Adventures In Home Ownership - Ice and Trees Don’t Mix
Late last night, continuing into this morning, we have had an ice storm here. School was cancelled, so my son is missing his holiday party at school. Boo hoo. But back to the storm.
We have several big trees on our property. Our homeowners association actually has written into their bylaws that each house must have two trees over ten feet in height. Judging by our neighbors, I don’t think the bylaws are actually really enforced anymore (another bylaw is no fence over 4 feet high and there are three neighbors in sight with fences much taller than that) but our house does indeed have the required tall trees. One of said trees is pretty close to our house, and about 30 feet taller than our house (which is a two story).
That tree lost a limb this morning from the weight of all the ice, and scraped our house on the way down. There seems to be no damage to our house, thankfully, but where this limb broke off of a larger limb still on the tree is bowed over, and looks as if it might be coming down too. And if it does, it may smack our house just a little harder than its smaller counterpart.
It is an odd feeling - I look out the window and ponder what might be about to happen to the house. Once my spouse gets home tonight, we will have to figure out if we want to try and pull the limb down in a more controlled manner than it finally breaking off would be. If we think we can. We plan to leave early tomorrow morning and be gone for a week to visit family, and I know I don’t want to leave with a half-broken limb hanging down next to the house. I don’t think when you ask neighbors to keep an eye on your house when you’re gone, it includes fixing broken parts of house caused by big tree limbs.
I remember being up at night waiting for the other financial shoe to drop. Now I’m waiting for a tree instead. Ah, the joys of owning a home.
We’ll be traveling over the next week and depending on my internet connection availability, posting will be somewhat sporadic. Have a wonderful holiday and I’ll try to provide some food for thought as we head into the new year. Keep the credit cards away from the stores! And have a lovely holiday.
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December 19th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Hey girl,
You might consider calling today and getting a tree service out (if you can, bet they are busy). It won’t be cheap but it would be cheaper than home damage including water damage if something happens while you are outta there.
Happy Holidays!
December 19th, 2008 at 11:25 am
I have considered the tree service but haven’t found one that can come today yet. Silly tree. Happy holidays to you too!
December 19th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
I completely understand. Moved into our very first house earlier this year (May 30th). On June 10 at approx. 9:20 PM one of the trees in my backyard fell on our house and damaged 1 month old siding. We’re still feeling the financial effects of that tree.
December 19th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Hope you figure out a solution. Have a safe trip, and Happy Holidays!
December 19th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
BTW, have to laugh at the Ads that have popped up on your blog page via GoggleAds
December 20th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Wow! Perfect timing.
Better get a tree guy in there to lop off the dangerous limb. All you’ll need is a high wind or another ice storm to complete the picture. Also, a good arborist may be able to prune the tree so that it will be unlikely to pose another problem for quite a while.
After a tornado-that-was-not-a-tornado swept through our downtown area, insurance companies have been sending inspectors around the entire city and then telling customers they have to cut down trees that are close to their homes. One neighbor was told her homeowner’s insurance would be canceled if she didn’t cut down a spectacular jacaranda adjudged to be too close to the house.
December 20th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
We had a big tree limb fall on our roof last year. It must have weighed a few hundred pounds. Very scary. I had the kids sleep in the living room instead of their bedrooms because I was afraid the tree would fall on them. So we all slept in the living room that night.
We did have a professional take it down and I have slept better ever since.
December 26th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Prevention is always better than a cure.
Get a professional and trim off that branch before it does any serious damage. Mom’s the word speaks truly.