Tag Archives: Strategies

Tree Root Damage to Foundation: Prevention and Protection Strategies

January 26, 2026   Michelle

Introduction

For many homeowners, mature trees provide shade, beauty, and increased property value. However, the same trees that enhance our landscapes can pose a significant threat to our home’s foundation when their roots grow unchecked. Tree root damage to foundations is a common and costly issue, often resulting in cracked walls, uneven floors, and compromised structural integrity. Understanding how to prevent this damage is essential for maintaining both your landscape and your home’s safety.

How Tree Roots Can Damage Foundations

Tree roots seek moisture and nutrients, and they can exert tremendous pressure as they grow. The primary mechanisms of damage include:

  • 1. Direct Pressure::

    • Large, growing roots can press against foundation walls, causing them to crack, bow, or shift.

  • 2. Soil Moisture Fluctuation::

    • Roots absorb large volumes of water from the soil, especially during dry periods. This can cause the soil to shrink and settle unevenly beneath the foundation, leading to sinking or cracking—a process known as subsidence.

  • 3. Invasion of Cracks::

    • Small, seeking roots can infiltrate existing cracks or gaps in foundations, expanding them over time.

    Proactive Prevention Strategies

    The most effective approach to foundation protection is proactive planning and smart landscaping.

    1. Strategic Tree Selection and Placement
    * Know Your Trees: Research the mature size and root spread of any tree before planting. Species like willows, poplars, American elms, and silver maples are known for aggressive, water-seeking root systems and should be planted far from structures.
    * Follow the Distance Rule: A general guideline is to plant trees at a distance from your home equal to or greater than their anticipated mature height. For larger species, this often means 20 feet or more.
    * Choose Foundation-Friendly Species: Opt for trees with less invasive root systems, such as Japanese maple, dogwood, crabapple, or certain ornamental fruit trees.

    2. Install Root Barriers
    Root barriers are physical barriers made of plastic or metal installed vertically in the soil between a tree and your foundation.
    * How They Work: They deflect roots downward, away from the foundation, while still allowing the tree to access water and nutrients from deeper soil layers.
    * Best Practice: Installation is most effective when the tree is young. For existing trees, professional installation is recommended to minimize root damage during the process.

    3. Implement Proper Watering and Drainage
    * Maintain Consistent Soil Moisture: Avoid drastic wet/dry cycles around your foundation. During extended dry periods, consider using a soaker hose at the drip line (the ground area under the outer circumference of the tree branches) to encourage roots to seek water away from the house.
    * Direct Water Away: Ensure your gutter downspouts extend at least 5-10 feet away from the foundation to prevent creating a concentrated moisture source that attracts roots.

    4. Regular Inspection and Maintenance
    * Monitor for Warning Signs: Regularly check for early signs of trouble, such as new cracks in interior walls or exterior foundation, doors/windows that stick, or visible gaps.
    * Inspect the Landscape: Look for surface roots heading toward the house or areas of soil heaving near the foundation.

    What to Do If You Suspect Existing Damage

    If you notice signs of potential root intrusion or foundation movement:

  • 1. Consult Professionals::

    • Contact a licensed arborist to assess the tree’s health and root activity, and a structural engineer or foundation repair specialist to evaluate the damage.

  • 2. Avoid Drastic Action::

    • Do not immediately cut large roots or remove the tree without expert advice. Sudden removal can cause the saturated soil to swell (a phenomenon called “heave”), leading to further upward movement of the foundation.

  • 3. Explore Managed Solutions::

    • Professionals may recommend root pruning (done correctly to avoid killing the tree), installing a barrier retroactively, or using chemical growth inhibitors in specific cases.

    Conclusion

    Preventing tree root damage to your foundation is a balance between enjoying the benefits of mature trees and protecting your most valuable asset—your home. By choosing the right trees, planting them at a safe distance, employing root barriers, and managing soil moisture, you can mitigate risks effectively. Regular vigilance and seeking professional advice at the first sign of trouble are the final, crucial steps in a comprehensive prevention strategy. With careful planning and maintenance, you can foster a beautiful, safe, and stable landscape for years to come.

    Read More

    Simple Strategies On How To Efficiently Improve Your House

    May 12, 2024   Matt

    Simple Strategies On How To Efficiently Improve Your House

    I guess you could say I’ve been involved in-home improvement projects quite often in my life. At this very minute my husband is finishing the drywall in our living room, and will soon be painting it. While it’s great to see the finished product, the process can be very messy.

    Building a rock climbing wall on an outside or inside wall of ones home can be a great improvement. Not only will it be a unique feature for ones home but it will also be able to be used for a fun exercise and will be sure to be a hit with the family.

    If your home is an older house there’s a good chance you might have outdated PVC windows, which are difficult to maintain and often yellow with age. Replacing the PVC with modern plate glass can make a significant difference in the look of the house. Glass windows will also allow more natural sunlight into your home, creating a more open, inviting atmosphere.

    Don’t throw out paintbrushes and rollers each time you use them! They can be cleaned and reused as long as you take care of them. Paint pans can be cleaned by letting them dry and then peeling off the paint. Don’t waste your money on pan liners as cleaning the pan itself is simple.

    Put in an outdoor motion detector for your outside lighting. This way the lights will only be on when they are activated and not all day or all night unnecessarily. Most people don’t need their outside lights other than when they come home or leave after dark.

    This tip might seem like it is common sense, but you’d be shocked at just how many people do not shut off the main water supply before attempting plumbing repairs. You might cut off the water to a direct outlet, like the sink or toilet, but as long as the main is still online you could end up flooding your home.

    Improving your home’s curb appeal can be as easy as replacing a mailbox. A new, more modern mailbox can make your home feel upgraded. The project can often be completed in less than two hours. Just be sure to follow any Home Owners’ Association guidelines when picking your mailbox out.

    If your carpet has lots of unsightly dents from moving furniture around during a home improvement project, use a fork to fluff the carpet fibers back to their original shape. The tines are the ideal size for re-plumping fibers that have been flattened by the heavy legs of your sofa or coffee table.

    Put a skirt on your bathroom sink! Tired of seeing those tired old pipes every time you go into your bathroom? Buy a pretty piece of fabric from the sewing center, cut it to size, and hem around all four edges. Run a cord through the top hem and gather the curtain so it hangs daintily in place.

    We have a home which is over 100 years old and updating it has been an ongoing process over the past five years. We have a new dining room, two new bathrooms and half of a new kitchen. Recently, my husband installed four new windows and put new siding on half of the house. I can’t wait for the whole thing to be done!

    Read More

    Easy Plumbing Strategies That Work Efficiently And Anyone Can Try

    March 21, 2024   Matt

    Easy Plumbing Strategies That Work Efficiently And Anyone Can Try

    When it comes to plumbing, you want to make sure that you are getting the best advice available. Use the tips and tricks provided in this article to ensure that you are getting reliable information to use at home and it will not lead to further, unwanted costs down the road.

    A bad faucet might need new parts. If you need to change the cap, cut it on the side with a rotary tool. Cut the exterior part and the plastic seal, but make sure you stay clear of the brass inside of it. You can easily replace the exterior of the cap and the seal.

    Before embarking on a plumbing project, make sure that you’re aware of where the shutoff valve for water in your home is, as well as the valves for shutting off individual structures like sinks, toilets, etc. This way, if something goes wrong, you’ll be able to stop the water flow.

    Do not place items in the toilets that do not belong there. For example, if you are a female, do not throw away sanitary pads or tampons in your toilet. This could cause severe damage to your toilet that could require a plumber, or even worse, a whole new toilet!

    Do not put cooking oils, fat, or grease, down your drain. These fats cause clogs by solidifying in pipes. To properly dispose of fats, put them in a bowl with a lid that you can dispose of. Once it gets hard, throw it in the trash or compost bin.

    If you are going to update the plumbing in your house, one thing to consider is installing a new tank-less water heater. They are much smaller than traditional tank heaters, which is a space-saver. Tank-less water heaters are available in gas or electric, depending on what your house needs.

    If you have infrequently used drains in your house, you should pour water into them on a regular basis. This water will fill the trap and will prevent odors from entering the house. If you have slow floor drains, you should snake them to ensure they are capable of carrying water away quickly in the event of a flood.

    If you are having any kind of problems with your water line or plumbing in general then you will first want to cut of your water supply. One of the most common mistakes that people make is to leave their water running while they are trying to fix things and this leads to bigger problems.

    When facing temperatures below freezing in the winter it is important to leave the hot water dripping. This makes sure that the pipes don’t freeze over and saves you the expensive repair of fixing and or entirely replacing a broken pipe. The slight cost of dripping hot water is well worth saving you from that large expense of replacing a broken pipe.

    In conclusion, it is important that you back yourself up with a great base knowledge of plumbing. Ideally, you were able to find this article both informative and interesting. Use this great information and you will find that you will save a lot of money, as opposed to having to hire a professional.

    Read More

    Strategies On How To Do Plumbing Right

    December 12, 2023   Matt

    Strategies On How To Do Plumbing Right

    Have you ever poured grease from a pan down your sink? Do you know how bad this can be for your plumbing system? Use the expert advice in this article for many more critical tips and tricks that you need to know in regards to your home plumbing.

    Do not, under any circumstances, put lemons down your disposal. Although the lemon smell will give your disposal a great smell, its acid can corrode the metal parts in it. Instead, use products that are made specifically for this use. You can purchase these products at most hardware stores or wherever cleaning products are sold.

    Keep an eye on the grout between tiles in your bathroom. Watch for cracks and areas where the grout seems to be falling out, and repair them immediately. Small grout crack issues can be easily repaired by pulling out the bad and putting in new grout. Allow any new grout to dry completely before exposing it to water.

    In any DIY plumbing project, make sure that you always test the drains and the supply lines before you close up the walls. It is a lot easier to find and solve problems if you look for them while you are still in the process of actively doing the job.

    Never pour grease down the kitchen-sink drain. This will help you avoid clogs in your kitchen sink. Place grease in a can or other receptacles and dispose of in the trash. Grease that has congealed on pots, and pans can be wiped off with paper towels that can be thrown in the trash.

    To conserve hot water each day, run your dishwasher late at night. This will help to maintain an adequate water level for your guests and for your chores in the morning or afternoon. Also, you can increase the supply of water available to you for cooking meals throughout the day.

    If the pipes have burst in an upstairs area, use a tool to perforate the ceiling underneath in several places and places pots and pans under to catch the water. If this is not done, the weight of the accumulating water could cause a collapse of the entire ceiling.

    Regular maintenance of your plumbing lines is a great idea. Your options are getting your lines snaked or jetted. Jetted is a technology that is proven more effective than snaking is. It gets deeper and cleans harder. So jetting is a good idea next time you are having maintenance performed on your lines.

    Make sure everyone that lives in your house knows where to find and use the main water shut off valve in case there is a burst pipe emergency. This is especially important if you live in an area where your pipes may freeze. Take a moment to show your family members where the valve is and how to properly shut it off.

    In conclusion, you now know how bad it is to put oil or grease down your drain. Even if you already knew that, you now know how important it is to avoid this and many other potential disastrous situations. Hopefully you can start using this advice today and have a well working plumbing system in your house.

    Read More

    Winning Strategies That Will Sell Your Home

    April 14, 2022   Matt

    Winning Strategies That Will Sell Your Home

    There are different categories of real estate and different terms you will need to know if you’re a seller. In fact, there are a lot of things you need to know, in order to effectively move your properties in today’s marketplace. Check out this article for some helpful information on how to sell your real estate.

    You should make yourself scarce when potential buyers are viewing your home. Any opinions you try to give them will seem biased and make you seem like you are being pushy. Allow them to look at it on their own or with a realtor, so that they can make a decision on their own about whether they like it or not.

    Choose your real estate agent carefully. When looking for a real estate agent, choose one that is familiar with the neighborhood in which you are looking. They will be aware of a reasonable price to offer, and will also be able to tell you if your house is expected to increase in value in the future.

    Staging your house can be one of the most effective tools for selling in a difficult market. Keep your house as neutral as possible, removing personal pictures and painting walls an ivory, light brown, or off white. This allows a potential buyer to picture themselves as the homeowner, rather than you.

    If you have an excessive amount of furniture in your living area it may be a good idea to have a lot of the excess removed and placed into storage for a while. Many people rely on space when they look at homes and having less furniture allows them to get a better visual.

    If you decide to paint the outside of your home, take a good look at the other homes on your street. It is a good idea to paint your home in a color that will be unique, however, make sure that it does not stick out like a sore thumb among the rest of the homes.

    As a seller, before showing your home to anyone, be sure to have it professionally cleaned. Cleaning the home yourself is an option, but you want to put your best foot forward so that any prospective buyer can imagine his or her family in the home. A professional cleaner will give your house a deep cleaning, without damaging anything. This will let you focus on other aspects of the sale.

    Your house should smell fresh. If you have pets or you smoke, you may have become accustomed to the smell. Have a friend come over and give you an honest opinion. If there are any lingering smells, scrub the house from top to bottom, open all the windows to get some fresh air in, and throw out anything that is beyond help. Don’t fall into the trap of using scented candles or a strong air freshener. If a prospective buyer doesn’t like that particular scent, they may be put off the house entirely.

    At the end of the day, selling real estate doesn’t have to be a very difficult process. As long as you’re reading and following tips like in this article, you should be just fine, as long as you’re willing to put them into practice and follow through with anything you start.

    Read More

    Strategies On How To Easily Deal With Arthritis 5

    March 10, 2022   Matt

    Strategies On How To Easily Deal With Arthritis

    With so many treatment options and over-the-counter medications claiming to eliminate and cure arthritis, it can be very difficult to determine your best course of action for dealing with pain and inflammation. Fortunately, this handpicked selection of tips and tricks can make it easier for you to make an informed decision.

    While cleaning the house is important, it should not be done all at once, without breaks, and without the help of other family members. Different activities performed while cleaning the house are relentless and awkward, producing unneeded stress on the body. While the house must be clean, do it the right way.

    For those who suffer from osteoarthritis, it is important that you have enough Vitamin C in your diet. Medical research has shown that Vitamin C reduces pain in osteoarthritis patients and helps prevent it in young people. You can get Vitamin C from many fruits, such as oranges, or you can take a supplement.

    It is important that you try not to put too much stress on your joints if you suffer from arthritis. The only thing that this is going to do is make your arthritis worse. Instead, be sure that you don’t overdo it when you have to use your arms or legs for an activity.

    Take the time to have your family educated about your rheumatoid arthritis and the different challenges that will occur while you live with this condition. There are classes available through The Arthritis Foundation, and there are many books available that can be used to teach your family about the condition.

    Did you know that using a cane could take up to twenty per cent of your body weight off your legs and hips? This means you could reduce the strain and pressure on your legs while being able to move easily. Ask your doctor about canes and find out if it is right for you.

    Alternate hot and cold treatments. Your joints can easily overdo it, so switching between hot and cold packs can soothe pain and reduce swelling. Try not to do these treatments too often, as over-icing or heating can lead to more issues down the road. Aim for twice a day at the maximum.

    Be sure to include plenty of Omega 3 Fatty Acids in your diet. You can get this substance in capsule form as a dietary supplement and/or by eating foods rich in Omega 3 Fatty acids such as nut, oily fish and flax seeds. Omega 3 fatty acids have an anti-inflammatory effect as well as padding and lubricating your joints to relieve arthritis pain.

    If you suffer with arthritis household chores can be difficult. When cleaning the bathtub or shower, wet the area first, sprinkle comet or cleanser over the water. Wait a few minutes and clean up with a mop. No bending, no pain!

    Whether you opt for dietary supplements, surgery, physical therapy, or otherwise, follow the advice in this article for relief from pain and inflammation caused by arthritis. Becoming more knowledgeable about your condition, will make it considerably easier to make more informed and realistic decisions about your intended mode of therapy and action plan for recovery.

    Read More
    « Older posts

    • Subscribe

    Support us!

    If you like this site please subscribe