Help!!?
Question:I have a pine tree approx 3 stories high, 6 feet from my deck edge and 12 feet from my house. We stay in a condo complex and apparantly they got a specialist in to say the roots will not damage the foundations or basement. The roots not only spread up to the foundations but also dropping black stuff and staining my deck and making my deck sticky. What I need to know, is can these roots cause damage because i do not believe the condo association saying a specialist was out, and why is my deck going black. Thanks
Answers:
First thing I would do is ask the association for a copy of the 'specialist's' report. Any reputable arborist/ contractor would have provided something in writing. If they have no copy, then I would ask for the person's name (company) and place a call of my own. I would be curious as to how somebody could guarantee that roots of any kind could not create a potential problem for a foundation. I don't believe a pine is as much of a concern as a willow would be (those actively seek water sources and go long distances). If you have noticed any sign of water leakage in the area of the tree (into your basement if you have one) then something is affecting the integrity of the foundation. Without that it will be difficult to see, but not impossible.
As for the 'black stuff,' it's probably sap, either blowing onto your deck or dropping through the activity of various birds/animals. Not much you can do to stop it, save removing the tree or putting up a canopy. The black is more than likely simply bark residue/dirt which has adhered to the sap. We had a home with the same situation (pine tree and deck). For aesthetics, we simply stained the deck a darker color and applied an overcoat of protective stain. We still had to clean the deck regularly however, but at least the stain from the dropping sap wasn't permanent.
sry cannot help there
It depends. Does the association have a written record of a specialist coming out? If they do, then you have the right to see that, then possibly you could hire the same person to check it out again. If they don't have a written record, then it is possible that they made it up, but that could get them into trouble, so I can't imagine why they would do that.
The long and short, get somebody over there to look at the roots and give you a damage report. Chances are, anybody who knows anything about the roots would be able to tell you what's going on with the black stuff on the deck as well.
put a roof over your deck it would cheper and easer than cutting the tree.
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