What this job is
A clean cut, painted or not depending on the arborist spec, then HDPE against the cut face. That pair is the job. Pruning alone is a callback.
We will not make a cut that girdles a live oak to save a sidewalk. If the flare is already the walk, the honest options are: move the walk, live with a grind schedule, or — last — the tree. Barrier still helps the rest of the plate.
Rebuilds in Bellaire and West U use this pair the most: prune the plate off the new beam line, set deep panel, keep the oak.
Problems that actually show up
- Surface roots already under a walk
- A clean cut that needs a wall behind it
- Flare that has entered the parkway
- A previous grind with roots still proud
- Pool-deck roots you can see
- A tree you are keeping on a rebuild
Sequence
- Decide what can be cut Species, percent of plate, time of year. Summer in Houston is not always the day.
- Cut clean Vertical, on the structure side.
- Set panel against the cut No gap for a new leader to find.
- Water and watch A freshly pruned oak in August needs irrigation on the tree side, not on the slab side.
Root Pruning & Barrier near you
We run this work across Greater Houston. Start with the city closest to the lot: