Gary Mays

When you carry out maintenance plumbing work you are frequently confronted with situations where clients want you to give quasi legal opinions on issues of non-compliant work where there is in reality no black and white answer.

A perennial issue for all plumbers as long as I can remember is the issues created by trees and tree roots.

Trees can do considerable damage to plumbing infrastructure. Often the damage has been slowly occurring over many years before you are affected.

The most common issue we are confronted with, numerous times every month, is tree roots in sewer and storm water drains.

Tree roots don't respect or understand property boundaries they just grow where ever they can find water and nutrients. Unfortunately your sewer drains are a great source of both water and nutrients for trees.

Because the issues with branches are visible to everyone then they are generally much easier to resolve. In most instants an amicable discussion with your neighbour can resolve most branch issues as there is a common interest.

The issues with roots is vastly different as they are not visible or easily traceable. The most common issues we come across is roots blocking household sewer drains.

tree roots growing along side a sewer drain and entering the drain on joints between the pipes

From our perspective when we find roots in drains there are often multiple types of roots inside the drain causing the blockage. Very simply we cannot ascertain which tree's roots are in your drain and where they came from.

Despite what many people would like to think tree roots do not break drains whether they are PVC or earthenware.

Yes, in old earthenware drains the roots over time will enter the drain around the rubber ring joints, but that is because of movement in the ground that enable the roots to very slowly infiltrate.

With PVC drains it is impossible for roots to break pipe or fittings. In every instant I have ever seen the drain was broken usually on a bend or junction that allowed the roots to enter the drain. In just about every instant we come across of broken drains it is our opinion the drain was damaged during the initial installation of the drain at the time of construction.

It is almost impossible to stop roots entering a broken drain without repairing the drain. This is where we see the issues begin and have clients try to put words in our mouth as to whom is responsible for firstly clearing the drain and secondly repairing the drain.

If you have no trees on your property and your neighbour has a fully landscaped garden full of trees, then yes it's likely the neighbour is responsible.

Having been drawn into these arguments between neighbours on a number of occasions I highly recommend to try to resolve the issue tactfully with your neighbour before things get out of hand. I can assure you this is always quicker, cheaper and a lot less stressful than taking legal action which will ultimately end up in mediation after spending a fortune with a solicitor. Before planting large trees you should consider the height they will grow to and where their roots can possibly spread Similarly assessing neighbouring trees with your neighbour now may prevent property damage and large bills in the future.