neighbor issue

9 years ago

I live in a townhouse in a city neighborhood. The backyards (postage stamp size) are lined with a six foot high brick wall that is broken up by gates that allow access to each person's space. The section of the wall that I share with my next door neighbor has been made unstable because the roots of the very large tree in my neighbor's backyard have pushed out the adjacent section of the wall. There is a noticeable swell in the wall that stretches from the ground to the top.
Some months ago, the neighbor approached me and said that he wanted to rebuild the wall. I said that is a good idea. Later his contractor stopped by and gave me the bid and indicated that it was his impression I was going to pay half. I didn't agree to that, and I asked the contractor what was going to happen to the tree. The plan was to cut the roots off.
After some thinking, I wrote my neighbor that although it was clear that his tree was the source of our problem (the walls of everyone else are in good condition and there is the visible swell in the wall), I was willing to pay 1/3 of the cost (about 2,000) but only if the tree was taken down. In my view, cutting back the roots of the tree was likely to kill it, making it a hazard to both our homes and the wall, and that if the tree survived, it might continue to grow and we'd be back to square one.
Neighbor is unhappy with this solution because 1) he loves the tree 2) taking down the tree in this confined city neighborhood would cost about 5K. Ideas? Thoughts?

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Comments (4)

toxcrusadr
9 years ago
Well you two are really up a tree on this one. LOL

The mistake was planting a tree that would get that large so close to the fence.

That tree is not going to get any cheaper to remove and if it dies and falls on something, or pieces fall off of it, it's going to cost even more to repair the damage. Better to bite the bullet now than wait for it to get worse. What does the neighbor think will happen eventually? All trees die.

I think you were very generous to offer to pay even 1/3 since the problem is entirely on his side.

I am shocked at the price of tree removal though. My neighbor and I just split the cost of removing a 24" diameter, 60 ft tall cottonwood on our shared property line, and it was $900 (including grinding the stump). Of course it's suburban yards with no fences so there was plenty of room to drive a cherry picker machine back there and send someone up to drop limbs. No gates to go through either. Maybe the conditions there increases the level of effort. But I would get more than one estimate before deciding how much it's going to cost.
sedona16
9 years ago
If the neighbor loves the tree he's not going to cut it down. It could live on for decades! It most likely will outlive your crumbling wall. With postage stamp size backyards, he is lucky to have a mature tree. I expect he'll continue to wait and not take your offer.
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sunnyca_gw
9 years ago
Living in a townhouse don't you have to take it up with your association before you do anything? Do out here as they have a column in paper about things like this. Big tree may be causing roof rot ,undermining his foundation sure they will want to look at it. My bro lived in 1 long ago & he couldn't even put a screen door(fancy nice one) on. So better discuss it with management!
lindac92
9 years ago
that tree is not your problem. I would some how, perhaps a registered letter? make sure that your neighbor knows you are aware of the danger HIS TREE poses to your property and then ignore it and let nature take it's course