Patio Installation

[Proj Eng]

I’m putting in a patio, was doing a lot of digging last night. By my calculations, I’ve moved about 75 cubic ft of dirt (by hand shoveling and wheel barrow). My question is this... I have a nice very healthy maple tree about 14" dbh that is 'nearly' between my house and our neighbor's (I'll add pictures as soon as I can). During digging, I have encountered some roots, though nothing larger than a 1/2" in diameter and I have damaged some. Will this drastically effect the tree's ability to get water? Plus, i plan on putting down some screenings for a foundation for the bricks, wondering if that will hamper the tree's health/watering at all? The patio size is approx 14' x 14' and I'm digging down about 6". The houses and some sidewalk's concrete are under approx 50% of the canopy and I'm digging right under about where another 15% of the canopy is.

 

[NYCHA FORESTER]

Generally speaking any time you encounter a root be sure to cut it cleanly before you backfill it. If it going to be exposed the the air it would be wise to cover it with a damp towel, rag, paper or the like to prevent it from drying out.

Pictures with some sort of scale would be nice

Brian

 

[Proj Eng]

I will get some photos of it on here tonight.
So you are saying that cutting the roots completely is better than just burying them under where I plan to build? If it heaves in 15 years, I don't care as I probably won't be there that long anyway. However, I wouldn't like to mess with it again in 5-10 years if I can help it. Plus, I want to minimize any root damage to the tree.

 

[NYCHA FORESTER]

By "encounter" I meant dug up during your grading. (sorry for being vague)

A rule of thumb widely used is you should not cut (excavate) a root any closer than 3 times the radius of the tree (on one side only). The Ideal distance from the tree is 5 times the radius or more.


If you are concerned about roots heaving the patio then you may want to consider installing a Root Barrier. In theory it supposed to prevent/deflect roots (as it name implies).

Soil type and tree species have a lot to do with trying to predict how and where a trees roots may go.

My greatest concern (without seeing the site) is soil compaction. I would not recommend using/operating equipment within the drip line of the tree. Even repeated trips with a wheel barrow will compact the soil to a point where it will/maybe detrimental to the trees long term health.

Brian

 

[Proj Eng]

Not worried about compacted soil. The tree has been doing exceptionally well with our extremely dry weather this year and the soil was as dry and hard as a clay pot in a kiln (and was untouched... let me put it this way, If I hit it hard with a hammer, I'd make about a 1/4" dent in the soil). The sod cutter I rented was used for 15 minutes to 'skim' 1 inch of sod off the top which fell apart in my hands as I tried to roll it up. What a joke. Also, part of the reason for me putting a patio in this area was because the grass grew so poorly, it was a constant dirt area for most of the year. I can't imagine because of that reason the tree would be getting a lot of its water from this area. Pictures to come soon.

 

[Proj Eng]

A few examples of what I was tralking about above...
Photo 2: My hand is a little over 9" from thumb to smallest finger. So I guess the tree is a little bigger than what i described above.

 

[Proj Eng]

A couple more,
Like the wires I have to deal with? I don't!

And the last photo, see if you can guess which root is from a Maple tree?