Trench Near Old Maple

[jhamera]

I am considering burying our electrical service in a trench that would pass an old maple tree in an "L" shaped path. The trecnh would be about 15' from the trunk at its closest points and 30" deep. The tree trunk is about 2.5 to 3 feet in diameter. The tree seems healthy. We have had some construction equipment in the imediate area around the tree and put a foundation in about 25 feet from the tree.

I understand that there is some risk of harming or killing the tree, which I would hate to do.

Can anyone give me a rough idea of the ball park chances of kiling the tree? (1:100 or 50:50?)

Any tips on avoiding damage or helping the tree survive the shock?

 

[treeseer]

Can anyone give me a rough idea of the ball park chances of kiling the tree? (1:100 or 50:50?) ?

Closer to 50/50. The probability is, it would not die outright but instead get a host of secondary pest--infections, borers, you name it-- as it descends into a steep and painful and expensive decline spiral.

Either tunnel, go overhead, or go around. An "L" trench would cut off most of the roots.

BAD Idea!

 

[mazurrj]

I am not completely up on code, but if you are burring cable I know you need to be 24" down which i guess is why you are going 30". Are you allowed to use conduit and not go as deep. It wasn't a service i put in but we used conduit so we did not have to go as deep. And you may hit less roots since its maple and maples roots like to go deep. I've had some maples that where close to the house clog the foundation french drains too. 3" tree though must be real nice tree. if you have french drains not sure what can do to discourge roots there.

 

[antigrassguy]

jhamera, you would do much less injury to roots if you bore the line in. Its the method that they use to go under roads. It is the prefered method if you must get into the critical root zone. Area from the trunk to drip line or outside edge of tree.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

antigrass, how far can boring go? What kind of money does it cost? How sharp a corner can it turn?

Not this year, but hopefully next ($$), I want to get rid of my power/telco/cable lines coming up my property line, but trenching would harm too many good trees. I've got maybe 175' to go from the power pole on the other side of the street up to the house. It's a bit far to hand dig, which would allow me to leave roots intact.

 

[antigrassguy]

BlueRidgeMark, our electric service provider frowns on homeowners messing with their service wire. They own from pole to meter. If this is your situation then I would contact them to check first. I believe that the more expensive boring machines are able to do 90 degree turns, or are steerable, over a distance. But if its trees you can bore underneath feeder roots, so the corner doesnt have to be as severe as with a trencher. Im sure cost will vary. If its after meter then there are small units that are rent able, ie. underWunder, that are able to reach 100' or so, depends on soil type, in a straight line. It sells for 25-2600.
I hear ya on wanting to get rid of unsightly lines lines. Seems like a small thing, but it really does make a difference. We put all wires underground from home to barn and shop. We did however leave the service to home up though as the birds use it alot on their approach to bird bath. Hemmed and hawed over that one a few mornings as I sat on porch steps, with coffee, watching the world wake up. Birds won
Hope this helps.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Oh, no doubt about getting the electric company into the picture. That's a given. Neighbors on each side of me have high voltage run across the road (in the air) to a pole, then underground to a ground mounted transformer not far from the house. From there underground the usual 240v feed to the house.

I'm sure they'd want to do the same in my place - I'm just looking for a way to do it without hurting any trees. Not only are the lines unsightly, they make some hacking of trees a necessity, and that's even uglier.

Not having to tear up the driveway would be a bonus.

 

[antigrassguy]

Im sure that a good operator could go under your trees and drive without them knowing. Plus coffee and donuts day of works may help them go a little deeper. I think and dont quote me but it was around 7.00 a foot 6-7 years ago.

 

[thecomp]

I had a Norway Maple and dug an electrical trench (18in.) a considerable distance from the main trunk,. but soon after the dig, the tree stressed and began dying.

Be care and listen to the experts, which I'm not!

 

[wysiwyg]

In 1999 we upgraded our electrical service, which included an L shaped trench around a 2 ft DBH silver maple, only 10-15 ft away from the trunk. When the trench was open I checked it out and found lots of large severed roots. It wasn't a tree I cared too much about, so I didn't make a big deal about it. The severed roots faced the house, so if it ever blew over, it would at least fall away from the house. In the years since, the tree has shown no signs of stress and just continues growing like a weed.

 

[SilentElk]

Typically in our area, you will not get a guy with a horizontal boring machine to even think about showing up on site for less than $2500. This would typically not include material costs. For longer stretches, rule of thumb is $30 per foot+ material. Not exactly cheap. I have been tempted to start this line of work BUT start up costs are friggin insane and insurance near impossible to get.