oatmealeater

Original poster here... just posted an update..

Wow, Mike. That is a sobering tale!! Now my husband thinks we should call the insurance company just to make sure we are covering our bases on the due diligence side of things. We have an arborist coming out on Thursday, so I will update you all on what they say. We had been letting these trees go for years without pruning, but now I think we need to take a more responsible approach.

Thanks, Steve. You are right. We need to call an arborist. That's what we'll do.

Thanks! That is helpful. We do think our foundation is in good shape, but again, we are just laypeople. We did do an inspection in 2008 and it passed. But now we have a child and the issue weighs heavily on my mind. Are there any good home inspection companies in the DC area? I just need some peace of mind. How much would it cost if we just had an inspector come out and look at our foundation? Is this like a $200 job or a $1000 job? Is peace of mind a completely elusive concept when you're talking foundations and trees?

UPDATE: I wanted to post an update because I received so many helpful responses from all of you. We had an arborist out to look at the trees. There are a few serious wounds in one tree, but they are both still solid and healthy i.e. not a threat to our house. We arranged to have some nutrient treatments applied and she will be back every year to have a look at them. Also, she assured me that when the tree with the serious wounds in it does need to be brought down, there are many options for planting other trees around the site to keep erosion and other land issues at bay. I feel much less fearful about the whole issue now and that has made me realize that I really love those trees! They bring a lot of shade to our whole house and they are just really beautiful. So, thanks, everyone, for helping to allay my fears and for urging me to get an arborist out stat. Original message follows: Hello, I apologize for the long entry here and lack of any technical understanding, so please bear with me as I explain my dilemma: Our house was built in 1947. We've lived in it since 2008. It's a nice little cape cod right outside of DC. There are two very big, very tall red maple trees that were probably planted when the house was built. They are close to the house (about 4-5 feet from the outside of the house) and very thick, probably about 6 feet around, maybe wider. They give the house a lot of shade, which is nice. There is a big wound in one of the trees, that I was told would eventually be fatal. I am also always worried about these mammoth trees falling on our house during a big storm. And finally, I am worried that if we cut down one or both of the trees (a job that would cost over $10,000, I'm told) the roots would decompose and cause serious damage to the foundation of our house. Right now, there are no large cracks in the outside of the house, the basement is pretty dry, and the unfinished part of the basement also doesn't appear to have any large cracks. My question is this: 1) how likely do you think it is that these trees may have already caused damage to the foundation or structural integrity of the house? 2) Are these trees a huge liability? Should we get the hell out of this house while we're still alive? Click to Enlarge 40.64 KB