Removing a tree from your property can be a trying process. It gets even more complicated when you’re removing the tree to protect your foundation.
When removals go wrong, it can feel like you committed to a bunch of work for no reason. Luckily, you can work on your own or with the help of professionals to secure your foundation and keep a tree’s remains from aggravating your foundation’s damage.
Assessing Your Removal
If you’re still experiencing problems with seepage, water damage, or foundation cracks in your home after you’ve had a tree removed from your property, you’ll need to take steps to determine whether or not something went wrong with your removal. You can start by:
Visiting the Removal Site
You’ll want to give your home at least a week of respite after removing a tree from your property. This way, you can determine whether something’s actually gone wrong with your removal. If you’re still seeing cracks or water damage inside your home post-removal, head out to your removal site. It’s possible there may still be roots thriving at your removal site or that you didn’t properly remove your tree. If you had a team of tree removal professionals come out and work for you, the situation may be much the same.
While inspecting the removal site, keep an eye out for any lumps or bumps that might indicate the presence of roots beneath the ground. If you or your professional team neglected the tree’s diameter, it’s more than likely that your root system is still thriving just out of sight.
Checking Your Stump
Opting to leave a stump in the ground post-removal can save you work if you want to remove a tree yourself. If you want a team of professionals to remove a tree from your property, you can save money on your expenses by having them leave the stump behind. Unfortunately, in both cases, you risk continued root-related foundation damage.
If you’ve traced the water or structural damage in your home back to this tree specifically, you’re going to want to remove the stump as soon as possible. You can call on a team of professionals to do this, or you – with the appropriate tools – can remove it on your own time.
Using Chemical Root Killers
Root killers may not have the impact you want them to on a whole tree, but they can do a lot of work on a stump and underground root system. If you don’t feel up to removing a stump or want to try and chase down any lingering roots that may be disrupting your foundation’s structural integrity, chemical root killers are the way to go. Dilute these root killers and put them at the base of your stump or around the removal site. After a few days, you should be able to confidently invest in home repairs without having to worry about the continued potential for root-related damage.
Get in Touch with Your Team
If you had professionals remove a tree for you but you’re still seeing water or structural damage, then you’ll want to call them back out to your home. You can have them look over the site of your removal and dig out any errant roots themselves. Alternatively, many professionals will have their own tricks for more comprehensively attending to a removal. Whatever those tricks may be, don’t hesitate to call your team back in if you think their job isn’t done.
Waterproofing Your Home
Note that while some of the damage done unto your home can be attributed to a tree’s roots, it’s never the roots themselves clawing away at your home’s structural supports. Instead, as a tree’s roots grow, they can disrupt the stability of the soil beneath your home. When roots leave gaps behind them, your foundation can start to sink or settle.
Ideally, you’ll want to plant trees with more invasive root systems a minimum of 20 feet away from the perimeter of your home. If it does come to the point where you need to invest in pruning services, you can try to reduce a tree’s root growth before having it entirely removed.
Even after a removal, you’re going to need to invest in home waterproofing measures if you want to keep your home as dry as possible. These can include interior drainage and sump pump systems.
Alternatively, you can consider regrading your perimeter or investing in external drainage systems. Some common foundation repairs to fix and protect your home include piering and wall reinforcement solutions.
Not sure where to get started after a removal? Reach out to one of the professional foundation and basement repair contractors working in the Grand Junction, CO, area. After a home inspection, a contractor can provide you with a free quote on the waterproofing or foundation repair services you may need.
