Concrere driveway to be built near established oak tree approx 50+ years old

[Sailhaus]

This beautiful old oak stands straight and tall but unfortunately near where I will need to pour a driveway. I have read that 5' distance could be possible. That distance may be a stretch but perhaps 4' will be more like it. I am hoping we can narrow the drive at the point it comes close to the tree to minimize impact. My husband thinks it has a poor root system. I really don't know, but it looks healthy to me and does not shown any sign of disease or stress at this time. It does grow on a slope where it is extremely rocky. The roots on the downhill side (away from where the driveway will be layed) are somewhat exposed. The contractor at first had suggested it be cut down. When he came back for a final appraisal on the job, he suggested that we try to save it. I for one agreed. I am not sure we can succeed in doing so....but I would like to try. Any suggestions from you professionals? It really breaks my heart to think of cutting it down. There are other oaks nearby a safe distance away, but this one is such a beauty ...so straight and tall..the driveway has become a necessity due to being the only way to reach our home safely in our senior years. Thanks for any suggestions from this community of environmentally conscious folks. Regards...

 

[bing]

Leave the tree if you like it, but be sure to engineer the slab with extra expansion joints in that area so that as the roots push on the concrete slab there is room for movement so the driveway doesn't start completely falling apart and cracking. If the day comes when you want to remove the tree it will also be easier to tear out and replace that particular section of slab if it is isolated with expansion joints.

 

[TreeGuyHR]

If the "downhill" side roots are below the driveway, that suggests that the driveway is not a target if the tree fails because of damage related to the paving.

Anything down there below the tree?

If it is a rough area that is rarely used, it may not matter much what condition the tree is in, now or after the paving (unless it dies and potentially can shed limbs or pieces of trunk onto the driveway).

Posting a photo would help us tree kibitzers here give an informal opinion. If you really want to know, an arborist qualified to do so should examine the tree closely, including the roots, as well as your paving plans.

 

[imagineero]

Photos are a big help, but if the drive is really that close to the tree then you are signing a death warrant for the tree by doing the construction work, you're just delaying it, and living with a ticking time bomb for ever after. I seem to get 2 or 3 jobs a year where a tree falls over due to the roots being severed. It doesn't happen straight away, but the roots are holding the tree up. If you cut them out (which you will need to do to make the drive) then it's just a matter of time until the right combination of rain to soften the soil, and wind blows her over.

A good reasonably safe scope for pruning roots is 10:1 of the DBH to distance from the trunk. DBH is the diameter of the tree measured at approximately 5' off the ground. That means, if you're gong to be putting a drive only 4' away from the tree and severing roots, the tree can be only around 5" in diameter. From the sound of it, it's probably more like 2' in diameter, meaning you need to keep your drive 16~20' away from the base of the tree... and that is just for the tree as it currently stands, not allowing for the tree to reach its fully matured height.

Honestly, if you have to have the drive right there, then you're going to save yourself a lot of money and risk by just cutting it down now. It's not that big, and it can probably be dropped rather than climbed which will save you $$$. Later on, when it's bigger, in worse health, and needs to be climbed, you'll be looking at more money, plus the repair cost on the drive.

Shaun

 

[TreeGuyHR]

Photos are a big help, but if the drive is really that close to the tree then you are signing a death warrant for the tree by doing the construction work, you're just delaying it, and living with a ticking time bomb for ever after. I seem to get 2 or 3 jobs a year where a tree falls over due to the roots being severed. It doesn't happen straight away, but the roots are holding the tree up. If you cut them out (which you will need to do to make the drive) then it's just a matter of time until the right combination of rain to soften the soil, and wind blows her over.

A good reasonably safe scope for pruning roots is 10:1 of the DBH to distance from the trunk. DBH is the diameter of the tree measured at approximately 5' off the ground. That means, if you're gong to be putting a drive only 4' away from the tree and severing roots, the tree can be only around 5" in diameter. From the sound of it, it's probably more like 2' in diameter, meaning you need to keep your drive 16~20' away from the base of the tree... and that is just for the tree as it currently stands, not allowing for the tree to reach its fully matured height.

Honestly, if you have to have the drive right there, then you're going to save yourself a lot of money and risk by just cutting it down now. It's not that big, and it can probably be dropped rather than climbed which will save you $$$. Later on, when it's bigger, in worse health, and needs to be climbed, you'll be looking at more money, plus the repair cost on the drive.

Shaun

All good points -- but sometimes the homeowner does what they are going to do anyway after paying you for your opinion!

Below are some photos of a large California black walnut. It had pre-existing root damage and had been severely pruned; the developer called me in to look at it when the old home was still adjacent to the tree. the photos show the tree just after the old home was torn down an as the excavation was being put in for the footings of the new home (about 6 ft, from the tree. The digging happened in the spring/early summer; late in July, the tree started to fade and drop leaves, so I laid out a sprinkler hose and it perked up. In succeeding years (the construction occurred in 2006), it seemed OK, but the top started dying in 2011. The tree will be a crane removal soon -- nice butt log there, around 3 1/2 ft. by 8 ft., just a nail or two in it from a bird feeder.

The last shot shows my "clean cuts: on some large roots, so that they wouldn't just be torn back to the tree with a back-hoe. The guy framing the footings hacked at them some more because they got in the way of him swinging his hammer ! I had cut them about an inch beyond his string line.

View attachment 276125View attachment 276126View attachment 276128View attachment 276129View attachment 276130

2011: The tree is dying back in a major way. Guess the original digging and major root loss and compaction (notice the tread of an excavator in the second shot above?); landscaper (scraped area flat with bobcat, installed irrigation); and plumbers (ditch-witched a water or sewer line through the area) all contributed, even with the irrigation, compost, and fertilizer added later for the sake of the other landscaping.

(Photos later ?-- I maxed out).

 

[millbilly]

Dig it up and move it. Costly but it can be done. If interested pm me.

 

[TreeGuyHR]

Dig it up and move it. Costly but it can be done. If interested pm me.

I think it's too late for this tree. Pics from 2011:

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[treeseer]

Even a concrete driveway can be "bridged" to avoid root damage, but another type of pavement would be better near the tree.

Impossible to say much more without images. Trees Are Good - Tree Care Information

 

[treemandan]

Even a concrete driveway can be "bridged" to avoid root damage, but another type of pavement would be better near the tree.

Impossible to say much more without images. Trees Are Good - Tree Care Information

Oyster shells, they say the smell goes away in a relative short ammount of time. Either that or you just get used to it.

 

[treeseer]

Oyster shells, they say the smell goes away in a relative short ammount of time. Either that or you just get used to it.

Hey that might help cure that nagging calcium deficiency too! :msp_thumbup:

 

[capetrees]

Oyster shells, they say the smell goes away in a relative short ammount of time. Either that or you just get used to it.

Seashells in a driveway are a nightmare. The crushed shells always follow you into the house and into the carpet and the weeds they bring are endless. Unless you have a solid sub-base that disallows weed seeds from germinating, don't do shell. Gravel maybe.

Does the driveway need to be hardtopped? Can it be gravel or even mulch/chips?

 

[derwoodii]

Even a concrete driveway can be "bridged" to avoid root damage, but another type of pavement would be better near the tree.

Impossible to say much more without images. Trees Are Good - Tree Care Information

yes this large gum roots were hurdled by timber framed planking and it worked a treat so can be done

 

[TreeGuyHR]

yes this large gum roots were hurdled by timber framed planking and it worked a treat so can be done

And know when a developer or contractor wants to build a home next ti a tree like that, if we could just convince them to use piers on the side towards the tree instead if a concrete footing..