Root barrier

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TreeHouser
Joined
Feb 26, 2012
Messages
999
Location
Eastern PA
A client of mine has a beautiful dawn redwood about 19’ from his house. The tree is 36”dbh or so and maybe 60’ tall. He is of course worried about roots busting up the foundation. I may have convinced him not to remove the tree and instead install a root barrier. I have never installed one before. Any rules to follow with an existing tree like this? There is from what I remember an a/c unit on that side of the house so the barrier would probably go in around 15’from the trunk leading to substantial root cutting. ( I’m guessing)
Has anyone put these in before?
 
I've done quite a few Bio Barrier installations. It's pretty simple and straightforward. Just follow the instructions on the product. A root pruner will make the job much easier than digging by hand. You should be ok at 15'. Dr. Smiley from Bartlett and Dr. Gilman at UF recommend root pruning no closer than 3 to 5 times the trunk diameter. So, for your 36" tree, you should be at least 9' to 15' feet away.

https://www.landscapediscount.com/v/resources/Biobarrier-Manual-5-31-11.pdf
 
I did it once, a long time ago - never went back to see if it worked or not. It was some kinda cloth with chemical balls attached to it.
 
Here was our solution to a large pin oak planted about 6' from the house foundation:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OOpmKPUyk14?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
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  • #5
Yes that technique could work, just might crush a little more on its way.
 
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  • #6
I've done quite a few Bio Barrier installations. It's pretty simple and straightforward. Just follow the instructions on the product. A root pruner will make the job much easier than digging by hand. You should be ok at 15'. Dr. Smiley from Bartlett and Dr. Gilman at UF recommend root pruning no closer than 3 to 5 times the trunk diameter. So, for your 36" tree, you should be at least 9' to 15' feet away.

https://www.landscapediscount.com/v/resources/Biobarrier-Manual-5-31-11.pdf

Yup that’s seems pretty straight forward. Thanks.
 
That's a good thing to know, as we are installing gas service lines we go by trees quite often. Now i can at least advocate for putting them slightly farther, even though no one ever listens lol.
 
Good luck with that Kyle. Given the utility ROW I don’t see them wanting to vary their practices.

I reread your post. Doing service to the house can’t they just slip the new plastic through the old steel? Only having to dig for the tap and connection at the meter? There is a downside to this but helps with restoration
 
If the gas company let's you insert, yes that's how it's done. Sometimes you have to relocate the meter, so ideally you bore it in. If you can't find a service (such as a sewer which don't have tracer wire) you have to open dig.
 
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