Neighbor complaining that tree in my yard is dropping dead branches in his.Wants tree cut. Should I?

[paperfist]

I offered my neighbor the same deal. Her tree has lifted my driveway about 5" now but she won't stop hugging the tree.

It's a 100' monster in the city next to our 2 houses. I guess when lightning eventually strikes it I get about a 50/50 chance to pull gold err chance that it lands on my house and I get a new one.

 

[Thebobo]

Pin oak chronically drops limbs while otherwise healthy. Other trees do too, but to a lesser extent. An arborist would know for sure.

Same with cherry

 

[Red Squirrel]

Shit happens, works.

Several years ago, a storm came through and a large pine tree limb fell on my Honda. The tree belongs to the city. My neighbor handled the city insurance claims at the time. As I'm walking past her office to inspect the damage, Brenda sticks her head out and says, "Denied, denied, denied." No, they didn't pay.

Sucks, if it was the other way around, your tree falling on a parked city vehicle then I bet you would have had to pay. Got to like how that works.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I offered my neighbor the same deal. Her tree has lifted my driveway about 5" now but she won't stop hugging the tree.

It's a 100' monster in the city next to our 2 houses. I guess when lightning eventually strikes it I get about a 50/50 chance to pull gold err chance that it lands on my house and I get a new one.

Technically you are allowed to trim any part of a tree that overhangs your property. Not sure about roots, but worth checking into. I would be as nice as possible about it and say it just has to be done, but if it's a major root it might be bad for the tree. Hopefully that tree is nowhere near the house or RIP weeping tiles.

 

[lxskllr]

I offered my neighbor the same deal. Her tree has lifted my driveway about 5" now but she won't stop hugging the tree.

It's a 100' monster in the city next to our 2 houses. I guess when lightning eventually strikes it I get about a 50/50 chance to pull gold err chance that it lands on my house and I get a new one.

Big trees keep the house shaded. The tards next to me cut down all their trees, and installed solar panels(green!), but their ac is constantly grinding away. My place is cloaked in bushes and tall trees. I have old leaky windows I need to reglaze, and insulation is antique by current standards, yet my last bill said I used 29% less energy than my efficient neighbors. My "(anti)solar array" takes care of itself. If a tree falls on the house, it would be a good excuse to gtfo, and head north. Aside from that, critters like my yard. There's no decent place for a bird to sit at the tard's place.

 

[Iron Woode]

My birch drops branches now and then, just normal life cycle, some branches die, some new ones sprout. Typically it drops some in big wind storms though, we get a lot of those now days.

If you feel the tree is unhealthy I would take them up on their offer to pay to cut it but if you don't want to cut it, see if they are willing to compromise, and maybe pay half the cost for an arborist to simply trim it so less of it overhangs their property.

we used to have a 3 birch tree clump in our backyard. Eventually they were attacked by birch leafminer. The young trees suffered serious damage and had to be removed.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Big trees keep the house shaded. The tards next to me cut down all their trees, and installed solar panels(green!), but their ac is constantly grinding away. My place is cloaked in bushes and tall trees. I have old leaky windows I need to reglaze, and insulation is antique by current standards, yet my last bill said I used 29% less energy than my efficient neighbors. My "(anti)solar array" takes care of itself. If a tree falls on the house, it would be a good excuse to gtfo, and head north. Aside from that, critters like my yard. There's no decent place for a bird to sit at the tard's place.

With proper attic ventilation and proper wall insulation it should not make too much a difference, but I guess it still will make one. If I do decide to put solar panels on my roof I'm kinda debating myself if I want to cut my backyard birch tree, it would let me put panels on the west side too. It's kinda a catch 22 though, I don't really want to cut a healthy tree. The more I think about it though, whatever money I would put towards solar I should just save for an off grid property instead. I don't have enough roof area to go off grid so it's almost pointless to do the house.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I used to have 30 pine trees between my house and my neighbor's house... They were on the property line, but the old SOB was very clear that they were my problem the day I moved in. After living there 3-4 years, I paid a tree crew to remove all of them ($4k+). This was mainly because the trees were 40 feet high...but more importantly, they had been topped previously, so they were all forked about 20 feet up, which made them unstable in wind storms or snow storms.

I found out, after I had them cut down that the previous owners of my house and this guy were in a legal battle because HE had paid a crew to top the trees that weren't his. I'm glad I had the trees removed for safety, but I'm just happy the old guy is dead now. I got tired of him running his mouth. (he was 84+ years old and always called me Bruce...which is not my name)

The moral of the story, don't plant anything near your property lines except for fence posts.

 

[lxskllr]

With proper attic ventilation and proper wall insulation it should not make too much a difference, but I guess it still will make one. If I do decide to put solar panels on my roof I'm kinda debating myself if I want to cut my backyard birch tree, it would let me put panels on the west side too. It's kinda a catch 22 though, I don't really want to cut a healthy tree. The more I think about it though, whatever money I would put towards solar I should just save for an off grid property instead. I don't have enough roof area to go off grid so it's almost pointless to do the house.

For you, strategically placed conifers would be better to block the winter winds. You don't get enough summer to worry about ac. A place in the country with a woodburner and some solar would probably suit you well.

 

[Thebobo]

I used to have 30 pine trees between my house and my neighbor's house... They were on the property line, but the old SOB was very clear that they were my problem the day I moved in. After living there 3-4 years, I paid a tree crew to remove all of them ($4k+). This was mainly because the trees were 40 feet high...but more importantly, they had been topped previously, so they were all forked about 20 feet up, which made them unstable in wind storms or snow storms.

I found out, after I had them cut down that the previous owners of my house and this guy were in a legal battle because HE had paid a crew to top the trees that weren't his. I'm glad I had the trees removed for safety, but I'm just happy the old guy is dead now. I got tired of him running his mouth. (he was 84+ years old and always called me Bruce...which is not my name)

The moral of the story, don't plant anything near your property lines except for fence posts.

And if you sit by the river long enough, you will see the body of your enemy float by.

 

[BoomerD]

I offered my neighbor the same deal. Her tree has lifted my driveway about 5" now but she won't stop hugging the tree.

It's a 100' monster in the city next to our 2 houses. I guess when lightning eventually strikes it I get about a 50/50 chance to pull gold err chance that it lands on my house and I get a new one.

If the tree is damaging your property, dig down and cut the root that's causing the damage. You might not be able to remove the part that's done the damage, but you should be able to stop it from getting worse. (In MOST jurisdictions in the USA, once it crossed your property line, you can cut/trim/prune it as you like. Check your local ordinances)

As for the OP....do YOU want the tree removed? Is the tree unhealthy? Have you talked to an arborist to see if it NEEDS to be removed? (and yes, the neighbor probably has the right to cut/trim/prune any branches that hang over his side of the property line)

 

[lxskllr]

I used to have 30 pine trees between my house and my neighbor's house... They were on the property line, but the old SOB was very clear that they were my problem the day I moved in. After living there 3-4 years, I paid a tree crew to remove all of them ($4k+). This was mainly because the trees were 40 feet high...but more importantly, they had been topped previously, so they were all forked about 20 feet up, which made them unstable in wind storms or snow storms.

I found out, after I had them cut down that the previous owners of my house and this guy were in a legal battle because HE had paid a crew to top the trees that weren't his. I'm glad I had the trees removed for safety, but I'm just happy the old guy is dead now. I got tired of him running his mouth. (he was 84+ years old and always called me Bruce...which is not my name)

The moral of the story, don't plant anything near your property lines except for fence posts.

Pines are bad, and topping trees is a bad practice. Once they get to a certain age, pines start self destructing. Throw some wind, heavy snow, or ice at them, and you can get a lot of work you may not feel like dealing with.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Get a quote from a couple of reputable companies. Listen to the tree guy and how he talks about the issue. I ran climbing crews for 15+yrs out of 20 and I've came across a lot of bullshitters. "Yeah I'm a Journeyman B, I can climb" "You need to go way up there come down on and limb walk out on that branch to trim that" "Way up there?" Guy reaches the top of the 20' ladder and freezes up... poor guy

 

[Scarpozzi]

And if you sit by the river long enough, you will see the body of your enemy float by.

In my experience, trees are a liability between neighbors and fences are a better property divider if there are any structures near the property lines. That's all.

I can't say the old guy was really an enemy...he was just a retired trouble maker. I'm a really good neighbor and a decent person....but he spoke often about lawyers in suggestive, threatening language that was unwarranted. I removed the trees that he damaged that I didn't plant....but he continued to be a nuisance until he passed.

 

[paperfist]

If the tree is damaging your property, dig down and cut the root that's causing the damage. You might not be able to remove the part that's done the damage, but you should be able to stop it from getting worse. (In MOST jurisdictions in the USA, once it crossed your property line, you can cut/trim/prune it as you like. Check your local ordinances)

As for the OP....do YOU want the tree removed? Is the tree unhealthy? Have you talked to an arborist to see if it NEEDS to be removed? (and yes, the neighbor probably has the right to cut/trim/prune any branches that hang over his side of the property line)

I've been thinking of doing just that, but I need to get an expert in here to check it out. The tree is literally 6" from my property and is where my driveway is located. on the other side is the neighbors driveway and then a concrete sidewalk so there has to be a ton of roots under my driveway and if I cut them too deep I'm concerned that I'll undermine the tree's structure.

Big trees keep the house shaded. The tards next to me cut down all their trees, and installed solar panels(green!), but their ac is constantly grinding away. My place is cloaked in bushes and tall trees. I have old leaky windows I need to reglaze, and insulation is antique by current standards, yet my last bill said I used 29% less energy than my efficient neighbors. My "(anti)solar array" takes care of itself. If a tree falls on the house, it would be a good excuse to gtfo, and head north. Aside from that, critters like my yard. There's no decent place for a bird to sit at the tard's place.

I knew trees provide nice shade and lower A/C bills, but didn't know they also insulate well

The tree I want to take down doesn't effect sun light till 6-7 at night in the summer. Not a huge loss, but the tree is a pretty magnificent Pine that's have a long life and not really hurting anyone.

I did take some down in my back yard, but I replaced them with some better placed Maples that shade both my other neighbors and I.

I used to have 30 pine trees between my house and my neighbor's house... They were on the property line, but the old SOB was very clear that they were my problem the day I moved in. After living there 3-4 years, I paid a tree crew to remove all of them ($4k+). This was mainly because the trees were 40 feet high...but more importantly, they had been topped previously, so they were all forked about 20 feet up, which made them unstable in wind storms or snow storms.

I found out, after I had them cut down that the previous owners of my house and this guy were in a legal battle because HE had paid a crew to top the trees that weren't his. I'm glad I had the trees removed for safety, but I'm just happy the old guy is dead now. I got tired of him running his mouth. (he was 84+ years old and always called me Bruce...which is not my name)

The moral of the story, don't plant anything near your property lines except for fence posts.

So topping them is bad? I planted 5 Maples that are suppose to get no more than 40' tall, but are now exceeding that. I planted them about 6' off the property line near my other 5 neighbors property line and while they love the shade I'm concerned about them reaching to the sky and wanted to get them topped.