We bought our house early in 2004, and that summer, as Florida was getting slammed by hurricane after hurricane, my dad cam over and worked with my husband to trim back our beautiful magnolia. It's very close to the house, and at that time, a lot of limbs were growing over the roof.
Beginning on September 15 and for the next 24 hours or so, Hurricane Ivan pummeled northwest Florida. The Magnolia did not damage the house. A pecan tree in back was left leaning precariously, and we were lucky enough to find some guys (aka The Three Stooges) to remove it for a couple hundred bucks. Most people were charging far more, because the work was plentiful and homeowners were desperate to prevent any further damage.
We talked about taking the magnolia down then, but I love the flowers, and being a much larger tree, it was going to cost a lot more than a couple hundred bucks to remove.
Fast forward to 2009, and my cousin has a tree service now. He's been doing some work for my mom and gave us a really good price for removing the Magnolia. The tree's roots have already damaged the foundation of the backyard shed, and they're making the brick patio all wavery. They could threaten the foundation of the house, and in a major hurricane, it's a very real threat to our roof.
Monday, it's coming down.
When was the last time you looked around your yard to assess potential storm damage? Do you have trees close to your house, do the limbs come close to the roof or windows? Do puddles form in certain areas after a moderate rain, potentially flooding in a really heavy or sustained downpour?
I really hate to see the Magnolia go, but by taking it out, we are protecting our home from damage above and below. What can you do to protect your home?
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