make sure that large tree branches do not hang over your roof and have your mature trees pruned regularly by a qualified arborist. If you suspect that any trees in your garden are dead or dying, contact a tree removal service to have them assess and remove any problem trees or branches. To protect your large mature trees from lightning strikes, get an arborist to ground the trees with copper cable systems. Depending on the number and size of the trees, this can be costly, but it will be nowhere near as much as the cost of repairing your home or replacing your roof after a tree has fallen on it.The Dangers of Large Trees – Below GroundIt is not just above ground that trees can cause a problem for homeowners, they can be just as destructive below the surface. When water and sewer pipes develop small cracks, roots can quickly work their way through the openings and block or burst your pipes, causing water and sewage to leak into your garden. Worse still, certain tree species have shallow or invasive roots that can burrow under your home, causing the ground to become unstable and settle unevenly, damaging the foundations of your property. Make sure that any trees with invasive roots are not planted closer than 10 feet from your house, driveway or patio and 20 to 30 feet from your water and sewer lines. Any tree that’s root system is causing damage to your foundation will most likely require a full tree removal.Mature trees are incredibly beautiful, they can add to the value of your property and reduce your energy costs but if they are planted too close to your home or are old and dying, they can be dangerous and destructive. Before you buy a home surrounded by large trees consult an arborist, like Martin’s Tree Services to assess the trees and give you professional advice. If you have mature trees on your property, ask Martin’s Tree Services to inspect the trees for root rot, dead branches and trunk cracks and remove any dead trees. Steve Martin I have a profound interest in trees and their natural beauty. I grew up on a hobby farm ten minutes north of Waterloo and spent many winters in the bush collecting firewood to heat our family home. It was definitely work, so I wasn’t always eager as a young boy to help my father and big brother, but I learned to love the process... READ MORE