We’re having a new septic field put in, and it was supposed to be put on the side of the house, but apparently that was not working, and the company decided to put it directly in front of the house instead. That resulted in it being between the front sidewalk and a large oak tree in our front yard. The digging for this obviously resulted in many of the oak tree roots being cut. This is a large oak tree, and it’s quite close to our house. Now I’m concerned about the stability of the tree. I absolutely love this tree and would be devastated if it had to be cut down, but if it’s unstable we can’t risk it given how close it is to the house (and the fact that we live in hurricane territory). Should I contact a local arborist to come look at it?
(I feel compelled to note that I did not know this area of the yard would be affected or that any digging would be happening this close to the oak tree.)
by OkAdhesiveness1026
7 Comments
It’s a bit hard to tell how close the cuts are to the trunk (looks like 6-7 feet?), but generally yes it is less stable than it was before. Is it an unreasonable risk? I’d say probably not, but it is worth having an arborist look at it. Make sure the arborist is traq trained.
They cut a massive amount of roots. I would be shocked if you didn’t see some degree of decline in the next few years.
I’m only guessing here- but I would imagine a leech field close to a sidewalk would mean the leech field is now close to a street where there is storm runoff collected. That seems like a no no to me but I don’t know how your county works
Crazy. But was the only other option to cut down the tree?
If you didn’t okay the change in scope I’d be going to court. They can’t just make that call on your property without permission, the choice to do so shows gross incompetence or ignorance.
Hard to tell what size the cut roots are.
The material being stored right next to the tree isn’t ideal.
I’m assuming that sidewalk has been there for a hot minute?
I would strongly suggest getting a consulting arborist out there. That’s a pretty major screw up on their part.
It’s not a great situation but the roots seem to have been cut reasonably cleanly. The usual issue is when the excavator tears roots back towards the trunk.
If you really want to spend money you could have someone clean cut all the roots but I don’t think it’s necessary.
I wouldn’t expect the stability to be greatly compromised. It’s hard to tell from those photos but the trench is around 3-4m from the trunk and the biggest roots cut would be around 100mm?
There doesn’t seem to be anything at risk if it were to go over and a decent hurricane will knock a tree over, healthy roots and all.
You could always put a couple of earth anchors on that side if you’re really concerned about stability. They would only need to be in place for a year or two. Two duckbill 138’s would be sufficient. Just don’t drive them through your new leach drain.