(Go Back)Construction Damage

If you are going to climb a tree near houses or close to a new road or sidewalk, be aware that the tree might have been damaged by construction equipment.

A backhoe can run into a tree, causing bark damage, which can open a wound in which pathogens can enter and cause rot. Trucks can run over the ground near a tree, compacting the soil and damaging the roots, which destroys the tree's anchor to the ground. Or the roots themselves can be dug up and cut, when a new sidewalk, driveway, street or building foundation is built.

Tree roots are mostly 12 to 18 inches underneath the ground, at least as far out from the trunk as the canopy extends above. Some oak trees have roots that extend up to 100 feet from the tree. In four to five years, trees in which their roots have been compromised will show the damage and may well be unstable - and unsuitable for climbing.

You should generally avoid trees that are close to newly built man-made structures. In trees in which a new sidewalk or building has been built close to one side of the tree, it can mean that the roots on that side have been compromised - and the tree could fall toward the opposite side.