tree removal

[TreeNovice]

We have a very tall (50 feet?) oak tree in our back yard. We are planning to expand our house, and the new corner will be about 3 feet away from this tree. We don't like the idea of removing a healthy tree, but we don't know whether the construction might damage the roots and weaken the tree, or whether having such a large tree so close to the house will cause other problems. (foundation problems, branches falling, etc). Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[monkeypuzzle]

DEAD tree Standing!

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Take it down now for a lot of money, or take it down in 10 years for a lot more money.

Hava consulting arboeist look at it and see if an economicly viable plan can be developed to "save" the tree if it is very important to you.

http://www.asca-consultants.org/

 

[treeclimber165]

A buddy of mine recently added an addition onto the back of his house. He was concerned with a medium size turkey oak (or blackjack oak) that was about 3'-4' from where they needed to dig the footer. I told him to dig that section by hand, cutting the roots carefully, and let me look at any big roots before cutting them. If there were major roots to sever, I could remove the tree instead of creating a liability. He proceeded to dig it and didn't hit any major roots at all! The tree is still standing and doing well.

If your oak is off a corner of the addition, you should only have less than 20% or so of the root area affected. I'd dig by hand along the footer line near the tree to see if there are major roots that would need to be cut. This info will give you (and us) a better idea of the tree's odds of living.