Another pic

Sure does look like P. Rigida. Has that classic bundle of 3 twisted needles.

From NY & a 3-needler, pitch pine seems the best guess.

That's too close to the house for pitch pine...

Really? I know it's hard to see in the picture, but It's 12 feet....everyone has trees "close" to their house here and I never see or hear of foundation cracking or root intrusion as long as they aren't close enough for the trunk to push the foundation. Trying to find a balance between foundation safety and having a forest around my house...

So compared to my neighbors, I thought 12 feet was on the conservative side lol.

So why would it be bad?

When it's big enough it will be lifting the walk and dropping persistent debris all over everything in the vicinity. Conifers can be comparatively narrow-growing but for trees in general 12 ft. of horizontal distance is not much when you are looking at crown spreads of specimens that have been in place for some time. Even if you are not planting for the long term the tree will try to grow as big as it can. So then it is a matter of what you think about installing a possible future liability for yourself or someone else.

What if I told you that I'm planning on redoing that sidewalk to be a natural, shale stone walkway. So essentially dirt with some stones for stepping...so the pine needles would cover the dirt nicely and prevent weeds. I realize that there will still be roots there, but that's ok. The point is that the generic home-depot looking walkway that the previous owner put there will be gone in favor of a more rustic, simple setup that should handle the roots much better.

Still, I'd try hard to get it further away from the house if possible. Otherwise, it will have a short lifespan (via a chainsaw).

Here's what I'm not understanding...why would it need to come down? It's 12 feet away. I can prune some branches that get really intrusive or close to the house....or really low ones that block walking by it when its big....but what's the problem 20, 30 years from now? A fatter trunk and a canopy that comes close to the house...so what?

You're gonna have the same problem these people had with their English Box.
{{gwi:272885}}

Although that picture is hilarious...I disagree...the pine will grow vertically more than horizontally. The comparison is apples to oranges.

It can, and probably will, be limbed up so the branches won't be in the way of pedestrian traffic and the house.
I have a problem with it being so close to the house as a matter of design. I realize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what do you plan on planting around it it? What can you? It just looks out of place where it's at to me.
Mike.....been there, done that......and regretted it.

John, if you want to keep it there, do so. Many posters here have close garden-like plantings that will eventually have to be thinned out. Still, I'd want to plant my pines where they have room, so as to get a result such as this pitch pine in MD below:

Fair enough, makes sense. Its hard to tell with that pic but it's in a great spot, especially when it's 5-10 ft taller and beyond.

With the help of this forum (especially Ken lol), I've planted almost 20 trees! A spring or two from now I'll post some pictures of the final product. Thanks!

Trees cause subsidence to foundations and walls through drying out the soil due to their water need. It's nothing to do with the physical trunk or roots unless they are butted right up against a wall. Have you checked where your pipes run as that is where roots can cause expensive damage. As a rough esimate the water co. told me not to plant close than the mature crown width to any pipe, minimum.

The gas line is 10-15 feet away and water is 15-20 ft away.

I personally know of a house older then me with a huge hite pine 1 foot from the deck that never had any problems beyond needles in the gutters. I also know of a huge Norway Spruce about 15 feet from a house...both are far older then I and never had any problems.

People are excessively panicky about trees near houses nowadays. They *CAN* cause a lot of problems...foundation problems, limbs falling on the house, a road for squirrels and ants to get into the house. (In my experience the last of those problems is the most common). Despite what you hear they very often don't. The questions you have to ask yourself are:
1.) What is an acceptable risk to you?
2.) Do you care if the next owner will immediately panic and chop down this tree?

water and gas lines are not the issue ... one would hope your gas line has no holes in it.. same with water.. so there is no way for a tree to invade ...

the problem is septic fields which are invaded by roots ...

or old style clay sewer pipes... which can be completely blocked by invading roots ...

the old clay pipes where packed with oakum 40 to 100 years ago.. its gone.. tree roots replace it.. see second pic at link ...

newer modern pvc sewer pipes.. would also not be an issue ...

you plant things.. where you can.. enjoy the heck out of them.. and when they get too big.. kill them ... and plant a new one ... most of us dont have unlimited space for our addiction ... [my key.. was to take them down myself.. for FREE ... before i had to pay to have it done]

thx for the props ... glad to share all i learned thru making a lot of mistakes ... been there... done that.. do what i say.. not what i did ... lol

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link