A homeowner in Boise told me to just cut the roots hitting his foundation

I was looking at a big silver maple about 8 feet from his house last fall, and he was adamant that severing the main anchor roots was the fix. He said, 'It's just plumbing, right? Cut the pipe, problem solved.' I had to explain for twenty minutes how that would destabilize the whole tree, especially with our wind events. Has anyone else had to talk a client down from a seriously dangerous request like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela8999d ago

Did he ever call a structural engineer?

flores.jana9d ago

Angela's question about a structural engineer is a good one. I used to think cutting roots was no big deal, just like that homeowner. Then I saw a huge pine tree fall on a shed after someone cut its main roots to fix a patio. The tree looked fine for a year, until a regular storm came through. It didn't just lean, it lifted right out of the ground. That changed my whole view on how much stability those roots really give.