Gold Coast and the Tweed
Root barriers on the Gold Coast
Roots turned away from a driveway, a path, a pipe or a slab, so the tree can stay where it is.
Root barriers
How a root barrier goes in
A barrier is a sheet set upright in a trench between the tree and whatever it is lifting. Roots that meet it turn down or along it instead of travelling under the concrete.
Services found first
Plans of the pipes and cables under the block are requested through Before You Dig Australia, which is free, before a trench is marked. Near a service the soil can be cleared with low pressure water instead of a blade, which shows what is there without cutting it.
Roots cut, not torn
Roots already past the line are cut cleanly at the trench face. How much can come off depends on the tree: too much from one side costs it anchorage as well as water, and that judgement is made before the line is set.
The barrier itself
Set upright to a depth that suits how that species roots in that soil, with the top edge left just proud of the ground so roots cannot climb over it, then the trench backfilled and compacted.
When a barrier is the wrong answer
A tree already heaving a slab badly, or one whose roots on that side carry most of its weight, can be better removed than cut. The visit says so before anyone digs.
Compared: removal, lopping or pruning, stump grinding or stump removal, council tree rules compared
How it works
Four steps, and the permit comes before the price
Nothing happens without a written quote you have agreed to.
- 1
Call or send the form
Include the suburb, your details and what needs to be done.
- 2
A contractor comes to see it
On site, not off a photo, because access and what sits underneath change the job.
- 3
The permit position is checked
Against the city's vegetation mapping and the koala controls, before a price is given.
- 4
Quoted in writing
The quote sets out the scope, the timber, the stump and the date. Then a date is booked.
Root barrier questions
The tree, the neighbours and the pipes
Will a root barrier harm the tree?
Cutting roots always costs a tree something. Done along one side and well back from the trunk, most healthy trees cope. Done close in or around most of the tree, it can decline or become unstable, which is why the line is chosen before the digging starts.
Does cutting roots need council approval?
It may. The City's definition of damage to protected vegetation covers interference with a tree's natural growth, and cutting into the roots of a protected tree can fall within it. The position is checked against the mapping before the work is quoted.
Roots from next door's tree are lifting my path. What can I do?
Start with a conversation. Under Queensland's neighbourhood disputes law the person who keeps a tree is responsible for making sure it does not cause serious damage to a neighbour's land or property, and QCAT hears tree disputes, but it expects a reasonable effort to reach agreement first. A barrier on your side of the boundary is often that agreement.
Do roots break sewer pipes?
Roots rarely break a sound pipe. They find a way into one that is already cracked or leaking at a joint, because that is where the water is. A plumber's camera shows whether the pipe is the problem, and a barrier keeps the roots away from the repair.
