my neighbor has three very large old pine trees on the edge of his property and ours. many of the branches hanging over our property have been removed prior to our ownership of this home and a few are presently looking dead and in need of further removal. but my real concern is the extensive root system that spreads across a major portion of my property. they make planting other plants difficult and are the cause of several dangerous spots and loose cobblestones in the patio i built last year. they seem to be getting worse as time goes by. we are also planning to install a new porch room with a new cement foundation over the top of several of them. how dangerous is it for me to just cut and remove sections of these roots that are 15 feet or more away from the trunk. there are about 5-7 that are cause problems either on the surface or just under the soil. the trees are at least 50-60 ft tall and 2-3 feet in diameter at the base.

related to this is the question of whose house is in the most danger, mine or his? it seems all the extra weight on his side would be to his disadvantage but that the prevailing ocean winds blowing towards my house and any loss of roots on my side would put us in more danger.

One very general indicator of stability is the height-diameter ratio, Using an average height of 55 feet and an average diamtere of 2.5 ft. you have a ration of 22. Mattheck suggests that trres with a ratio <35 are pretty stable. But you should be looking at diamter at ~about 4.5 feet not at the base.

A second point is that if the ocean winds blow towrads your property the most important roots may be on your neighbor's property, not yours. Most of the literature suggests that for surface rooted conifers the windward or tension roots are more important than tghe leeward or compression roots. But, pines in sandy soil may have a tap root that also contributes to stability... but don't assume that.

All in all you need a qualified arborist - with local experiemnce - to assess all these issues.

thanks scott. looking at the ratio aspect, they seem to be ok. especially given that the tallest one is the healthiest of the 3. it's also comforting to know that his roots should be more important. that is counter intuitive to me. it would seem that the ones being pushed on would be more supportive than the ones being pulled. like i said, there aren't that many that are in the way so i won't be so afraid to cut one at the problem spot in the future.

we live about a mile from the actual coast so our soil is more clay than sand beneath the topsoil. it is very water retentive at deeper levels with very good drainage at the top. so i would guess that your idea of a tap root might be true here.

as for an arborist - i'm currently unemployed and money is far too tight for their rates in my area.

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it's also comforting to know that his roots should be more important. that is counter intuitive to me. it would seem that the ones being pushed on would be more supportive than the ones being pulled.

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Roots are like ropes. They have high tensile strength, but low compression strength. IOW, they can be pulled, but not pushed. The roots on the opposite side are the ones that hold the tree best.

Be careful of cutting any roots. Small ones only, not many, and only a few at a time.

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Russ Carlson, RCA