Toppling tree: engineering solution?
Discussion
My neighbour across the road has a large ( 30 ft plus tall and about 3 feet trunk diameter) and leaning willow tree. It reaches right over the road and grows behind a 4 foot high wall which retains his garden behind, so the tree roots are actually behind the wall above road level. We are alos on a hill so the forces are at all sorts of angles between the tree weight, the hill and the wall. The stone wall has shown large cracks for years which didn't seem to be getting any worse. Then yesterday afternoon without warning the wall literally 'exploded', spilling stone across the verge and onto the road and leaving a hole about 3 feet across in the side of the wall. It isn't right the way through to the soil behind, it looks like the outer 2 feet of stone have been ejected under pressusre.
I am not sure what his plans are but if the whole wall goes and takes the tree with it there is a danger it will fall on my house and the bedroom where we sleep. I know he won't want to lose the tree if he can safely save it and wondered how successful any sort of engineering solution might be. I had thought for some time that if he had bolted steel across the wall and put in some steel buttressing into the verge, then covered that with stone or plants to look OK it may have kept it back.
Any other ideas?
I suspect this may cost him money as the tree has also eaten the telpehone lines over the years so it would have to be carefully removed if there isn't a safe engineering solution. I just hope he does it before the winter winds!
I am not sure what his plans are but if the whole wall goes and takes the tree with it there is a danger it will fall on my house and the bedroom where we sleep. I know he won't want to lose the tree if he can safely save it and wondered how successful any sort of engineering solution might be. I had thought for some time that if he had bolted steel across the wall and put in some steel buttressing into the verge, then covered that with stone or plants to look OK it may have kept it back.
Any other ideas?
I suspect this may cost him money as the tree has also eaten the telpehone lines over the years so it would have to be carefully removed if there isn't a safe engineering solution. I just hope he does it before the winter winds!
Busamav said:
Pollard the tree and kep it under control thereafter .
It will come back very very quickly .
I suggested this to them a few years ago after the weight on the telephone wires was pulling the pole over. They declined saying it would spoil the street scene (which is pictureesque with the tree in full flow). I suspect they would rather take it out than pollard and spoil the look it but this is geting costly for them as they had a leter from the Highways people a few months ago and had to get it trimmed as delivery lorries were catching it.It will come back very very quickly .
Busamav said:
seriously , it will be back quicker than you can imagine, then they get a chance to actually look after it properly 
Thanks, I wil mention it to them when I see them today. They are very nice sensible people so I can't see a problem unless it falls on my house before they get it done!I have the same situation with a tree growing near to a dry stone wall, with the wall already starting to lean. I expect the wall will come down, then I shall rebuild the wall, making a bridge construction over the rootes of the tree.
This year, both at home and with buy to let properties, I have had more problems than any previous years, with trees causing damage to walls, telephone lines and overhanging complaints from neighbours etc.
This year, both at home and with buy to let properties, I have had more problems than any previous years, with trees causing damage to walls, telephone lines and overhanging complaints from neighbours etc.
I think this years weather must have provided ideal growing conditions for certain plants and trees. One of my old roses (25/30 years old), has grown more than double its usual growth for the year.
As to trees; if the rain continues to soak the ground, thus loosening the soil/hold on the trees roots. One good blow of wind will see a good few trees departing this world.
As to trees; if the rain continues to soak the ground, thus loosening the soil/hold on the trees roots. One good blow of wind will see a good few trees departing this world.
TimJMS said:
BBC forecast for the week has just said we are in for a very windy week. You might want to get it pollarded today.
If it's cut back, it'll look crap for about a year, two at the most, then it'll really shoot up and fill out again. Well worth doing rather than chopping it down altogether. Willow is BAD near houses because of the roots if you didn't already know.
It looks like the tree may be staying.
The builder says it is the relatively new ( just 100 years old) outer wall which has popped open, the old wall behind still looks quite stable. Although some of the unsupported stone has now fallen out the wall behind doesn't look bad at all. I think this is the chance to concrete some steel mesh into the old wall and re-face it.
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