Maple tree 3 feet from house

[micky]

I have a tiny lot, 1/20th of an acre, iirc, including the space the house is on. It's a town house, end of group.

The first owner did great landscaping but some things have died.

I've planted some stuff myself, but I really like it when trees grow on their own.

One tulip tree is about 40 feet tall now, at the edge of the property.

And a second tulip tree has reached 8 feet in only 3 years. It will be a good replacement for a pine tree nearby which grew funny and has had most of its limbs broken off by snow. and is probably going to die. .

And a third tree has started growning, also about 3 years ago. This maple is only 3 or 4 feet tall now, but the problem is, maybe, that it's only 3 feet from the house, from the front corner of the house.

Is this maple tree a problem? For the foundation maybe, which is cinder block, about 6 feet below grade, and which so far doesn't leak at all.** The sump pump is in that corner, but the two 4" corrugated perforated black plastic pipes that feed it come in 3 or 4 feet from the corner, so I'm not sure if there is any drain pipe outside buried at the corner itself or within 3 feet of it. And if there were, I don't know if that would be a problem. Would the maple tree roots head for the perforated plastic drain pipe? It's about a foot below the basement floor, so it's about 7 feet below ground

Thanks a lot for any help on this.

** (Even though the house has settled a little and there is one one-foot crack in the sheet rock in my bedroom, between the bedroom door and the bathroom door.) .

[dadiOH]

Three feet is too close. WAYYY too close regardless of what kind of tree it is. Move it or kill it.

[Kurt Ullman]

He shoould be able to transplant it somewhere else with no problem.

[David L. Martel]

Micky,

It's too close to the house. You did not plant it. Big tree, small lot. Cut it down.

Dave M.

[Frank]

Cut them all down and plant something like a dogwood that will not grow so tall or fast.

I had to remove a maple about 20 feet from the house when it was touching the house and scraping the roofing shingles.

If by tulip, you mean tulip poplar, they get huge and I know where they have fallen in a storm and destroyed a house.

[Moe DeLoughan]

So the lot size is approximately 2100 square feet, and the townhouse takes up most of that.

The average mature tulip tree is 70-90 feet tall, 40-50 foot wide canopy. Maples generally range from 30-100 feet at maturity with a canopy of

20-60 feet.

Simply put: you haven't got anywhere *near* enough room for three full-sized trees on that lot. Get rid of the maple. Plan on getting rid of one of the tulip trees soon, too.

Fit the tree to your lot size. When you have a smaller lot, plant smaller trees.

[Don Phillipson]

This is near enough to threaten your French drain (if you have one) or foundations.

Many cities now have a staff arboriist, a source of free advice to householders in most places.

[Hannibal Lecter]

Cut that f*ing thing down now!

Trees damage foundations and roofs, both of which are expensive to repair.

[Ester]

Too close to the house, and yes the roots will head towards water. If it's a silver maple, don't waste your time transplanting. They grow too fast, they're too soft. Once the tree grows to a decent height, the branches will break in the wind.

[clare]

And a WELL POSITIONED tree can protect the roof from sun and wind damage. Trees are the lungs of our planet. I luke to have lots of trees around - just not too close to the house, and kept well trimmed. My cherry tree (at less than 8 feet) IS too close to the house, and it's been there longer than the house. It's lopsided because I keep trimming it away from the house so it doesn't overhang the roof, rub on the gable end, or rub on the siding. One of these years it will have to come down, but if it falls it will fall away from the house and only damage a fence.