Repairing a root lifted concrete slab

Posted by Daniel Prince on September 28, 2009, 1:35 pm

We have a concrete slab that has been lifted on one side by roots.
The slab is against the back of the house. It is 123 inches by 31
inches. The 123 inch edge is lifted on the side away from the
house. The lift is between one and two inches. (I can put pictures
on imageshack if anyone want to see them.)
Is there an easy and cheap way to fix this slab without tearing it
up? Thank you in advance for all replies.
Whenever I hear or think of the song "Great green gobs of greasy
grimey gopher guts" I imagine my cat saying; "That sounds REALLY,
REALLY good. I'll have some of that!"

Posted by Joe on September 28, 2009, 2:29 pm

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Might depend on your time frame. Given a span of a year or more,
treating the roots with enzymes/chemicals/water or whatever to hasten
natural decay would allow the slab to settle back into place. Check
with your County Ag Extension Dept. for ideas there. The alternative
is what you would expect, dig it out and start over. But if the tree
is a cedar related species, the roots and stumps of those types will
last a generation or more, so option 1 might not work either. My plan
would be to wash out as much fill as necessary with a garden hose so
as to get a heavy chain around the root system and yank it out with a
comealong attached to something secure like a nearby tree. Or call my
buddy with a Ford F350 and see how much yard we could tear up yanking
on it that way. Once removed, call the slab jackers and have them
squirt some new support under the end. Easy and cheap may not give you
much more than sore muscles and aggravation. Good luck.
Joe

Posted by bob haller on September 28, 2009, 4:32 pm

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31
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put pictures
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is the OP planning on killing or removing the tree?

Posted by John Gilmer on September 29, 2009, 7:55 pm

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Tee hee!
He should have killed the tree LONG before it started putting good sized
roots under his slab.
Good sized trees should be kept away from many man structures (foundations,
shacks, buildings, walkways) simply because they destroy things while still
growning and when they eventually die they cause the above to collapse by
the root system rotting away and leaving voids and, of course, by falling
over onto the shack, etc.)
A good rule of thumb is that when a tree is big enough so that it could
serious damage a building were it to fall down, then cut it down yourself.
When you consider a replacement look for trees that tend to send down a
single "tap root" rather than thick surface roots.
Get shade/privacy by using quick growing species but be ready with the chain
saw when it's too big.
You can plant anything you want away from man made objects but be hard
hearted close by.

Posted by aemeijers on September 29, 2009, 10:07 pm

John Gilmer wrote:
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Some of us prefer lots where the trees are older than the houses, and
don't want a 75' clear zone all around the house. I hear what you're
saying, mind you- my mother and grandmother way overplanted with the
wrong species, way too close to the house, and me and my brothers ended
up cutting a lot of them out 20 years later. But the trees here (the
ones in back, at least) long predate the house, and no way I'm killing
them on the off chance they'll fall this direction. Stuff happens, and I
have insurance.
The management at my office building thinks like you. They had some
50-odd year old trees that were too close together, and getting dead
branches due to shading. So cut cut every other one, and do some
selective pruning? Nah, they clear-cut the whole row of healthy trees,
and increased the sun load on the windows so bad we have to keep the
blinds shut all day to avoid sweating. They claim they will replace them
with 'appropriate' trees, but I'll believe it when I see it. At most,
we'll get some bottle-brush pines that top out at 12 feet tall.
aem sends...

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