Unmaintained Trees

How Unmaintained Trees Can Damage Your Property

Feb 7, 2023

Trees improve air quality, boost property value, and shelter your home from strong winds. Unfortunately, the same plants can be detrimental if you ignore proper maintenance practices like trimming and dead wood removal.

Unmaintained trees can damage the value of your property as well as other things. We have outlined potential issues below. 

1. Tree Roots Can Damage Your Home’s Foundation

Your home’s strength is dependent on the foundation. This component’s primary duty is to hold up the entire building and bolster its stability.  It also distributes the structure’s total load to a larger underlying support area.

Sadly, tree roots can wreak havoc on your home’s foundation if you let them grow wild. As you know, tree roots are opportunistic and try to tunnel through whatever they can. 

Suppose your foundation has cracks or breaches. In that case, tree roots will exploit these openings and exacerbate present issues. For instance, they may squeeze into minor fractures and enlarge them as they grow and explore new territories.

Tell-tale signs of tree root damage on your foundation include fractures across your foundation’s footing and upheavals in your slab.

2. Tree Branches Can Damage Your Windows

A common issue most homeowners face involves long tree branches that scrape against window panes. This issue is often annoying and can give your loved ones sleepless nights. It may also leave scratches on the panes and destroy their visual appeal.

To make matters worse, sometimes, gusts of wind encourage tree branches to escalate their movement from gentle scrapping to violent slamming. In extreme cases, such actions lead to broken window panes and shards of glass in your living spaces.

Sizable branches can also fly through your windows and break or rip out the frames. Since window glass replacement alone can cost around $12 per square foot, broken panes and frames together can cost you a fortune.

3. Overgrown Tree Limbs Can Hit Your Home’s Roof

Tree limbs can catalyze your roofing system’s damage and deterioration in various ways. They can scratch the shingles, forcing them to wear down faster. If you let this issue escalate, the entire roof’s condition will become weak and undermine your home’s value in the long run.

Overgrown branches also give animals such as squirrels, raccoons, and possums access to your roof, which is terrible news. Why? Raccoons and other critters damage your roof while searching for perfect nesting spots. For instance, they pull apart vents and soffits, among other components.

If large branches cover your roof, it may affect its ability to release moisture. That is a significant issue that leads to many other complications, including rotten components, accelerated mold growth, and rusted nails.

That isn’t all. During extreme weather, big branches can break off and fall on your roof, causing major damage and repair expenses.

4. Tree Roots Can Lead to Plumbing Issues

Tree roots constantly search for moisture, which water pipes have in plenty. If your plumbing system has loose joints or cracks, the liquid leaking out will attract tree roots. Roots will use any exploitable weaknesses to aggressively invade your drains and pipes.

When tree roots attack your plumbing system, they create larger cracks, break apart joints, and lead to invasive damage. They also reduce pipe flow and may cause blockages and sewer backups.

Issues such as slow-emptying drains, low water pressure, and foul drain odors are an indication that tree roots have invaded your plumbing system.

Hire Professional Tree Removal Services Today

A damaged foundation, shattered windows, broken shingles, and plumbing problems are but a few of the issues that can arise from unmaintained trees. If you want to avoid the risks caused by trees, talk to Patrick Musser Tree Service.

We offer expert tree trimming in DC, Northern VA, Maryland, and surrounding areas. Our team can also tackle dangerous trees and deadwood. Contact us now for more information. 

Do Your Trees Need Some Attention?

certified arborist isa
md certified tree expert