The live oak's roots have heaved two slabs of our driveway. Can they be cut back without killing the tree?

Sometimes, if the cuts stay far enough out. UF/IFAS Extension says arborists warn against cutting roots closer to the trunk than five times its diameter, which is 10 feet for a 24-inch trunk. Fixr suggests removing no more than 20% of the roots and leaving the main ones. Cutting closer or more can leave the tree unstable in a storm.

The oak is a long way from the pool, yet roots are cracking the deck. Can they really reach that far?

Yes. UF/IFAS Extension says tree roots can spread three to four times as far as the edge of the canopy when nothing stops them, and most sit in the top 12 to 18 inches of soil, the same shallow layer that sits under decks, walks and patios. A tree at the far side of the yard can still be the one responsible.

Tree Root Removal in Palm Coast, FL

Hourly rate: HomeGuide prices root removal at $75 to $150 an hour, and notes stump grinding doesn't include it
Keeping the tree: Fixr advises taking out no more than 20% of the roots and leaving the main ones, at about $150 to $350
Digging everything out: Fixr puts a full root dig-out at up to $500 to $1,000
Safe distance: UF/IFAS Extension says arborists warn against cutting roots closer to the trunk than 5 times its diameter

Palm Coast Tree Service routes root problems to a root removal contractor, and passing the request on costs you nothing. The first question is whether the tree stays: cutting a few roots to save a driveway is a different job from clearing out the roots of a tree that's already gone.

Tree Root Removal by Where the Roots Are

Thick oak surface roots lifting and cracking two concrete driveway slabs in front of a single-story house

Roots Lifting a Driveway or Sidewalk

UF/IFAS notes that live oak roots, given time, lift sidewalks, curbs and driveways, and that a laurel oak's flared trunk base lifts sidewalks and curbs where its planting strip is under 8 feet wide. Whether a root under a slab can be cut depends, says UF/IFAS Extension, on the tree's age and health, the root's size and how close to the trunk the cut would fall.

No cuts closer than 5 times the trunk diameter: 10 feet for a 24-inch trunk (UF/IFAS Extension rule of thumb)
Fixr: under 20% of the roots, main roots left alone, about $150 to $350

Pale concrete pool deck with a raised, cracked edge where a tree root runs underneath, a screened pool enclosure behind

Roots Under a Pool Deck or Patio

Most tree roots sit in the top 12 to 18 inches of soil, and they can spread three to four times past the canopy's edge, according to UF/IFAS Extension. That puts a deck or patio well within reach of a tree that seems far away. Fixr notes that a root barrier may be needed afterwards to keep roots from coming back into the same area.

Roots Close to the Foundation

Fixr warns that a tree growing too close to the foundation can send roots under the house and cause structural problems. When the tree is that close, the roots reaching the slab may sit inside the five-times-diameter zone, and removing the tree may be the practical alternative.

Ground-out stump area in a lawn with several thick roots still running out from it under the grass

Roots Left After a Tree Comes Out

HomeGuide notes that stump grinding doesn't include root removal and that roots left behind don't all die for years; Fixr says they can take up to ten years to break down. Clearing them is billed by the hour, and a full dig-out with heavy equipment costs the most.

Root removal: $75 to $150 an hour (HomeGuide)
Fixr: about $200 to remove a 24-inch stump with its root; up to $500 to $1,000 to dig out all the roots

Gloved hand cutting a dead brown frond off a sabal palm with a curved pruning saw, green fronds left on the crown above

Why Palm Coast homeowners, HOAs and property managers call Palm Coast Tree Service

Each request goes to just one tree company
Free to use; you pay only for work you sign off on
Ask for an estimate that lists cleanup and hauling
Ask to see liability and workers' comp proof

Before Anyone Cuts a Root

UF/IFAS Extension says the closer to the trunk a cut is, the bigger the roots and the more of them cut, the greater the chance of damaging the tree for good and making it less stable. Ask the tree company to mark where each cut will be and how far that is from the trunk.

Palm Coast's land code counts improper pruning of roots, not only branches, as "effective removal" of a tree; tree trimming explains what that means. Root cutting breaks the soil, so ask whether the crew will call Sunshine 811 to have buried lines marked first.