Trees

[Sick of Trees]

I live in New Jersey and am having a serious problem with my neighbors tree.

She has a huge weeping willow tree on her side of the front yard. The roots are large and have grown well onto my property. I purchased my home in 2006 and within 6 months I had sewage backup into the lower level bathroom (toilet). I called our boro and they came out and cleaned the line and said it was all roots. Because there was not an outside trap (we have since had one put in)we had to remove our toilet and they cleared it that way.

The problem had been happening every 6 months or so and the boro comes out and clears the trap/line.

I have been through two bathroom floors, carpet in the family room, and baseboards. It is happening more often now. I am about to replace another bathroom floor, vanity, more baseboards and the toilet (cracked from being taken out so often.

What are my rights in regards to having the roots taken out or killed? Can I re-coop any of my loses because of this without filing an insurance claim with my insurance company?

[UCGal]

This is probably a silly question….

Have you tried talking to the neighbors?

Is the tree closer to your house than theirs? They may be having similar issues.

It’s nice that your boro will come out and clean out the lines. I’ve never seen that done unless it was an issue at the street. If the clog was on the property, the boro put it on the homeowner to clean out.

(Happened to neighbors in suburban Philly.)

[XBoxBoy]

Have no idea what your rights are regarding your neighbor, but there are chemical products you can flush down your toilet that do a decent job of killing roots. Using that once a week might make a big difference.

Even if you take out the tree, you might still need to replace your sewer line.

[svelte]

There is unrest in the forest,
There is trouble with the trees,
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas.

The trouble with the maples,
(And they’re quite convinced they’re right)
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light.
But the oaks can’t help their feelings
If they like the way they’re made.
And they wonder why the maples
Can’t be happy in their shade.

There is trouble in the forest,
And the creatures all have fled,
As the maples scream “Oppression!”
And the oaks just shake their heads

So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights.
“The oaks are just too greedy;
We will make them give us light.”
Now there’s no more oak oppression,
For they passed a noble law,
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe, and saw.

[Author]

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