Charlie: John and Katie has one for you, it’s tree roots coming out of the ground, almost above the ground, in the back yard and they’re coming from the other side of the fence, which is county owned property. He wants to know how he can cut the roots above the ground, and in some cases stop them from coming toward the house.
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Tom: Can’t stop them, not those particular roots. And we’re not talking feeder roots when people talk about root barriers. We’re talking about anchor roots. Those are the ones he sees. But how do you get rid of them, chainsaw. Saw, just cut them off. Cut them, grind them, saw them. I mean, if you wanna just go the ground, fine. If you wanna cut them off, fine, and dig them out. I don’t care. Now, of course, the tree might fall down on your house because they are anchor roots.
Charlie: Well, wait a second.
Tom: The big one’s on top. Hold on a minute. The big one’s on top holding the tree in place. The feeder roots, when we get into root barriers where they’re worried about water under the foundation and we get into things like [inaudible 00:00:50] would approach. Those are little tiny roots, but they’re 30 inches in the ground. Yeah, you can cut them.
Charlie: But if the roots are coming toward his house, and the tree’s on the other side of the fence and he cuts those roots, isn’t the tree more likely to fall the other way?
Tom: I hope so.
Charlie: I’m not saying a thing.
Tom: Mike, keep us posted.
Charlie: Yes, and don’t call your lawyer when it falls the wrong way.