In article ,
says...
We have recently moved house and in the past couple of months have
experienced a large amount of cracking in the property. We feel that this
is largely due to the heavy snowfall/wet weather etc and the surounding soil
being very much clay-based.
However, a largish crack at the front of the house has worried us and a
structural surveyor has suggested that this is due to a climbing rose tree
which is planted outside the front of the house. We are dubious as we
weren't aware that such plants were deep rooted.
Is this likely to be the case? We do not know an awful lot (if anything)
about roses so any info would be helpful.

Jo



Roses are deep rooted but the idea they can cause structural damage is a
bit far fetched and sounds like surveyor speak for covering my back, much
like the well used but completely useless " The roof will eventually need
replacing"
Sounds like you have some real problems, try and avoid advice from any
surveyors linked to your insurers and possibly get a second opinion from
a reputable builder as well.
See if any of the proffesionals can give an idea how old the cracking is
as you may well have a claim against the original surveyor or even the
vendors if they knew about the problem.
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea