Question
I live in Phoenix, and have a 4-year old Fan West Ash, with a trunk diameter of 5 inches. It was planted too close to my house, and needs to be moved about 15 to 20 feet.  Is this a job that can be done by hand? Based on the recommended soil/root ball sizes, it seems like a major undertaking. Will root pruning be required? If so, over how long of a  time period? The tree is doing great, and I'd hate to lose it.

Answer
This tree seems too large to dig and move by hand. 60 inches wide and 30 deep. The rootball will be large and the weight of the ball will be large. There are companies that have a tree spade that can move this size tree. It maybe too expensive. Here is a web link to dealer locations of one of these tree spade types.
http://vermeerag.findlocation.com/

Ash roots should not give you any problem with the foundation but the limbs may depending on how close the tree is to the house. You can always prune the lower limbs to keep them off the house.

Not being able to see the location of the tree it is hard to recommend what to do. If you are in the US you might contact the state Forestry agency and ask one of their Foresters to take a look. This is a free service .They should be able to assist in getting a tree spade company also,