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Maintaining the upkeep of your home and garden is one of the things that you should always keep on top of, no matter how you feel about DIY jobs. If the maintenance of your property is left to decline it can cause all sorts of further damage to your property that is not just cosmetic but structural as well.
Structural damage is so much harder and costly to get repaired. Taking up a lot of time and money and having to call in specialists to get these structural jobs repaired may not be covered by your insurance. The quality of maintenance that is expected of you is not up to the standard that is expected of you, as a property owner.
Some jobs around the home and garden can be kept under a good level of control for minimal finances if you obtain the right help on a regular basis. When maintaining your garden, finding a local tree surgery company to come and do the bulk of the work that needs attending to, will be worth the financial expense.
The damage that can occur in your garden with poor tree maintenance
Although your trees may look very lustrous and pretty in the height of the summer, the same can not always be said for the colder, harsh months that are to follow. When you do not keep your trees trimmed and cut back, disastrous things can occur when the blustery wind starts to hit your garden. Damage that occurs to branches will often be left unseen in warmer months due to the trees being surrounded by leaves.
As the winter hits any damaged branches are at huge risk of falling away from the trunk and either hurting a person or damaging something in your garden or your neighbours. If a tree branch for instance falls onto a neighbour’s property and damages it then the likelihood is they will want you to pay for the repairs. Now whether you think they are incorrect in assuming you will stump up for the bill required to fix the damage, this is likely to cause a huge problem and possibly a legal dispute depending on the cost of damage and if anyone got hurt.
Trees that are on the boundaries of both properties may cause an issue so finding out who is responsible for these, will in turn stop any foreseeable problems before they begin. Trees that sit on the boundaries of neighbours property need to be trimmed, cut and taken care of because it is not only the respectful thing to do but to ensure that their garden is not destroyed in any way.
Overgrown trees that are too close to properties and the damage that occurs
Overgrown trees will often destroy anything in their way, the problem with large roots is that they will just keep growing, the more space they have to reach out, and as long as they have access to water, the larger roots will grow. They can cause your patio to start to pull upwards or driveways to start moving, creating cracks which will mean tearing up the whole area and replacing it, that is just the visual damage that can be seen.
If the damage is starting to appear near the home then it is possible and more than likely that you may have foundation problems starting, and some structural damage to repair on the home too. If your neighbour’s home and yours join then this will result in a huge financial mess depending on the damage that occurs to both properties.
If the trees you own are of roof height to the home, then there is a possibility that there can be tiles affected, either by movement or the weight of heavy branches pushing down on them causing breakages. Other problems that occur are that when a tree is of roof height, your gutters will fill up with debris, from leaves blowing off the branches and getting caught or remaining stuck.
If your trees are next to public walkways
You have a duty of care when it comes to what you have planted in your garden, it does not matter if it is the front garden or the back. There are laws in place that hold you legally responsible if you fail, or neglect to keep your trees to a safe height, width and in general good level of maintenance. Just as you are responsible if your trees damage your neighbours property you are equally at fault if your trees cause any problems on a public walkway.
The best way to make sure you stay within the law and your property boundaries are to hire a professional. A specialist who deals with the maintenance of your garden can deal directly with any occurring problems and eradicate them as soon as they are noticed. Many tree surgeons have an array of knowledge when it comes to gardening, they will have studied many different types of trees, plants, shrubs and come across many solvable problems in their experiences.
It is also advisable that if an overgrown tree that the council is responsible for is overgrowing into your boundaries you report this to the correct authorities. It is a more friendly and neighbourly thing to do however that if the tree or plants that are encroaching on your property are your neighbours, that you talk to them before reporting this as an incident and having it formally logged. They may already have something booked or could be waiting for the correct permission. Some trees need to have permission to be cut or trimmed, especially if they are protected.
Hiring a professional to help you
Hiring professionals to keep your garden under control may be an added financial cost but the amount you get them out to your home to help with this can be set a limited number of times per year, once the initial revamp or update of your garden is done, there is no reason you can not maintain the tidiness of it until the bigger important jobs need re doing. By obtaining the precise help with regaining control over your garden it will save you many financial implications in the future if continuing to be left in a dire maintenance condition.
Make the most of the advice given, it may be that a professional will suggest renovating the whole garden is going to be a better way to keep your trees under control. Starting with a blank canvas is sometimes a better route to take when it comes to gardens. It can give you the garden you want, if this is the case your old plants will not be killed or wasted, they will keep which ones are sensible for the space you have. They can direct you in a responsible way of either re-homing some of your plants or they may know somewhere that can take them off your hands for local projects.
Conclusion
No matter how much you want to ignore that huge mass of a tree that’s blocking all the sunlight from coming into your home, it is never a good idea to do so. As tempting as it may be to ignore it this month, then possibly even the one after, the financial implications will not be worth it if problems end up becoming apparent.
The safety of those who are coming and going into your property is solely your responsibility, so keeping up with jobs that could harm someone or put them in danger is a job that should be at the top of the priority list. Keeping in mind that if an accident does happen you will be held legally responsible.
Take the opportunity to make the most of hiring a professional to come and give you a quote about what needs doing?, what is a must? and things that can wait, you never know the budget you have may even stretch to some new plants or the fish pond you have had planned for the past 5 years.