Tree details:
– Sycamore Plane Tree
– Sacramento, Ca
– Likely 70+ years old
– The tree is 18 feet from the house
– The tree root in question is 15 inches in circumference.
– Where we want to cut is 13 1/2 feet from the tree base.
– The soil is almost clay. The arborist referred to it as “hard pan” and that might be a reason why the roots are also high.
– No other tree roots are popping up around the grass as bad as this.
Why do I want to cut it?
Previous owners of my house poured a cement slab over the Sycamore tree roots in my backyard. The tree roots were pushing up the cement slab and it became a tripping hazard so we’ve now removed this cement slab and would like to put a raised deck instead. One big root is headed towards the house foundation. I don’t want the root to wreck the foundation. I also love this tree and don’t want to kill it.
First opinion:
I’ve consulted one arborist who said it was fine to cut this root headed towards the house (however, he only saw the top of it, and hasn’t seen it since I dug around it to get an idea of how big it is.) He recommended I wait until winter, but said seeing it’s only one root we want to cut, the tree should be fine.
Any other opinions?
The deck people said they could build around the tree roots. Thinking maybe we wait til winter to make this cut, but undoing some deck planks to access it. Pink line is where I planned to cut (see images)
TIA!
by LowMuted8249
11 Comments
No cut, only fill
That one root should be fine to cut.
That said, it’s also not going to wreck your foundation.
Tree roots follow water, if water isn’t getting through your foundation, neither will tree roots.
If water is getting through your foundation, you should fix that, it’ll wreck your foundation before any tree ever could.
If you put a deck over the roots, how will you ensure water gets to this amazing tree so it continues to shade your home and yard so beautifully?
I would only cut the one really headed towards the house (so a little farther than what you have. The root in the second pic at about 1 o clock. The other one at 11 o clock looks to be heading to the grass (water), so there doesn’t seem to be a need to cut that one. Your suggested cut would impact both.
Cutting any of these roots is not going to damage this tree. Personally, I would vacuum excavate a 4inch wide trench, 3 feet deep along the length of the house, 4 feet away from the house and lay a plastic root barrier. Cut the roots cleanly, rinse the ends with a little copper oxy chloride mixed in water in a spray bottle. Then spray the cut ends with graphite spray lubricant. Fill a couple inches of the bottom with bentonite clay & fill in the trench. These roots can absolutely destroy the foundations. While small feeder roots follow water, these larger roots are for stability & will push in all directions regardless of what is in their way. Besides, under your slab is always going to be cooler & more moist than the hard pan baking in the sun. ( Qualified arborist with 15years experience specializing in root encroachment & remedial pruning & barrier installation. )
Cut it no harm
No
Yes
My dad had me cut roots off of a large honey locust several times to avoid roots heading to the foundation and those making it tough to mow the yard. There was never a problem with the tree. The roots were 6-8 inches in diameter.
Can you? Yes. Should you? No. Will it harm your foundation? Unlikely.
I just want to applaud you for doing all this homework.