On 31 Oct 2003 14:35:22 -0800, (juggler) wrote:

Hi. To follow up on what you all were saying, here are a few more
details...

I'd love to save the tree and not have to take it down. I was told by
each plumber (about 4 estimates) that in order to take out the old
sewer and put down a new sewer line, much of the tree's roots would be
cut away and compromised. So much so that they would not guarantee the
safety of the house. In other words, the tree could fall. The arborist
I would be going with, should I decide to go that route, himself said
that the oak tree will slowly die by what the plumbers will be cutting
away. So he, too, recommended cutting it down. He, however, said there
was no imminent rush (as the plumbers said there was). So I'm not sure
there's an easy answer around not cutting the tree down.

But if you read my earlier post, you'll see several options that your
plumber candidates apparently don't know about. Certainly I agree
with the arborist that you don't really need to do anything in a
rush--If you just snake out the line periodically you can keep the
roots cut back. But the arbortist also seems a bit ignorant of the
options that would allow replacing the plumbing without damaging roots
much. Did you visit the ISA web site?
http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare...nstruction.asp is a
good resource for information about tree preservation during
construction-type activities.

As for the driveway, it appears the plumber I'll be using has a new
type of mechanism for laying pipes. It's called pipe bursting. (Anyone
heard of it??) It's, he says, the least invasive type of pipe laying.
What it does is burst the existing pipe while laying down the new one.
It would involve, supposedly, just two holes in the ground.
Unfortunately, with the layout of my house, the two holes would both
likely involve the driveway. The bottom hole would be around the
clean-out (which happens to be right smack dab at the base of the
tree. The clean-out is even on a slant because of the tree's roots.)
This bottom hole would be right at the base of the driveway, as well.
The tree is about 4 feet away from the driveway. The top hole would be
on the side of the house, at the top of the driveway.

This seems to contradict your first paragraph--doesn't it mean one of
your plumber options can replace the plumbing without cutting roots?

I've never heard of this method, though. I'd call more plumbers and
arborists if I were you (and, if necessary, a well driller who can do
horizontal drilling, i.e., tunneling). Maybe bursting the pipe is a
good idea--I'd like to think so--but I wouldn't try it unless I could
find more than one person to sanction it.
Meanwhile, you can find an ISA Certified Arborist in your area he
http://www.isa-arbor.com/findArborist/findarborist.asp
You might even want to hire a member of the American Association of
Consulting Arborists:
http://www.asca-consultants.org/directory/index.cfm

Sounds like you'd really like to keep this tree, and there's no reason
apparent from your posts thus far to suggest you can't do it. Maybe
you've omitted some important info, but I encoursge you to do a little
more homework to find out how to save your oak. In the words of a
tree-guy bumper sticker, "Sure, trees are a renewable resource, but
who wants to wait for the results?"

Keith
For more info about the International Society of Arboriculture, please visit http://www.isa-arbor.com/home.asp.
For consumer info about tree care, visit http://www.treesaregood.com/