driveways

[kcearls]

I'm restoring a wonderful 80 year old home and am now involved in landscaping the property which included 12 healthy large white oak trees.

Two of these trees are located in the driveway area, out of harms way for the purposes of accessing the garage. Currently this area is covered with gravel, but I want to surface the drive without jeopardizing the health of the trees.

What advice can you provide for approaching this task?

many thanks!

kevin

 

[treeseer]

Get the book Reducing Infrastructure Damage by Tree Roots and Trees and Development, to know all about it. Briefly, if you build in the same roadbed but put your pavement in without digging your trees may be ok.

"Chips shall be placed in the tree protection zone to a depth of six inches”
This cheap and easy step can save more trees than any other. Even outside the protection fence, a thick layer of mulch prevents compaction better than any other method. Whether turf or shrubs are going in later, they will be easier to install and need less replacement if the soil is protected. It also retains “an ecologically functional land base capable of growing trees well into the future”.

“Adjust finish grades so that the pavement section is built on top of the natural grade, using a ‘no-dig’ design.” Since roads and sidewalks are safer when water runs off faster, this tip makes sense both for tree survival and safe travel. Use of geotextile fabrics to reduce compaction and prevent the subbase from mixing into the soil also preserves trees.

Tree preservation is a job that everybody wants done, but too often it fails for lack of information. This Guide, available from the ISA, [email protected], is the best tool for getting the job done, and keeping the canopy over our communities. Coming soon are the new ANSI Standards and ISA Best Management Practices on
Preservation, which will also support your fight
to protect your trees from bulldozer blight!
O and the standards are out, and the bmp's are in development