Have you ever seen a basement ACTUALLY pushed in like this?

Danielson,

Your beard comes in about as well as mine. Mine looks like patches of pubic hair, as does yours. That's why I shave regularly. I suggest you do the same.

Now, I can't really find much written about trees and foundations and cracking driveways, but I do know one thing: Removing the tree does not fix the broken sidewalk or cracked foundation. The situation you are looking at in the video is a good question for a structural engineer or a foundation repair company, not a tree guy.

SZ
 
EZ i feel your distaste; i had ringworm fungus when lost in the woods as a youth so the whole beard thing never worked; patchy ugly fuggetaboutit.

I just hate when otherwise credible institutions print cya crap like this "Cutting off the problem roots often causes stress and instability."
There is no data whatsoever to support this fearmongering. I call out any Morton employee to back this up, or ask them to stfu when it comes to blowing fearful smoke up people's noses. Gullible arbos read this garbage and condemn trees needlessly. Pruning roots is like pruning branches.
 
I wholeheartedly agree with you on pruning roots. Why should it be so drastically different than pruning limbs? The advent of air tools really helps open a new world of discovery.

SZ
 
Agreed, it was only the section regarding foundations and roots I was using this link for. The rest was not under scrutiny! Just wish they'd stop with the roots are the root of all evil!
 
I'd guess no, the tree was not pushing on the block... REASON??? Because the movement looked pretty uniform across the length of the wall... I wouldn't expect the tree to do that. If the tree did move the wall, (which I ahve only seen on a garage) It would most likely start somewhere and progressively diminish. Just a guess though. Easiest way to check for sure would be to excavate.. not that hard.. almost as easy as making a video and posting on youtube and TB then monitoring all the replies.
 
Good eye on the uniformity of the bulge, Murph. Strong indicator of other factors at work.

Danielson, the size of the root and its orientation is a red flag, so thanks for posting this. I hope the feedback's useful, especially the grooming advice. So many ?s remain: Is Gillette the Best? How long should the cream be on before the blade is applied? Is there an electric razor that works, really works? and the list goes onandon
 
ps... I'd stil think removal was a good option given the location of the tree... looks like it could do a lot of damage.. any sign of compromised integrity and it wouldn't be worth taking a chance on. Even a fairly low probability of failure would be unacceptable risk.
 
ps... I'd stil think removal was a good option given the location of the tree... looks like it could do a lot of damage.. any sign of compromised integrity and it wouldn't be worth taking a chance on. Even a fairly low probability of failure would be unacceptable risk.

Daniel, thanks for revealing the usefulness of TRAQ training. No qualified TRAQ-trained arborist would toss out an unqualified opinion like that.
 
Daniel, thanks for revealing the usefulness of TRAQ training. No qualified TRAQ-trained arborist would toss out an unqualified opinion like that.

Guy,
we all gotta live with ourselves at the end of the day. I told you about that big Tulip I looked a a few years back and said it looked "OK".. no visible signs of decay other than just a little funny look to the bark near the base of the tree.. Came through the house and nearly killed my client in Hurricane Sandy. House was about totaled. Easily could have killed. I made up my mind after that, when a tree is big enough to come through the roof and kill someone, I drastically change my criteria for recommending removal. I heard the standards have been updated to reflect that. I do not rate significant damage to structures in the same category with possibly killing a human being. That's my standard and I live with it... This tree looks like its big enough to kill... I also looks structurally sound. So its a tough call. If there are any signs of compromised structure I'd recommend removal and not argue for preservation should the client wish to remove the tree.

I'd be curious to see your take on a tree that is big enough to kill, what percentage of chance of failure would you think is acceptable risk? Even once the tree hsa been pruned and cables etc to reduce risk. Where do you draw the line?
 
Murph, as they teach in TRAQ (which would benefit you a lot), questions like this have no rational answer. "what percentage of chance of failure would you think is acceptable risk?"

If you can assign %, you should be in Vegas, or on Wall Street. But the basic point is, the owner decides acceptability, not the arborist.
 
Murph,
If you can assign %, you should be in Vegas, or on Wall Street. But the basic point is, the owner decides acceptability, not the arborist.

Dude, do you even know who you are talking to? Dadio is the king of spewing out percentages. As in, "I AM 99.9% sure that this big ass tree will fit into that tiny ass drop zone", and "78% of the time, those who use percentages in everyday conversation only know 50% of what they are talking about".

SZ
 
I stand edjamakated. Altho that 50% figure sounds a tad high....but I'm wundrin what % of trees are "big enough to kill"...based on deep calculations from nether regions, i'd put that at about 69.987654321%

give or take a .00000001%.
 
I'm not sure man, but thanks for the video! I'm curious to hear what people have to say about this one.

I always thought that as roots expand with time, they could begin to press the foundation with some substantial force.
The only time I've seen basement issues is when roots get into cracks gaps etc.

But if you have a poorly constructed block wall, poorly grouted, soil and roots will get in there. We know that every year there is apex and ring growth. So if the roots are in the wall and they expand a poor wall could collapse or heave.
 

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