Can tree roots penetrate foundations?

[Stephen W. Stanczyk]

I also saw that house on HGTV and the liquid amber tree. The amazing thing is the tree was 85 feet away and had been taken down a couple years earlier. It was the root system and all the suckers that kept coming up. Last I heard they had to jack the house up, scrape the whole yard down something like 3 feet, pour a new foundation and reset the house. And then there was the pool repairs also. $650k in repairs.

[john bubber]

Roots......yet another reason for exterior waterproofing,uh huh...got milk?

Does any interior water-diverting system remove roots off the outside of
a basement wall?
Here`s a root that caused cracks which then allowed water to enter basement.Why is OK w/some to leave roots,expansive soil
against the outside of a wall and install an inside system?
Leave the 'cause' of a crack/bowed wall against the wall,really? http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/A...283_111847456/


Remove the root,the cause and then waterproof the cracks,not damproofing.And backfill w/most-all gravel http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/A...283_111847456/


Other cracks right around the corner http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/A...283_111847456/


http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/A...283_111847456/
Here is one pic of the INSIDE CORNER, you don`t see the cracks that are on the outside of the blocks,only crack ya see at corner on inside is a STEP crack. Just because you may NOT see cracks on the inside of block wall.......crawls.....does not at all mean there aren`t crack(s) on the outside....or cracked/deteriorated parging which is all it takes for water to enter. And quite a few block basement walls and most crawls were not even parged on the outside,sheesh.There will be open JOINTS between the blocks on the outside. These facts amd quite a few others the Haege`s of the world do not get and apparently NEVER will!

Roots under driveways can cause cracks-in-parging http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/A...283_111847456/

No parging on outside of block wall
http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/A...8283_111847456

[Rob London]

Originally Posted by jbraun

If they find a crack, they can penetrate. Also they can put excessive pressure against the foundation.

I just made some research calls and it seems like this is true. They need a crack. So that's what I'm going with, unless someone can prove otherwise!

[Erol Kartal]

Originally Posted by rlondon

I just made some research calls and it seems like this is true. They need a crack. So that's what I'm going with, unless someone can prove otherwise!

To say that a tree root can't damage a foundation wall unless it has an existing crack is inaccurate. There are very few materials that can shield against root damage. One being thick, solid steel...

[Rob London]

Originally Posted by ekartal

To say that a tree root can't damage a foundation wall unless it has an existing crack is inaccurate. There are very few materials that can shield against root damage. One being thick, solid steel...

Not saying you're wrong, but can you show me some evidence? Such as verification from a very reliable source?

[Richard A. Hetzel]

No question, tree roots CAUSE cracks. Or am I to believe that, like the blind squirrel who finds an acorn, a tree root will head directly toward a crack in an otherwise uncracked wall, and penetrate it there? Who needs a "very reliable source" when mere logic proves the point?

[James H. Bushart]

I've read the letter from S. Jacobsen (P.E. and S.E.) to the JLC in their 10/09 edition and I have to say that he presents a logical and clear description of the effect of tree roots on clay soil that is supporting a building.

As J. Braun described, the root sucking the moisture from the clay - the resulting collapse and settlement damage - the root continuing to grow through the crack in search of more moisture...would appear to the naked eye as a root breaking through a foundation.

With the lack of the contrary evidence requested, I am ready to accept the engineer's report.

[Marcel R. Cyr]

One can be surprised where tree roots will end up.
They run out of moisture outside, they chase it inside in this FUBAR'd foundation and basement slab design.

[Nick Gromicko]

Rob, the answer to your question as posed is yes. Can they cause foundation cracks directly? No.

[Russel Ray]

The direct answer if you have ficus or eucalyptus trees on your property is yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. Roots don't need a crack. All they need is something in their way, like a building. I can't believe no one here is a gardener and has seen what roots can do to a simple clay pot. When tree roots run out of space, they'll do everything they can to get more space. It doesn't have to be simple moisture that they are after.