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I would love to replace my driveway (someday, hopefully this summer). When I had a cement guy give me a price, he said that the roots to the tree next to the drive would be ground down so that they wouldn't make the drive buckle (like it is now).
The thing is, after the huge wind storm taking down a lot of trees in the region last week, there was a tree guy on the news who pointed to a tree that had toppled and said that a good part of the problem is the roots were probably ground away when the new sidewalk was put in.
Sooooo, now I'm wondering about the roots of the tree next to my driveway. I don't need them grinding the roots only to have the tree fall on the house in a high wind and pull the driveway up. It's a big tree, probably 70 years old. Should I have the tree cut down?
Like you, I would be concerned about grinding roots and damaging the tree. Consider a tree/Arbor service first. Have them evaluate your tree. Maybe your new driveway could be built around the tree so you can keep it healthy. Not sure, but root grinding does seem drastic. Good luck.
My experience in Florida was that I refused to have ANY tree that would fall and land on the house in a hurricane. We had hurricanes. Fill in the blank on your own.
Best case for the longevity of the drive- cut down the tree! But can you? Many AHJ's have restrictions on cutting down trees- age, size, location (historic district), etc. Exceptions are diseases, emanate danger to people, etc.
So, in some cases you could have a case of future property damage- and usually a way around the cutting is agreeing to replant other trees to replace the one. So, before you go and grab the chainsaw make sure it's all clear with the powers that be...
Yes, I think I will find out about cutting it down, as much as I hate to say it. It's a nice big, ol' tree, but with my luck, if it comes down, it will be on the house rather than the yard. I can't afford to have that happen or have it mess up a new driveway in a few years.
And, I'd love to replant one. I plan on doing that all around my yard this summer.
You're right, I'll have to "get permission" from the city.
I watched a new house get build right next to me. They end up putting a new driveway right next to a huge maple tree - this thing probably has a 3 ft diameter trunk. They ripped out the roots to the entire side where the driveway overlays - that means close to 40/50% of the major side roots!
That was over a yr ago and the tree still looks fine. I think a tree that big has a lot of roots that go way down from the center as well as substantial side branches and it won't topple as easily as a tree less old that has a leggy trunk and shallow roots.
I watched a new house get build right next to me. They end up putting a new driveway right next to a huge maple tree - this thing probably has a 3 ft diameter trunk. They ripped out the roots to the entire side where the driveway overlays - that means close to 40/50% of the major side roots!
That was over a yr ago and the tree still looks fine. I think a tree that big has a lot of roots that go way down from the center as well as substantial side branches and it won't topple as easily as a tree less old that has a leggy trunk and shallow roots.
Just a year ago- give it time; or a good windy storm when it's canopy is full.
The bad thing is if cutting the roots introduces rot. If you'll notice, most of the trees that fall in storms are rotten.
Actually, no. Most trees that are fallen during windy storm are not "rotten"- other conditions are usually to blame. Saturated soil, extended drought conditions, disease. And of course a full canopy- it catches a lot of wind!
You could put in a mixed media driveway, mostly cement but perhaps stone over the tree roots. Depends on what that would look like. But here in the country the tree roots are not a problem, largely because of having stone drives.
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