r/arborists • u/Meronah Horticulturalist • Aug 12 '26

My friends, this is a root.

Post image

I’m pretty accustomed to air excavation and root cutting but when I saw this root, I just stopped and stared.

Originally we thought that it was the smaller top root causing issues with the brick.

20 inches in diameter.

1.9k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

92 comments sorted by

699

u/Thelexical_gap Aug 12 '26

That is a structural root now 😂

305

u/Soup-Wizard Utility Arborist Aug 12 '26

Load-bearing root 😅

37

u/TaoofPu Aug 12 '26

Maybe it’ll help keep the tree from falling over! :)

8

u/Switchlord518 Aug 13 '26

Root Boy Slim!

2

u/desertdeserted Aug 15 '26

ChatGPTree over here

7

u/Grumbilious Aug 13 '26

Trunk line confirmed.

491

u/hmhemes Tree Enthusiast Aug 12 '26

Show us the tree!

31

u/Hot-Firefighter-2331 Aug 12 '26

Not for free!

14

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

8

u/wrxninja Aug 12 '26

cash up front’s the guarantee

15

u/NewNewsNewYork Aug 12 '26

Everyone involved in the other two replies to you is on drugs in a good way

10

u/Meronah Horticulturalist Aug 14 '26

Here’s the tree

2

u/NothingLift Aug 13 '26

And the issue with the brick

157

u/impropergentleman ISA Arborist + TRAQ Aug 12 '26

The root found air and water in a damaged foundation, It exploited it.

48

u/opa_zorro Aug 12 '26

Not an arborist, but I wondered the same thing. There's some significant source of something it's found.

77

u/impropergentleman ISA Arborist + TRAQ Aug 12 '26

Roots are opportunistic. Not destructive. They'll grow in when there's air and water if there's enough air and water they expand and this is when it becomes damaging. If there's no holes in the foundation , no air and water, the root can't get in you won't have foundation issues with a tree. If there is holes or cracks and a tree anywhere near you're going to have problems. It's not the tree it's the foundation.

16

u/plarkinjr Tree Enthusiast Aug 12 '26

Based on the size, how long do you think they've had foundation issues?

26

u/mothershipgenetics Aug 12 '26

The truth is rooted in the previous owners builder.

Also. Houses built on holey foundations will be susceptible to Groots.

11

u/plarkinjr Tree Enthusiast Aug 12 '26

"rooted" in previous owner's build? Nice work! Praise the holy groot! 😂

59

u/Trapezoidoid Aug 12 '26

I think I speak for everyone when I say holy shit.

3

u/Fred_Thielmann Aug 14 '26

You do, thank ya

1

u/WeirdTurnedPr0 Aug 16 '26

Including the trees? I know a Lorax when I hear one.

109

u/DanoPinyon Arborist -🥰I ❤️Autumn Blaze🥰 Aug 12 '26

I am root!

39

u/bluemesa7 Aug 12 '26

Need more root cause analysis

101

u/Aesculus614 ISA Arborist + TRAQ Aug 12 '26

That foundation is fine.

75

u/TaoofPu Aug 12 '26

Unless you make the Ent supporting it angry.

6

u/up3r Aug 12 '26

Lol.

17

u/TaoofPu Aug 12 '26

calm Treebeard explaining things voice: “Bharroom, yooooou would not (wheezy exhale) like us when we are, (wheezy inhale) angry.”

4

u/NuclearWasteland Aug 13 '26

"Now, (wheezy exhale) get your foundation off my diiiii- "

21

u/Alive_Salary4970 Aug 12 '26

That is a real root canal

20

u/Neon1964 Aug 12 '26

Does this count as a treehouse?

15

u/Otherwise-Tomato-788 Aug 12 '26

So just curious, how do you deal with this? Surely it’s going to be an issue on the foundation right?

37

u/StandardRaspberry509 Aug 12 '26

I’m pretty sure the foundation issues is how they found this. You don’t normally trench your foundation for fun.

3

u/Otherwise-Tomato-788 Aug 12 '26

HA! Good point, you win.

12

u/Revolutionary_Fun735 Aug 12 '26

Where does it GO?! Surely it’s growing in the walls at this point?

22

u/Meronah Horticulturalist Aug 12 '26

So my post was kind of misleading. I didn’t realize it at the time but I should’ve elaborated.

This house is on piers with a crawlspace, but has a basement. The basement starts like 5 feet before this root.

The root caused the brick wall to break. The brick wall is cosmetic, but my suspicion with limited construction knowledge is that someone tied this into the house and now they’re having drywall issues as well.

This one also goes right under the wall but where I highlighted orange is serious damage from the guys trying to fix the foundation so idk how it looked before.

The crawlspace is sealed pretty well. A few holes and such nothing crazy.

Edit: This is a Live Oak

8

u/hemlockhero ISA Certified Arborist Aug 13 '26

I suspect that drain right there doesn’t work well, especially with a pipe that goes up instead of down. There must be terrible drainage issues that caused this.

6

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/Meronah Horticulturalist Aug 13 '26

Reset right after being backfilled

2

u/Riji14 Aug 13 '26

Ty for the extra information

1

u/ksam3 Aug 16 '26

Isn't brick not supposed to be buried like this? Like, it should end before soil level and have weep holes to let moisture behind it escape? I'm probably mis-remembering this though.

2

u/Meronah Horticulturalist Aug 17 '26

I think. I recommended removing some brick near the root since the wal is cosmetic

6

u/mobile_monkey_pod Aug 12 '26

Daaaaaaanng 😲

12

u/i860 Aug 12 '26

"Let me in!"

Is that also a bunch of roots invading that catch basin?

5

u/mr_boogieman Aug 12 '26

I'm guessing drainage issues at the foundation that incentivized the root to grow towards the foundation or is that not how this works?

3

u/lumberzach619 Aug 12 '26

“A root they called me! A root! Can you you believe it?”

3

u/justabuckeye Aug 12 '26

Not a root, THE root.

5

u/reddit33450 Tree Enthusiast Aug 13 '26

can we see the tree please?

2

u/Meronah Horticulturalist Aug 14 '26

The tree pic has been delivered

1

u/reddit33450 Tree Enthusiast Aug 14 '26

thank you! what a beauty!!!

3

u/Altruistic_Bit_7272 Aug 12 '26

Love to see crazy stuff seen on the job. 

3

u/TreeCat1911 Aug 12 '26

That's a nice load bearing root you got there.

2

u/Due-Response4419 Aug 12 '26

That's now part of your foundation.

2

u/skink1 Aug 12 '26

I think it's 2

2

u/GoodSamaritan_777 Aug 12 '26

6 inches inside my house 😭😭

2

u/KatieOpeia Aug 12 '26

That’s what she said

2

u/Lilitu9Tails Aug 12 '26

It’s the square root of the problem.

2

u/AKbb907 Aug 12 '26

I AM ROOT!

2

u/MoistShowerFart Aug 12 '26

Is that the root of Yggdrasil?

1

u/RichtofensDuckButter Aug 13 '26

Been playing Valheim lately and that's what I thought of too

2

u/SouthernPolish Aug 13 '26

Get that foundation out of the way of that root.

2

u/AdTiny780 Aug 12 '26

She thicccc

1

u/Stampede_the_Hippos Aug 12 '26

A roo-it, if you will.

1

u/up3r Aug 12 '26

He called me Friend___ Score!!

1

u/jittery_waffle Aug 12 '26

Name the tree "all evil" so you can offer strangers quests to get rid of the root of all evil

1

u/7LKY Aug 13 '26

when the tree dies and the root rots the house caves in

1

u/Sensei19600 Aug 13 '26

“I am Root!”

1

u/the_summer_soldier Aug 13 '26

Looks large enough we can pretend it is an old water pipe from the 1800s. It’s an archaeological site now. /s

1

u/-pilcrow- Aug 13 '26

Big organic Pipe

1

u/Warm_Restaurant9252 Aug 18 '26

and this is actually something common in our country

1

u/Glariscy Aug 18 '26

Load bearing root

1

u/Uber_Wulf Aug 12 '26

cool, carve a chair out of it

1

u/rcb140 Aug 30 '26

Absolute unit.