Question
There are two tall liquid amber trees in my front yard.  They are about 25 years old.  I have had a problem with broken PVC pipes and with the front cement walk raising.   Now my nextdoor neighbor claims that roots from my tree(s) are under his home and doing damage to the foundation.  He says he had a person go under the house to verify this.  I don't know what to make of this!  The trees are closer to my house than his and I do not know of any foundation damage on my home.  They are beautiful and I do not want to take them out just because of this man's statement.  Can you shed some light on this?

Answer
At maturity it can reach 60-75 feet tall and have a spread of its branches of 40-50 feet. The roots will spread about 1 1/2 times the width of the branches and could damage the foundation if the house is within the branch width. Usually the outer roots beyond the branch overhang (dripline) are small and will not damage foundations.  They Have been known to cause problems to slab type foundation, sidewalks and driveways with the roots growing closer to the surface. IF the house is on a crawl space foundation not a slab you more than likely will not have any damage. It is going to depend on how close the tree is to the house as to whether the roots will damage the foundation. I would say if it were a slab foundation it is possible but a crawl space very less likely there will be damage. May call the State Forestry Agency and ask one of their Foresters to take a look and advise you.Their phone number should be in your phone book. OR get your "person" to take a look.