All of the above solutions were considered, and are good, but in my
similiar situation, I choose to redo the patio because it was also the
finished edge of a new addition to the house. I dug a 12" wide by 15"
concrete footing trench along the perimeter of the patio, included
rebar, and I placed foam board in the trench for a vapor seal along the
face, prior to pouring in the concrete. Tree roots seek out water, and
won't penetrate surfaces where there is none. For this work you'll
have to cut tree roots, which may not be so bad because it appears that
the surface roots you have may be seeking after shallow irrigation
water. I'd irrigate infrequently, but when you do deep water the tree
roots to keep them in the ground.

Pavel314 wrote:
"Joe" wrote in message
news:1zsDg.3225$5M.1851@trnddc02...
I've got tree roots from a maple tree growing dangerously close to a
concrete slab and was hoping someone might have an effective way of
dealing with an issue like this short of swinging the axe. Chainsaws
and grinders in my experience haven't been too effective. The link
below shows the problem and thanks very much for any ideas.

http://home.nctv.com/ajns/roots.jpg


Go to a local metal shop and order some plate aluminum or stainless steel.
Make it 12" "deep" by around 3-4' long and manually insert them right up
against the concrete and even with the top of the dirt. Roots can't get
past solid metal.

Years ago I heard that plants can't stand copper. If that's true, maybe some
copper tubes strategically placed will turn the roots away from the slab.
Does anyone know if this really works?

Paul