On Sun, 18 May 2003 07:53:58 +0100, "Martin Richards"
wrote:



Our house is one of three sharing a drive from the road. The drive crosses
the front of the houses, so with the width of the drive and parking, I guess
the opposite fence is about 30 feet from the front of the house. When we
moved in, growing against this fence there was a small silver birch, perhaps
8-10 feet high from memory. Five years on, it's now got to be heading for
25-30 feet.


As Anthony says, the tree is unlikely to pose a problem to the house
at that distance, however if the drains run under the drive the roots
could be a problem if there's a slight leak. Birch love moist
conditions and the roots will seek out any leaks and can block the
drains if they're not in good order. If the drains are fairly new, or
generally in good condition, then I wouldn't worry, otherwise I'd keep
an eye on the situation just incase.

At the moment, it looks really nice and doesn't cause any problems. But
seeing some silver birches near my parents' house that are I guess heading
for 40 years and 50-60 feet, I do wonder just how big this thing is going to
grow...

That's more or less the maximum height, they're not really large
trees, nor particularly long lived.



--
Pete The Gardener
A room without books is like a body without a soul.