Repairing Walkway Under Maple Tree

[radmacd]

Hello,

We bought a house just over a year ago and there are two beautiful maple trees (im guessing ~50 years old) in the front yard. One happens to be right beside a flagstone walkway that desperately needs replacing/repairing. The path goes well below the drip line and I am very concerned about possible damage to the tree during the repair/replacement process.

Is this concern founded? If so, is there something we should be be doing or asking the landscaper to do in the process?

Thanks!

 

[Raintree]

Of course the concern is negative impact to the root zone. Severing large roots and soil compaction are construction guys specialty. Raising the walk above grade and forbidding heavy equipment under the tree is a starting point.

 

[ValleyForge]

Can you move the walkway? If not, then it becomes a choice, the tree or the walkway.

I’ve rock salted the sub base of walkways to stop the roots but it does affect the tree. If it is a healthy tree, it may stay with you for a long time before you have to deal with it.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Pics?

 

[radmacd]

 

[sean donato]

Looks like that walk has been there as long as the tree, I wouldn't personally worry too much about it. At most I'd suggest moving it over a foot or two away from the tree, but in my opinion you should only be going down a few inches to fix your base and redo the stone. So it shouldn't hurt the tree anymore then it currently is. (If it is at all.) Smarter guys then me will comment though.

 

[ValleyForge]

Looks like that walk has been there as long as the tree, I wouldn't personally worry too much about it. At most I'd suggest moving it over a foot or two away from the tree, but in my opinion you should only be going down a few inches to fix your base and redo the stone. So it shouldn't hurt the tree anymore then it currently is. (If it is at all.) Smarter guys then me will comment though.

Of all the walkways one could have around a tree, that’s one of the best types…..

 

[radmacd]

So I should be good with just making sure they dont put heavy equipment on the grass (as much as possible as I want to replace the steps as well. Hopefully they can put a crane on the street or something.), and telling them only to go a few inches down to replace the stones?

We can look into reshaping the path a bit further away from the tree as well but if its not going to change much Im not sure we will do that. And yeah, the tree and walkway were probably put in at the same time 45 years ago when the house was built.

 

[Jed1124]

Norway Maple (what you have) can take more impact to their root zone than Sugar Maple to some extent. You are on the right track though about keeping equipment and digging away from the root zone.

Is it possible to relocate the walkway? That is what would be best for the tree.

 

[radmacd]

Is it possible to relocate the walkway? That is what would be best for the tree.

The best we can do to move the walkway is to increase the bend radius after the steps and push it up towards the house a bit but that would buy us ~2 feet.

 

[Oletrapper]

View attachment 992645 View attachment 992646 View attachment 992647

It appears that there is a large feeder root heading towards the lamp post and field stone. They would almost have had to cut roots when the lamp post was installed depending on the age of the tree at the time. Possibly, the tree was planted after the walk path and the light were installed. I don't think you have much to worry about with the exception of excavation close to the lamp post, be it electric or gas. It should be located regardless, before any excavation begins. Mini excavators and Bobcats can be unforgiving.
Let us know how it turns out and post some pics when you have your new walk path. OT
National Electric Codes:

• UF cable can be direct buried (without conduit) with a minimum of 24 inches of cover.
• Wiring buried inside rigid metal (RMC) or intermediate metal (IMC) conduit must have at least 6 inches of ground cover; wiring in PVC conduit must have at least 18 inches of cover.
• *Codes in your state may vary from National Codes.

 

[radmacd]

Thanks so much for everyone's input. You have put a lot of my anxieties at ease.

Ill try and remember to come back and attach some after pictures (assuming I can actually get someone to do the work for us)

 

[arathol]

If you are worried about digging through the roots of the tree, you can use Brock polypropylene base panels under the pavers. These don't require a lot of digging, two or three inches maybe.
As for the light, the UF cable is only for a single light fixture. It only needs to be about 12" down, but must have GFI protection on the house end before it goes underground, be no more than a 120v circuit, has to have no more than a 20 amp breaker on the circuit., and anything above ground must be in a conduit.

 

[wagz]

dig out and save that flagstone. i wouldnt worry about moving the path or the tree. scrap out a couple inches of that dirt - it's not rocket science it's jsut a walkway. lay stone chips down with plastic edging. reset the flagstone on the chips. use polymeric sand in between the flagstone. at most it would cost you a scoop of stone chips and a few bags of sand.