Tree roots damaging a retaining wall, pavers or driveway in Sydney

Send two photos: the damage and the tree. Upload them in the quote form (up to 6 photos), email them to sales@trueroots.com.au, or call 0422 023 242. No call-out fee, same-day call back.

Before anyone cuts a root or relays the paving, send us the photos: cutting roots can need council approval, and cutting first can cost you the evidence if a neighbour, council or insurer is involved.

Why root damage keeps coming back

A common reason root repairs fail is the hand-over between trades. A tree crew cuts some roots and leaves. A paving or wall crew rebuilds over whatever is left. A few years later the roots are back and the pavers lift again.

The arborist who decides which roots can be cut works on the same job as the crew that relays the paving or builds the wall, so the repair is not built over roots that will lift it again.

• AQF Level 5 consulting arborist with about 15 years in arboriculture, ISA and Arboriculture Australia member
• NSW licensed landscape contractors for walls, paving, paths and site preparation
• ISO 9001, $20M public liability, LGCA approved supplier, Indigenous-owned

Warning signs roots are getting into a structure

• Pavers lifting, rocking or opening up near a tree, or a patio no longer draining properly
• A retaining wall leaning, bulging or cracking on the side closest to a tree
• Cracks in a concrete driveway or path running towards a tree, or a raised edge you now trip on
• Pool surrounds or paving around the pool moving
• Garden bed walls or edging being pushed out
• Slow drains or repeat blockages in a line that runs near a tree

These signs do not always mean the tree is to blame. The City of Ryde lists poor construction, age, soil movement and poor drainage among the causes of wall failure, and says council is not automatically liable for damage caused by street trees (City of Ryde). That is why we look before we cut.

Tree roots pushing or cracking a retaining wall

The City of Ryde says properly constructed walls with solid foundations should withstand typical root growth (City of Ryde). So the first job is to find out whether roots are really the cause, or whether the wall was already failing.

Where roots are involved, we expose them by hand at the wall, decide with the arborist which roots can be cut without destabilising or killing the tree, and fit a root barrier where the tree is staying. Where the wall needs repairing or rebuilding, our licensed landscape contractors repair it or build a new one in treated pine or hardwood sleepers, concrete block or sandstone, with posts concreted to depth and ag drain and geofabric behind it. Walls over 600 mm, on a boundary, holding a driveway or pool, or within a tree protection zone are designed by an engineer and certified, and may also need council or certifier approval. We tell you which applies at the quote.

Some councils also accept designs that work around roots. Ku-ring-gai Council gives a bridge footing over tree roots as an example of a tree-sensitive approach for fences, paths and retaining walls (Ku-ring-gai Council).

Wall moving near a tree? Send a photo of the wall and the tree through the quote form or call 0422 023 242.

Tree roots lifting pavers and paving

Lifted pavers are usually the most straightforward root problem to fix properly, as long as the roots are dealt with first. We lift the pavers, expose the roots by hand, cut only the roots that can be removed without destabilising or killing the tree, and fit a root barrier along the paving edge where the tree is staying. The pavers are then relaid level on new bedding.

If the roots belong to an old stump that was never dealt with, we take the stump and the main roots out so they stop heaving the paving. See tree root removal.

Pavers lifting? Send a photo of the paving and the tree through the quote form or call 0422 023 242.

Tree roots lifting or cracking a driveway

A driveway cracking towards a tree needs the roots sorted before anything is reinstated, or the new surface goes the same way. We find which tree the roots belong to, check whether the work needs council approval, then deal with the roots first so the driveway can be reinstated.

Council rules matter here. Georges River Council’s Tree Management Policy 2024 says it will not approve removing or pruning trees just to reduce minor damage to driveways and paths (Tree Management Policy 2024, s 3.2). In those cases a root barrier, with the damaged section reinstated, is often the realistic fix.

Driveway cracking near a tree? Send photos through the quote form or call 0422 023 242.

Tree root investigation and excavation: what’s under the ground?

Root damage is the part of a job nobody can see. Before we quote a fix, we answer three questions:

1. Which tree? Your tree, your neighbour’s tree, a council street tree, or an old stump that was never dealt with.
2. Which roots, and how big? Where roots are blamed for a crack, a lifted path or a blocked pipe, we expose and map them and report what the tree is and is not responsible for.
3. Is the tree protected, and does the work need approval? We check the council rules before any root is cut (see below).

We excavate locally at the point of damage, by hand, and leave the roots intact until we know what they are doing.

This matters for more than the repair. Sutherland Shire Council, for example, asks claimants to engage a professional (such as an arborist or engineer) to carry out localised excavation at the point of suspected contact, uncover the roots carefully and leave them intact, not cut or remove them, and submit the claim and evidence before any repair work. It also warns that a full-length trench beside brick footing walls or fences above 1.0 m may destabilise them (Sutherland Shire Council). Cutting first can cost you the evidence.

Where you need it in writing, we can write the arborist report. Some councils, such as Sutherland Shire for tree permits, require a report from a consultant with no link to a tree contractor. Where that applies, we say so and refer you on. See arborist reports Sydney.

Who should you call: arborist, plumber, builder or engineer?

Your options: root pruning, root barrier, removal or rebuild

A recent job: tree roots against a wall in Newtown

In a Newtown terrace garden, a tree’s roots were pushing against a rendered wall. With no room for machinery, the tree came out first, then the crew dug the bed out by hand to expose the root system against the wall, cut it out in pieces and carried it out through the house. The bed was left clear and level, ready for replanting. See the Newtown tree and root removal.

Another job: a root running under a slab beside the house

Here a single large root had grown across the lawn and under the concrete pad that holds the air-conditioner, right beside the house. The crew dug it out by hand along its length, cut it out in sections and left the trench open for backfilling.

Photos from our own job. Client addresses are never published.

It is also the kind of fix the Land and Environment Court orders in neighbour tree disputes. The Court’s annotated Trees Act lists orders for re-laying paths or driveways, re-laying courtyard paving, repairing retaining walls, replacing or cleaning sewer pipes, installing root barriers and root pruning (LEC annotated Trees Act, s 9).

How a root and structure job runs

1. Photos first. Send photos of the damage and the tree through the quote form or call 0422 023 242. We tell you what we think it is.
2. Site visit and services check. We inspect the tree and trace the roots causing the damage, and lodge a free Before You Dig Australia enquiry before excavating.
3. Approvals. We check whether the tree is protected and whether root pruning, a barrier or removal needs council approval.
4. Root work. We expose the roots by hand, cut cleanly, and cut only the roots that can be removed without destabilising or killing the tree. Around trees that are staying, we dig by hand. Machines are used where there is room and the tree or stump is coming out.
5. Barrier. Root barrier fitted where a living tree is the source.
6. Rebuild. Paving lifted and relaid level on new bedding, or the wall repaired or rebuilt in treated pine or hardwood sleepers, concrete block or sandstone, with posts concreted to depth and ag drain and geofabric behind it.
7. Handover. Soil backfilled and compacted, surfaces reinstated, site left clean.

One fixed quote covers the root work and the paving or wall work, so you are not stuck between two contractors blaming each other.

Council approval: check before any root is cut

Tree rules are set council by council, so the answer depends on where you live. Two local examples:

• Georges River Council says works to any part of a tree, including cutting tree roots, need prior council approval unless exempt (Georges River Tree Management). Its 2024 policy lists root pruning and installing root barriers as works requiring approval. It says it will not approve removing or pruning trees just to reduce minor damage to driveways and paths, or to reduce root blockages in pipes that are earthenware or in poor condition. It also says damage-based applications may need a report from an AQF Level 5 arborist, a registered building inspector or a structural engineer (Tree Management Policy 2024, ss 3.2 and 3.6.4).
• Sutherland Shire Council says removing a tree on private land generally requires its permission, other tree work that is not exempt under its DCP needs a permit, and work done without one is treated as tree vandalism (Sutherland Shire, trees on private property).

We work out what applies before we start. Where a council asks for an arborist report, we write it in-house, unless the council requires a consultant with no link to a tree contractor (Sutherland Shire does for tree permits). Then we say so and refer you on.

Roots in the pipes: we work alongside the plumber

Sydney Water says roots can enter small cracks in wastewater pipes, and recommends avoiding planting trees within 6 metres of wastewater pipes (Sydney Water). The City of Ryde says roots will not penetrate intact pipes (City of Ryde). Under Sydney Water’s customer contract, the owner is responsible for the property’s wastewater system up to and including the connection point, with repairs done using a licensed plumber or drainer (Sydney Water Customer Contract, cl 8.5).

We are not plumbers. If roots have got into a cracked sewer, a licensed plumber repairs or relines the pipe. We deal with the roots and the source: removing the tree, or fitting a barrier between the tree and the line so the new pipe stays clear.

Neighbour’s tree or council tree?

If the roots come from next door, the rules and the evidence matter. Read our guide to neighbour’s tree roots damaging your property in NSW. If it is a council or street tree, contact the council before anyone cuts a root, and see the Sutherland Shire evidence steps above as an example of what councils ask for.

What it costs

Every root and structure job is different: how big the roots are, whether the tree stays, access, and how much paving or wall work is needed. We give one fixed quote after we have seen the job. There is no call-out fee. Prices we publish:

• Stump grinding: $300 to $900 ex GST per stump
• AQF Level 5 arborist report for council: mostly $1,500 to $2,000 ex GST
• Root investigations that need roots exposed on site, root work, barriers, paving relays and walls: quoted per job as one fixed price after we have seen it

Roots doing damage? Send us two photos

One of the damage, one of the tree. We will tell you whether it looks like the roots, which tree they belong to, and what the fix looks like. Call 0422 023 242 or send photos through the quote form (up to 6). We also do tree root removal, root barrier installation, retaining walls and site preparation and landscape construction.