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Trees are wonderful aspects of your home’s property, as they provide shade, food, and shelter for animals, as well as improve curb appeal. While trees have many benefits, it is also important to have a full understanding of their health, and the possible risks they may add to your property. Getting a tree assessment is crucial to keep an eye on the trees surrounding your home and learn the best ways to care for them.
Basic Tree Assessment Vs. Tree Risk Assessment
Marigold Home Inspections offers a Basic Tree Assessment or a Tree Risk Assessment as an available add-on to our home inspection services. In a basic tree assessment, a certified arborist will get an overall view of the health of all the trees on the property. They look for things like evidence of pests, diseases, damage, and make recommendations on how to best care for the tree to ensure the tree’s longevity. The arborist will also use a technique called sounding, which is hitting the tree with a rubber mallet and evaluating the sound it makes to check for decay or a hollow center. They will also inspect any of the tree’s open cavities.
A tree risk assessment is a much more thorough and detailed look at an individual tree on the property and takes into account the tree’s surrounding area. While it’s important to know the health of the tree, it’s also essential to see if it puts surrounding structures at risk. If a tree’s roots put your home’s foundation at risk, or a branch has a high risk of falling on your garage, you can take the next steps to protect your property. You can add additional trees to the risk assessment for an additional cost.
Both assessments include a detailed report from the arborist providing expert insights into the health, current status, and future care needs of the trees on your property.
Why is a Tree Assessment Important?
Oftentimes, it’s hard to tell the health and risk of a tree just by looking at it. While a tree may look perfectly healthy, it may have a disease that needs to be treated before it’s too late. A tree’s canopy may look beautiful next to the home, but the roots may be bigger than expected and can threaten your home’s foundation. Also, trees bring such beauty to our properties that we want them to be healthy and grow for generations to come. Regular tree assessments by a trusted inspector can help catch risks that you may not be able to yourself and provide recommendations for care, keeping your trees healthy and your home safe.
When Do I Need a Tree Assessment?
Changing weather can play a major part in a tree’s health. A tree assessment in the winter helps the arborist assess the tree easier without the summer leaves, and an assessment in the summer helps the arborist see if the changing seasons affected the tree’s health. An assessment in any season is beneficial when you are using a trusted arborist to complete the assessment, but based on their findings you may want to consider another assessment during a different season in the future.
If you are about to close on a home, it’s important to have a home inspection to know the condition of the home you are purchasing. It’s an excellent time to add on a tree assessment to get the big picture of your property as a whole. This way, if there are any risks that need to be addressed, you can know about them ahead of time to discuss them with the seller or to make a plan for any future maintenance that may need to be done. Even if a tree assessment is not done prior to closing, having an assessment done at any time is beneficial to you for the future longevity of the trees on your property.
Wrapping Up
While a basic tree assessment and a tree risk assessment have different goals, both are crucial to your trees’ health and protecting your property. Working with a trusted inspector for your assessments will ensure you are getting an accurate view of the health of your trees. This way, the trees on your property can keep providing a safe home for surrounding wildlife, while you can ensure the safety of your own.
