Ivy soon to be growing on homes

[Gregory A. Liebig]

We're not quite there yet in the "North Country" but the 1928 home I inspected yesterday will soon have it's annual coat of Ivy come back to life. Overall the home is in quite good condition and the masonry exterior is sound.

I saw an article Chicago Ivy that appears to promote the ivy growth. I was told to keep it off the homes. Any other suggestions would be helpful.

Thank you

[mthomas2]

I've never seen actual damage to masonry surfaces, but I have seen parapet caps dislodged by ivy growing underneath them, damage to wood surfaces where climbing plants held moisture, vinyl and aluminum siding dislodged by expanding stems, and at least one insurer in my area flags heavy ivy growth as a potential problem.

[Barry Adair]

You be the judge.

http://www.bia.org/pdfs/Ivy%20on%20Brickwork.pdf