Do tree roots grow deep?

Most do not. In the species grown in British gardens the feeding roots sit in the top 600mm of soil and spread well past the branches. The deep taproot people worry about is largely a myth.

Will tree roots damage my drains?

Only where the drain is already leaking or cracked. Roots follow the damp soil around the fault and enter through it. A CCTV survey proves what is happening, and the lasting repair is the pipe. Where root cutting is justified, it is planned work rather than a digger job.

Can cutting a root kill the tree?

It can, and it can destabilise it. Roots close to the trunk are structural, so cutting one takes away anchorage as well as water supply. That is a considered cut by a qualified firm, never a spade and an afternoon. If you are looking for tree root work near me, the tree comes first: this practice covers North Yorkshire and County Durham.

Can a tree too close to the house cause subsidence?

Only in certain ground conditions: shrinkable clay, a footing inside the zone the roots are drying, and a tree big enough to move that moisture. Cracking in the house is a job for your buildings insurer and a structural engineer first. People who ask for tree root advice near me usually want a straight answer on which of the three applies, and that is what this practice gives.

Do I need permission to deal with roots?

If the tree is protected by a tree preservation order, or stands in a conservation area, yes. Check with the council tree officer before any root cutting. Our page on overhanging branches explains consent and the exemptions.

What should I plant where a tree has been removed?

Something that suits the light and soil now the canopy has gone, and a species that will not outgrow the space at twenty years. See tree planting for how it is done.

Garden service

Tree roots: what they do, what they damage and what to do

Tree roots are shallow and wide, not deep invaders. What they do to drains, paving and foundations, and when the answer is a surveyor rather than a saw.

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Tree roots: how they grow and where they run

Tree roots are shallow and wide, not deep and invasive. In the species grown in British gardens, most of the root system sits in the top 600mm of soil and reaches out past the branch spread. The feeding roots are fine, fibrous and close to the surface. The deep taproot that turns up in so many warnings is largely a myth.

Roots follow water, oxygen and loose soil. Where ground is compacted they rise to find air, lifting turf and cracking paths, so a lumpy lawn under a mature tree is usually a soil problem. Loosening the soil and mulching let the roots settle back down.

Tree root removal

Root pruning is surgery, not tidying up. Cut the wrong root and you remove anchorage and water supply at once, and the tree can spend years declining before it fails. Root work starts with an assessment: the species, the age, the distance from the trunk, and what that root is doing. Roots close to the trunk are structural.

Root barriers suit new planting, not a mature tree. Where a root has to go, the cut is planned and kept as small as the job allows. Root pruning beside a wall or a driveway, and removal where the tree cannot safely stay, are Ross Webster Tree Services work. They cover North Yorkshire and County Durham. The Arboricultural Association explains what a proper assessment covers.

Do tree roots get into drains?

Tree roots in drains are usually the symptom, not the cause. Old clay and pitch fibre pipes leak at the joints, the soil around the run stays damp, and fine roots enter through the gap that is already there. Modern plastic pipework rarely fails because of roots alone.

Drain trouble is proved, not guessed at. A CCTV survey shows the inside of the run and marks where roots have entered. Clearing is done by jetting or by cutting the roots inside the pipe, and the lasting repair is the pipe. Take the tree out and leave the leak, and the next tree does the same. Most people who look for tree root removal near me across North Yorkshire and County Durham want the same thing, a straight answer on whether the root can be cut at all, and that is what this practice gives. What drives the price is set out on our tree surgery cost page.

What damage do tree roots cause?

Roots lift paving. A root under a patio or a path pushes the slabs apart, and the trip hazard worsens every season. Re-laying them on a deeper sub-base holds only until the root grows again, so managing the root is the longer answer.

Walls are different. Roots do not push over a wall that is sound. They find one already cracked, badly founded or built with soft mortar, and widen what is there. The genuine risk near a house is subsidence on shrinkable clay: the roots dry the clay, the clay shrinks, and the ground under the footing moves. Distance and footing depth decide whether the tree is part of the problem at all. Heave works the other way: clay the roots had been drying swells back once the tree goes, lifting paths and low walls. The root plate holds the tree up, and severing or drowning it leaves a tree able to hinge over.

Are tree roots near the house a problem?

Tree roots near house foundations matter when three things line up: shrinkable clay, a footing inside the zone the roots are drying, and a tree large enough to take real moisture out of the ground. A crack monitor, a level survey and a soil test tell a surveyor more than the sight of a large tree.

Where the house is affected, the route runs through your buildings insurer and a structural engineer, not through a tree firm. If the tree is shown to be part of the cause, an arboriculturist assesses the options: pruning, root control, or removal with replanting. Felling a mature tree for a crack that turns out to be drainage is a costly mistake.

Trees near house

A tree near the house always wants watching, and the planting distance matters more than the species. Anything expected to top 10 metres belongs in open ground, clear of the house, the boundary and any drain run. Thin soil over clay is the combination that causes trouble.

When planting, work from the mature height and spread rather than the pot. Our trees for small gardens guide covers root action and spacing for trees that suit a smaller plot.

Tree too close to house

A tree too close to the house leaves three honest options: keep it and manage the risk, reduce the load it puts on the ground, or take it out and replant. Which one applies depends on the species, the soil, the distance and the condition of the tree.

Where the tree is sound and the risk is manageable, thinning a dense crown and keeping the roots out of trouble can buy many years. Where it is large, fast growing or decaying at the base, removal is the safer answer. Root work, crown work and removal are carried out by Ross Webster Tree Services across North Yorkshire and County Durham. Replanting afterwards is garden work, and that is what this practice does.

Tree surgery, handled locally

Tree surgery is handled by Ross Webster Tree Services

This page covers the garden side of tree work: planting, pruning and aftercare. Tree removal, crown reductions, stump grinding, emergency and storm work, tree surveys, ash dieback and commercial contracts are carried out by Ross Webster Tree Services.

Tree removal
Crown reductions
Stump grinding
Emergency and storm work
Tree surveys
Ash dieback
Commercial contracts

They work across the same ground as this practice, and their contact details are on their site.

Ross Webster Tree Services

Questions about tree roots

Do tree roots grow deep?: Most do not. In the species grown in British gardens the feeding roots sit in the top 600mm of soil and spread well past the branches. The deep taproot people worry about is largely a myth.
Will tree roots damage my drains?: Only where the drain is already leaking or cracked. Roots follow the damp soil around the fault and enter through it. A CCTV survey proves what is happening, and the lasting repair is the pipe. Where root cutting is justified, it is planned work rather than a digger job.
Can cutting a root kill the tree?: It can, and it can destabilise it. Roots close to the trunk are structural, so cutting one takes away anchorage as well as water supply. That is a considered cut by a qualified firm, never a spade and an afternoon. If you are looking for tree root work near me, the tree comes first: this practice covers North Yorkshire and County Durham.
Can a tree too close to the house cause subsidence?: Only in certain ground conditions: shrinkable clay, a footing inside the zone the roots are drying, and a tree big enough to move that moisture. Cracking in the house is a job for your buildings insurer and a structural engineer first. People who ask for tree root advice near me usually want a straight answer on which of the three applies, and that is what this practice gives.
Do I need permission to deal with roots?: If the tree is protected by a tree preservation order, or stands in a conservation area, yes. Check with the council tree officer before any root cutting. Our page on overhanging branches explains consent and the exemptions.
What should I plant where a tree has been removed?: Something that suits the light and soil now the canopy has gone, and a species that will not outgrow the space at twenty years. See tree planting for how it is done.

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