Renovating with significant trees

July 20, 2019

Has anyone had experience renovating with significant trees nearby?

Our neighbours have 3 gigantic trees on the fenceline (10-15m high) and we have just had an arborist report with recommendations including that demolition/excavation be hand dug under supervision of an arborist and that we fence off/and use protective covering within the tree protection zone of 8.4m (taking up over half of our backyard). We also will need to utilise root sensitive techniques with regards to what subfloor we use... not sure if this will be slab or stumps yet.

Have others had similar recommendations and what was your experience?? Just working out the feasibility and logistics of how this will work.

Awaiting to hear back from my building designer with his thoughts but curious to hear from others...

Comments (13)

Jacqueline French
Pic attached
July 20, 2019
oklouise
double check with neighbours about any long term plans for their home and garden...can one or all the trees be trimmed or removed to suit both properties and any tree preservation regs...i've designed a renovation for a house with heritage trees and it forced the design to be Lshaped with a raised floor around the protection area with only loose laid gravel paving to the drip line but the resulting skillion roof with full height windows has a gorgeous view into the tree that screens harsh afternoon sun but always depends on available space etc
July 20, 2019
Related Discussions
Renovating 1970's brick home
Q
Comments (21)
I agree you wouldn't need to do much to improve this property greatly and depending on your budget you could do a lot of different things. The main issues I would look at here is the roof, carport and paint like some of the other comments on here I would pressure wash the roof, get it painted if you want to spend the money, Improve the outside of the house either by rendering and painting we do this to a lot on older brick properties if you just render the front of the house you can save money on rendering the whole house. It works out pretty cheap really, I would put some piers up out the front where your carport is and at the front of your porch. Maybe look at getting your driveway resurfaced you could get it painted with a stencil added to it at low cost. I would improve your porch either with a bit of decking or paving The garden out the front is nice and tidy but a rendered front fence or planter box addition here would have a huge effect on the front aesthetics of the property. We do all of these type of improvements on a regular basis and you would be surprised at how little they can cost and how much value it adds to the property. Lastly paint your gutters and improve your front door remember first impressions last a good quality front door can make a world of difference it doesn't look too bad though so I would probably just paint it. Good luck with whatever you choose I hope it turns out amazing.
...See More
Buying to renovate - what do we look for?
Q
Comments (26)
an old house in an area that you want to live in while you do all the work of a very carefully planned renovation staged to minimise big loans will add value only if everyone who lives with you can either contribute financially or physically and has the time and energy to at least make dinner while you paint. Building new is much cheaper than renovating but old places are often in better locations. Provided the old place is liveable you can save rent while you save for the next stage of the reno but there'll always be unexpected costs of both time and money eg for our latest reno: about $4000 to remove asbestos from an old laundry and bathroom, $8000 to remove trees, weeks of back breaking labour to remove old plasterboards and carpet, ripping thousands of nails from timber floors to discover the boards were beyond restoration, collecting rubbish and rubble from demolished brick walls and loading at least 20 loads into the ute and driving to the tip and paying to unload it ....but the old stove, doors and windows sold on Gumtree and Ebay and redundant electrical wiring and metal taken to the scrap dealer paid for quite a few take away dinners and didn't we have fun together?
...See More
Would you renovate this Aussie brick veneer? Help us decide!
Q
Comments (12)
The plan looks a nightmare - bedrooms facing the street, a tiny internal bathroom with no window to the outside (is that legal?) and a "lounge" that looks like it was meant to be a third bedroom. If the internal walls are stud and don't support the roof you're in with a chance, but I'd say to do a proper job the cheap option is NOT going to work. I'd put two bedrooms where the current family room and lounge are and extend the bathroom into the boot room to give window access, or scrap the current bathroom altogether and use some of the space in what is now the kitchen for a new one. Keeping the WC separate is a good move. If you make the street side the social side of the house you can open it right out and create a big front porch that's a social spill-over from the kitchen/dining area, creating indoor-outdoor flow. Planting (two or three shade trees and some stands of tall perennials rather than a "green fence" hedge) keeps your front garden private yet inviting and stops your front porch becoming a stage set for the street. Good luck! I think you'll turn this very ordinary house into a much nicer place to live!
...See More
Which kitchen renovation do you think was the most effective?
Q
Comments (1)
I'm not sure how we are supposed to choose which design we prefer when all 3 'after' designs are so similar? All galley kitchens with an island.
...See More
PRO
MB Design & Drafting
Depends on council in many cases.

Personally I'd be considering to remove the tree completely or even better design around them.

You'll upset the tree whatever you do. Sometimes they recover well sometimes they don't.
July 20, 2019
PRO
Dr Retro House Calls
Sounds expensive. Did your designer do any type of site analysis before commencing the design? This issue should have been flagged by your designer at an early stage. Perhaps your new extension could have been designed to avoid this conflict. I think you need to chat to neighbours and council. If you were my neighbour I probably wouldn't want to cut down my significant trees to accommodate your extension.

Best of luck,

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls
July 20, 2019
siriuskey
If they are Gums they won't be missed in a built up area, they can be extremely messy and very dangerous
July 20, 2019
PRO
Paul Di Stefano Design
100% agree with Retro - the first thing you (should) do as a designer is survey and analyse the site for constraints. Existing significant trees, whether your own or actually more importantly neighbouring trees, should be negotiated and managed as a constrain not dissimilar to a planning setback constraint or similar. You may be able to negotiate the dig or foundation design with $$$ but potentially it may be proven not financial viable or worth it.

Established trees can be considered very valuable to a property landscaping, gums or whatever species, in that they create a particular natural outlook.

That said I think technically the law is that you have the right to remove branches or roots of a neighbouring tree on your boundary. BUT depending upon your local planning policy the trees may be protected by vegetation/design overlay or significant tree objectives.

I'd be seeking advice beyond just your building designer - ie council/building surveyor/legal etc
July 20, 2019
siriuskey
Gums were part of the development, planning, landscaping process from the 70-80's, which have been shown to have been a bad choice in residential areas and your average block, no one considered their size and how unstable they can be, dropping large limbs and being uprooted in storms. Sydneys North Shore is testament to that.

Our current house is from that period and the obligatory Gums were planted one of which when it was very large came down onto the roof of the house causing major damage, the others were promptly removed.

I'am all for preserving trees but the right ones in the right situation, I have my fingers crossed that these trees are the right type for this position, good luck
July 20, 2019
Jacqueline French
Thanks for all the comments

We have been considering the trees the whole way through the design process and moved our pool recognising that it would be unlikely to get through near the trees...

The arborist and designer both think our plans are realistic and the house is built no closer than what the neighbours have done. The garage is closer but canary palms can usually be transplanted so unlikely to be too disruptive to its root system.

We don’t expect the neighbours to remove the trees (one is a ghost maple and the other two are canary palms that are only 1.5m apart) although that would be amazing as I hate them being so close.

I am more curious to understand anyone else’s experience and the logistics of being tree sensitive during the building process and the costs incurred. Is it normal for the arborist to be onsite for demo and excavation? Are we better to dig a trench prior to the build to go in with our eyes wide open rather than wait and see approach....
July 21, 2019
Alisa D
The problem with trees is they create movement in the soil in comparison to areas of the slab where there are no trees. This can be resolved with piers. Then there are species of trees that have invasive roots. In this circumstance you will need to install a root barrier.
July 21, 2019
siriuskey
The Palms can be moved and even sold onto a nursery, if access is difficult they would need to use a Crane but all included with sale.
July 21, 2019
Jacqueline French
It would be amazing if they could even transplant one of their palms however I’m not holding my breath!
July 21, 2019
PRO
Timandra Design & Landscaping
The TPI - tree protection zone is in place for a reason. The TPI aims to protect existing trees at all costs.
Trees are valuable in our suburbs not only for aesthetics, but also the positive environmental impacts engendered.
Do you know what the trees are? If they're short-lived species, negotiation with neighbours could be helpful.
July 23, 2019
PRO
Timandra Design & Landscaping
I have just read that they are Palms. Most palms have very contained root systems - that's why they transplant better than some plants.
A palm is not a tree. But they can still get big, and often have a very long life.
I don't believe that you can expect your neighbours to remove them for your build. You will need to work with them in situ.
July 23, 2019

Renovating with significant trees

Comments (13)

Related Discussions