Do I have to take this tree down

[Asti714]

A spectacular oak is cracking the slab in my workshop that is attached to my house I want to stop the roots before they get to the house. I have never seen an oak like this one, about 10 feet up it splits into 10 plus branches, it spans about 100 feet.
I have a few questions...
1. If I take down most of the branches will the root system slow, or are specific branches for specific roots?
2. Can I get rid of roots heading for house?
3. I want to put a small deck 10"x 10" up in tree after some or all of branches removed, any ideas how long tree stump would stay upright?

Thanks for any info
Tom

 

[JeffGu]

I assume that the workshop is sitting on an on-grade slab? The house will have at least 36" deep trench footings, even if it is sitting on-grade, in northern Illinois. The roots will simply turn when they hit the footings and go on their way to happier hunting grounds. Cutting limbs off of the tree isn't likely to stop the roots from doing what they do, and the roots are more likely to crack the slab due to heavy rainfall and subsoil displacement, so the tree might not be the only culprit.

It's a pretty awesome tree. Hard to replace something like that. Concrete is pretty damn easy to cut out the cracked section, cut the offending roots back to well outside the building perimeter, and re-pour the bad section of slab.

 

[Pelorus]

Impressive tree. Nice.
I think the deck-in-the-tree idea is a nut job idea.
Going to put railings around it to keep people from falling (while drunk) and breaking their necks? Bylaws? I know a guy around here who built a treehouse for his son.......who then fell out of it one day while playing with his friends, and got a ride in an air ambulance....
Actually liking Jeff's idea more than whacking that tree, and I'm an inveterate tree whacker, if that counts for anything.

 

[Asti714]

Impressive tree. Nice.
I think the deck-in-the-tree idea is a nut job idea.
Going to put railings around it to keep people from falling (while drunk) and breaking their necks? Bylaws? I know a guy around here who built a treehouse for his son.......who then fell out of it one day while playing with his friends, and got a ride in an air ambulance....
Actually liking Jeff's idea more than whacking that tree, and I'm an inveterate tree whacker, if that counts for anything.

Yes on railing, accessible from master bedroom deck only, past the age of getting drunk... slow drinking and headache comes first. Yes I have been called a nut maybe an acorn

 

[JeffGu]

Keep in mind that tree forts and tree houses are normally built off of a living, sturdy tree for good reasons. Once the tree is dead, it decays rapidly and the wood will be unstable. Everybody loves the idea, but there are a lot of very sound engineering considerations that limit the practicality of such an endeavor. To do it right, it gets expensive. There are a number of contractors who specialize in this type of construction, and I would seriously consider getting their input before attempting such a project. I got away from it, myself, because the liability insurance was horrendously expensive. Your homeowner's insurance may, likewise, be affected.

 

[dboyd351]

It would be a shame to kill that tree because of what the roots might or might not do. I'm sure it is well over 100 years old. I like the idea of cutting and re-pouring the slab instead. As for the deck, my Dad had some professionals build an expansive tree house for the grandkids. Within 10 years the limbs of the 2 trees it spanned grew in different directions and are in the process of tearing the treehouse apart - can't let the kids go up there any more for safety reasons. Might not have happened if it was built on only one tree, but you never know.

 

[Woody912]

I saw a big limb cut away from a hard maple due to house endangerment about 6 yrs ago. The main branch root in line with that limb is dying. That may not be a good thing eventually

 

[jefflovstrom]

A spectacular oak is cracking the slab in my workshop that is attached to my house I want to stop the roots before they get to the house. I have never seen an oak like this one, about 10 feet up it splits into 10 plus branches, it spans about 100 feet.
I have a few questions...
1. If I take down most of the branches will the root system slow, or are specific branches for specific roots?
2. Can I get rid of roots heading for house?
3. I want to put a small deck 10"x 10" up in tree after some or all of branches removed, any ideas how long tree stump would stay upright?

Thanks for any info
Tom

(1) A prune cut is a wound. The international response to pruning is 'vigorous growth',,
(2) What year was your house built? Roots follow a path.
(3) Why not call a tree company to come out and visit your property?
10% of a trees roots can be ok depending on the tree specie's,
Just do it!
Jeff

 

[Asti714]

(1) A prune cut is a wound. The international response to pruning is 'vigorous growth',,
(2) What year was your house built? Roots follow a path.
(3) Why not call a tree company to come out and visit your property?
10% of a trees roots can be ok depending on the tree specie's,
Just do it!
Jeff

1 I'm guessing the tree is the way it is because of pruning many years ago
2 house was built in 1940
3 Tree company will be called. I wanted input from impartial people.
I have had an arborist want $600 a year for a half dead, ant infested, hollow swamp oak.
I have had a tree company want to take down a silver maple because the grass was in bad shape under it.
Some work has to be done on the tree, couple branches 30 feet above and 30 feet across the house next door.

Tom

 

[Pelorus]

Hey Tom,
Call several different tree companies. Actually check out their credentials, insurance, worker's comp, references.
Ask who is gonna be doing the actual climbing. What kinda shape do they leave your place in afterwards?
This is an industry with more than it's fair share of poseurs, amateurs, and hacks that are ignorant of industry standards, and safe work practices. Quotations (for the same specified work) can be all over the place!
If someone presents themself as a "certified arborist", check 'em out via the ISA website, or ask to see the card in their wallet. It will have an expiration date at the bottom.

Cheers,
Dave

and get the estimate / quotation in writing. None of this verbal, cash, no receipts malarkey.
and don't pay till the work is completed according to what was quoted on the quotation.
You have a cool lookin' tree and it deserves more than a hack job.

 

[dboyd351]

Good advice Pelorus. Doesn't take long at all to cut a tree down, but it took a very long time to get that large. Glad to see Tom thinking this through before making his decision.

 

[Oldman47]

I would guess that the branching of that tree is the result of pollarding when it was quite a young tree. It is possible for a tree to branch that much on its own but not all starting at about the same level. That kind of branching is the result of poor pruning practices that our grandparents might have embraced as a proper treatment.

 

[Ferguson system]

Awesome tree, it would be a shame to cut it down.
Often tree roots will seek up to the surface if the soil is compacted.

Some of the treatments that you can do yourself that may help:

1. Remove the grass and some of the soil from around the trunk. 1-2M out from the trunk. fill the ring with mulch.

2. Drill holes in the ground under the dripline of the tree and fill with mulch.

3. Use a lawn/grass harrow near the tree.

 

[Asti714]

Here is a photo from Google maps, 100 feet across, 280' dripline.

 

[Asti714]

well I'm thinking of entering the tree on the largest tree registry in IL. It won't be champion but at 268+ points it should make the list.