OK to chop down leylandii next to house?

Just bought a house with one of those huge leylandii-type triffid things (just one) planted outside the front door. Surveyor mentioned it as a 'caution', and no damage to the house is evident, but I defintely want rid of it. The beast's trunk is about 4-5" diameter at the base; it reaches up to the guttering (1st floor, so about 17' tall?) and is only about 18" from the front wall of the house.

I believe that simply chopping it down could cause more harm than good, ie if there are roots under the property which then rot away leaving voids... can anyone advise what I should do? Chop it down in stages? If so, by how much? and over what period?

Thanks David

Reply to
Lobster
Loading thread data ...

If it's 17' tall. the root ball should be just over 3' wide. You might find that the roots don't go under the house at all. Maybe you could dig a small hole between the tree and the house to have a look?

Al

Reply to
Al Reynolds

4-5", that's tiny! We have Leylandii with 12" or more diameter trunks down either side of our drive (we are cutting them down slowly).

If it really is only the size you say then the roots won't be all that big or long, just cut it down. It also takes a *long* time for Leylandii to rot so I don't think you'll get voids at all (anyway it would only rot down to an earth like consistency wouldn't it?).

Reply to
usenet

I heard that leylandi roots are very shallow anyway - that's why they blow over easily

Reply to
AK

At that size it has not gone anywhere where it will cause damage. Just dig it up as soon as possible. It has to go.

Fist cut it down to about four feet and use the remaining part of the stem to rock it as you dig. You will have it up in a few minutes.

Regards, Emrys Davies.

Reply to
Emrys Davies

Emrys Davies wrote: :: At that size it has not gone anywhere where it will cause damage. :: Just dig it up as soon as possible. It has to go. :: :: Fist cut it down to about four feet and use the remaining part of :: the stem to rock it as you dig. You will have it up in a few :: minutes. :: :: Regards, :: Emrys Davies. :: Or do what I did, chop it down at ground level or a few inches above and stick a planter over the stump until it's rotted away!

Reply to
Phil L

You should be OK. Subsidence is often caused by the tree sucking large amounts of water out of clay soil. The a tree of the size and species you have should not be a problem. Cutting it off level with the ground is best since you will not disturb the roots. They will take ages to rot so don't worry about them. It would be a different matter if you had something like a willow that is the thirstiest of the lot.

Reply to
Peter Crosland

I once had an involvment with a house which had a 'screen' of 20'-25' leylendii planted along a path, about 3' from the wall. The building had cracked & was being monitored by a surveyor. His advice then was to trim them. The trees had caused subsidence by sucking water from the sub-soil making it contract. Removing the trees would have caused swelling of the sub-soil, and would have further added to the problems.

I'd think you should fell it in instalments, but leave a 6'or 8' stub to finally lever the roots out, as previously suggested by another.

Reply to
Aidan

"Lobster" wrote in news:OoPcd.377$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe3-win.ntli.net:

It's probably best to pour a gallon of petrol over it then light it

Reply to
alan

If it's only 18" away from the wall of the house, it would seem prudent to remove it now. If the house has suspended as opposed to solid ground floors, the lateral pressure of the root ball could cause a problem if the tree were allowed to continued to grow.

Being old and lazy, I'd hire someone to remove it and take it away!

Reply to
BAC

Reply to
Tumbleweed

I had a ten foot one a couple of feet from the back corner of the house that was blocking the garden path, I cut it back hard on that side and it died. I gave it a shove and it just toppled, the root ball was less than a foot across with a few straggly roots reaching out.

Reply to
Rob Morley

Can you saw Leylandii up and use it as pine?

NT

Reply to
N. Thornton

Probably; cypress wood is sometimes used, though of course it isn't pine, and I've no idea of its characteristics. But you'd need a tall trunk a lot thicker than 12" at the base to get any usable timber.

Mike.

Reply to
Mike Lyle

It's actually quite a lot denser and harder than pine.

When we started cutting down our biggish Leylandii I spent quite a while searching around the internet to find what the wood was going to be like, principally for burning on our stove.

Basically it's not half so bad as some people try and persuade you (as wood that is, no comment on the beauty or otherwise of the trees). If dried enough, as most other wood, it burns quite satisfactorily. One site I found rated it as middling quality for burning which is about our experience.

One other thing it's very good for is surviving untreated out of doors. We have some 4" to 6" diameter posts laid on the ground to mark out an arena that have been there for several years now and they're still very sound even though the horses have chewed the bark off completely.

Reply to
usenet

This is why I and others often recommend chopping the trunk down to say 8' and using it to train a Clematis or rose up it.

Reply to
Sacha

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.