Can I cut tree roots that are lifting my driveway?

Sometimes, but measure first. UF/IFAS Extension says arborists warn against cutting any root closer to the trunk than 5 times its diameter, so a tree with a 20-inch trunk shouldn't lose roots within about 8 feet. Cutting closer risks killing the tree or leaving it unstable. If the damage is closer than that, removal may be the safer fix.

Do tree roots break into sewer and water pipes?

Roots don't hunt for pipes. UF/IFAS Extension explains that roots grow wherever soil moisture and nutrients suit them, so a leaking joint or a drain field can feed fast root growth around it. Fix the leak with a plumber, and treat the roots and the pipe repair as two separate jobs with two prices.

Does stump grinding remove the roots too?

No. HomeGuide notes that stump grinding doesn't include root removal, which means digging up and cutting the underground roots, billed at roughly $75 to $150 an hour. Grinding takes out the stump and the root crown below it. Surface roots running across the lawn or under a slab are a separate line on the quote.

Tree Root Removal in Pompano Beach, FL

Typical cost: root removal is usually billed by the hour, about $75 to $150 in HomeGuide's figures and $100 to $200 in Angi's.
Root barrier: about $200 to $300 to install, with the barrier typically buried around 3 feet deep.
Cutting limit: arborists warn against cutting any root closer to the trunk than 5 times the trunk's diameter.
Where roots are: mostly in the top 12 to 18 inches of soil, and they can spread 3 to 4 times wider than the canopy.

Pompano Beach Tree Care points your root problem to a contractor nearby who can say whether the roots can be cut back, blocked with a barrier, or have to come out along with the tree. The call is free. On a tree you plan to keep, how much root comes off matters as much as which ones, because the big roots near the trunk are what hold the tree up.

Tree Root Removal Jobs Around Homes and Hardscape

Thick ficus surface roots lifting and cracking a concrete driveway slab next to a large weeping fig

Ficus Roots Under Slabs and Driveways

Weeping fig is the usual suspect. UF/IFAS describes Ficus benjamina as a tree that reaches 60 feet tall and 60 to 100 feet wide, with roots that grow under and lift sidewalks, patios and driveways, and it calls the species far too large for a home lot unless kept as a hedge. If the roots heaving the slab sit inside the 5-times line, cutting them puts the tree at risk. On a ficus that size, taking out the tree can be the cleaner answer, and the City's code leaves most ficus off its specimen-tree list.

Banyan tree with dozens of aerial roots dropping from its limbs into the ground, forming extra trunks beside a backyard fence

Banyan Aerial and Surface Roots

Weeping fig, listed as weeping banyan in UF/IFAS's hurricane tables, drops aerial roots from its branches. Once they touch the ground they root and grow into sturdy extra trunks, which UF/IFAS says can clog a landscape. For the true banyan, Ficus benghalensis, the UF/IFAS plant directory warns that the root system can damage infrastructure and that seedlings can sprout on fence posts and buildings. Every rooted aerial root is one more trunk to cut and grind.

Cracked and raised pavers on a pool deck with a tree root exposed beneath a lifted section

Roots in Pipes and Pool Decks

Roots don't seek out pipes, according to UF/IFAS Extension. They grow where conditions suit them, and a leaking line in wet soil suits them well. On a pool deck, measure how far the lifting roots are from the trunk before cutting. Inside the 5-times line, cutting can leave the tree unstable, a bad trade next to a pool cage. HomeGuide lists repairing root-damaged pipes as a cost on top of the root work.

Narrow trench dug along a driveway edge with a black plastic root barrier panel standing upright in it, a shade tree a few yards away

Root Pruning and Root Barriers

Root pruning cuts roots cleanly at a set line, and a barrier steers the regrowth away from the slab. Angi puts a barrier at about $200 to $300 and says it usually sits around 3 feet deep, either ringing the tree or shielding one side. Any trench means digging, so the call to 811 comes first; stump grinding covers how that works.

Gloved arborist tapping a live oak trunk with a grey mallet to listen for decay, clipboard under one arm

Why Pompano Beach homeowners call Pompano Beach Tree Care

One independent local tree crew per request
Price, cleanup and haul-away in writing first
Ask for insurance proof and an ISA arborist
Free to call; you pay the crew only for work you OK

Cut, Block or Remove: Choosing the Fix for Tree Roots

Most roots sit in the top foot or so of soil, and UF/IFAS Extension says they can run 3 to 4 times past the drip line when nothing stops them. Which fix fits depends on where the damage is and whether the tree is worth keeping.

Keep the tree, cut the roots
Possible when the damage sits outside the 5-times-diameter line. Ask an arborist to mark the line before anyone digs.
Keep the tree, add a barrier
Best when new paving or a pool is going in beside a tree you want to save.
Remove the tree
When the roots doing the damage are close to the trunk, or the tree is a ficus already too big for the lot. On non-exempt properties, the City can approve removal of a tree that endangers a structure; tree removal covers the permit side.
Clear roots after a removal
Grinding takes the stump, not the root spread. Ask for root removal as its own line if you're re-paving or planting.
Unsure the tree is stable
Get a tree risk assessment before cutting anything big.

See stump grinding for the stump left after a ficus or banyan comes down.