We discovered we have issues with our wastewater lateral and it needs to be replaced. Not to get too into the details but where we expected to find a 4” cast iron lateral that could be cleaned and lined we instead found a 6” terra cotta lateral with multiple issues that mainly stem from extensive root infiltration from the maple tree that was planted about 4 feet away from it.
The photo shows the tree and very close to where the line runs. The plan from our contractor is to dig up either side of the stairs and replace with PVC since lining isn’t possible. The excavation is planned to be only in the mulch beds shown, since the main runs in the grass about three feet away from the end of the bed. The existing terra cotta will be left under the stairs and to the main and lined then connected to the PVC.
Our concern is how close the excavation is to the tree and how it will impact the trees health. Ideally we would use trenchless but that isn’t really an option, and rerouting isn’t really possible due to needing to reuse the existing house and main connections. So what should I be sure our contractor is doing to best protect the tree, and how should we take care of it once everything is complete. We are expecting some die off in the canopy but it’s a really healthy tree so we are hoping that with good care we can save it overall.
Yeah, I’ve had that same thought. About 30 linear feet of 6” pipe chock full of tree roots tells me it’s been feeding on that buffet for a little while. That said we live in an area where trees do really well anyways, there’s another tree about 20 feet away that’s also does fantastic and it’s not even close to anything as great as a sewer pipe so I do have hope that after a year or two it will bounce back, but it looks like we will end up cutting around 1/4 to 1/3 of its roots out. Luckily the house blocks the predominant wind and the hill slopes away from the house so worst case it shouldn’t be a risk to the house.
This happened when I was a kid as well, also terracotta, but the tree was a cedar, my father did exactly what you plan to do and the tree wasn’t the same after, but did live. Maples are top feeders(?) and compete with the grass for nutrients AFAIK, so probably will be rather hard on it. My arborist came out for free and took an hour talking about each of the trees in the property before his crew came out to do trimming and take one down, I’d assume that’s common practice, so I’d get a pro out and get their advice. Good luck.
Interesting, about 3/4 of the drip area is mulched with very few plants in it and honestly the grass doesn’t do great under the canopy so maybe it won’t need to compete as hard. I’ll have to see if I can get our borough tree guy to take a look at it, otherwise I’ll need to find a tree company near us.