Digging up root of a 100-year-old tree in my backyard while saving the tree & the house?

Question

If I take out a major root of a tree that is cracking my foundation near the house, will I create the potential for the tree to fall toward the house? What is the risk for the tree when you cut a major root? The tree is 120-feet tall and only 5 feet from the house, so we don't want to damage the tree or create a situation where it may fall and kill us in our sleep.

Answer 1

Most trees, especially 100 year old ones, have many major support roots. Cutting just one should not cause any significant problem, provided the other roots are healthy. By removing the one root cracking the foundation of your house ,little long term damage should occur. Unless the tree is already leaning toward your house, this will not increase your potential for the tree to fall toward your house.

Answer 2

Kacky is correct. I recently took out a 100-foot tree, and it took major equipment, 3 guys and 2 days of work, and these were professionals. If it is 120 feet tall and so close to the house, you are setting yourself up for a major disaster with any storm that may come your way. Look at how many times they show on the news, that trees have been uprooted and toppled by storms, only to kill people and damage property. You should not have that size tree so close to your house; it must be interfering with your sewer and/or water intake pipe, and it could be unlevelling your foundation. People need to think years ahead when planting trees, to what size they will be and decide how far away to plant from structures. If this were my home, I'd be on the phone to get 3 estimates from tree cutting services, and have that thing removed. If you're attached to it (and you will be if it falls on you), then save some of the wood and make a clock or something out of it. But get rid of that tree before this safety hazard damages your property or kills you. I'd be worried every time there was a storm, not just because of fierce winds toppling it, but because it's probably the tallest thing around, and thus a living lightning rod. Good luck.

Answer 3

The majority of the roots from the tree would be in the top 80cm of soil and removing one root from a tree should not affect the stability of the tree. You will need to ensure the root was severed cleanly and not ripped up by a machine. Roots are opportunistic and will grow where water and nutrients are available. If you are unsure then you should contact a qualified arborist in your area who could assess the tree for safety and advise you on how to look after it. Trees are important to urban environments offering many benefit's from cleaning the air we breathe to cooling houses. Make sure the arborist is a member of the International society of Arboriculture ISA, these people are highly trained experts in tree care.

Answer 4

It's likely to fall, probably in the opposite direction from the root you take out. They have to have symmetry to stay upright. It may take a long time to fall, dying slowly first, but the tree is simply in the wrong location relative to the house. Even if it could survive the root pruning, it would just grow more roots. I'm not sure how you take out one root without driving machinery over all the other roots and possibly cutting a lot of them as well.

Answer 5

Have you even seen one of those 100 year old trees after it fell over?? There are hardly any roots that held that thing up! You should get it taken out. Make sure your professionals are INSURED in case they misjudge. We have 3 redwoods that were not planted by anyone which is usually the case with trees that call and they scare me. Hopefully I'll have them taken down before they come down on my house. If you cut that major root, do you know if that is the one it really needed and will now die? Causing problems to escalate......