I have a large green buttonwood tree (~3-4' diameter) whose trunk is leaning on the house near the roofline. The tree has been recently thinned and the weight of the limbs seems to be away from the house, yet even though the area of the house in question was recently remodeled to allow more space for the tree, it is already leaning on the house again. More thinning is a possibility, but I am also looking for some sort of padding or something shock-absorbing that I can place between the tree and house. The area inside the house is prone to mildew and my thought is that if a gap can somehow be maintained there, the mildew would be kept to a minimum. Otherwise, the tree may have to go.

Steve,
Hope your tree has not leaned out of existance yet, but if not, let's make sure that this lean is not due to root rot and that your tree is healthy. I often wonder about the quality of tree care one has received because some of the tree personel in my area will top a tree and call it thinning or pronounce the death of a healthy pine tree as being killed by termites or go to town putting cables encircling a trees trunk or fork. Question: Did you have reliable tree service come out to thin your tree and did they offer any reason or solution to this lean? Myself, I'm dealing with a large pecan which is a leaner and should probably come out BUT, it's a sentimental tree which the home owner wishes to keep. So now we have anchors set in the ground with comfortable angles and secured it with heavy duty cable. I've dealt with several trees against houses and a "pad" won't work because the wind moves the tree and it still causes a contact rub. A good hard wind can move a big tree enough to actually do structural damage to a house. Cabling your tree at the correct place, with the correct angles and the proper equipment by the proper personel is probably the way to go if you wish to keep your tree. Ask a certified arborist for his/her evaluation. There's more to it than "just wrapping cable around that thar tree." Hey, some of you other guys offer this tree some help. Later el darbo