Shrubs, Vines and Planters Against the House:
What Landscaping Does to Siding and Meters

What plants do to the bottom of a wall

Shrubs and ground cover touching the siding keep that part of the wall from drying. After every rain, the leaves hold water against the siding and the soil stays wet at its base. In a Portland winter, that means months of damp.

Russ’s report wording: vegetation growing too close to the house can trap moisture against the siding, promote pest activity and contribute to damage. Plants are a highway for ants and other insects to reach the wall without crossing open ground. They also hide what’s going on. A rotted siding board behind a juniper doesn’t get noticed until the juniper comes out.

The siding clearance post covers the related problem of soil and mulch built up against the wall.

Vines in the siding

Vines are worse than shrubs, because they attach. On wood, hardboard or fiber cement, they hold moisture flat against the surface and push into laps, joints and trim gaps.

In La Center, Russ found blackberry vines growing behind the siding, where they had worked in through gaps in the trim. In Portland, vines were climbing the garage siding. In a Lake Oswego house, dried vine tendrils had grown from the wall cavity into the open main electrical panel. That one went to an electrician.

Planter boxes against the wall

A raised planter built against the house is a bed of wet soil pressed against the siding, often above the siding’s bottom edge. Russ found brick planters built directly against siding in Sandy and a masonry planter against the foundation and stone veneer in Lake Oswego.

Planters that were part of the original design usually have a gap, flashing or a waterproof back. Ones added later often don’t. Damaged and loose-brick planters also came up in Portland.

Meters, shutoffs and the heat pump

Some vegetation findings are about access. Heavy growth hid the gas meter and main shutoff in one Portland house; in another, plants stood in front of the gas meter. Russ’s report noted that in an emergency someone needs to reach that shutoff. In Washougal, plants blocked access to the electric meter, which the utility needs to reach.

Outdoor HVAC units need airflow. A Damascus heat pump compressor had vegetation too close, which limits its ability to shed heat. The heat pump and mini-split post covers keeping the outdoor unit clear.

Trees are a bigger version of the same problem

Trees planted too close came up in 14 reports, and branches over or touching the roof in more. Russ’s report wording for close trees notes the common guidance of about 10 feet between the trunk and the house. Roots, falling limbs, gutters full of needles and moss on a shaded roof all follow. The post on trees near the house covers those in detail.

What Russ checks

He walks the outside of the house and notes vegetation touching or crowding the siding, foundation, vents, meters, HVAC equipment and roof. Where plants block his view of the siding or foundation, he says so in the report, because that part of the house wasn’t visible. Trimming is a homeowner or landscaper job; damage found behind the plants goes to the right trade.

For the rest of the exterior, the guide to what to look at on the exterior before you make an offer covers siding, drainage and the roof. To set up an inspection, you can book online.