How to save trees when building a house on a site

Experts call forest areas the most difficult to build. A forest is a separate ecological system, and a rude human invasion with special equipment and building materials usually completely destroys it. If you decide to preserve slender pines, lush spruces, age-old oaks and beautiful birches on the plot you have inherited, you will have to solve a difficult task, which is not always possible to complete 100%.

The first thing you should definitely think about is the geodetic survey of the site. There is such a thing as a sub-tree topographic survey, when a clear plan of all the plants on the site is drawn up. Such location photography is necessary not only for drawing up a landscape design plan, but also for general planning of the entire construction site, including the laying of engineering communications..

Typically, a sub-tree survey captures all plants taller than 1.3 m with a stem of more than eight centimeters. Small seedlings, of course, are easier to dig up and move to a safe place, for example, to a far corner of the future garden, away from the construction site, they usually root well in a new place. The survey also covers trees that are at a distance of five meters from the border of your site, this is important when planning the laying of pipes and other communications.

Second, there are specialists such as phytopathologists. They perform the same functions as veterinarians, but only in relation to trees. Such a plant disease specialist will tell you which tree can be painlessly cut down, because it is inappropriate to save it due to age and the presence of diseases. After examining the plan drawn up by surveyors, phytopathologists will highlight trees that should be preserved by any means and will give their recommendations on a possible transplant of plants to another place.

It is clear that geodetic surveying and phytopathology services will incur additional costs. However, they are usually relatively small, and you definitely want the house to be surrounded by pine trees in order to enjoy the healthy air saturated with resins..

Of course, even before starting construction, a clear plan should be drawn up, based on geodetic surveys. Now that you know exactly which trees can be cut down, which ones will remain, you can thoughtfully choose a place for the house on the most plant-free area. It is advisable to attract an architect who will take into account your wishes, a typical project of a house on the site in this case is not very suitable.

The biggest threat to trees comes from foundation construction. In this sense, a pile-screw foundation is much preferable, as it will cause less damage to the soil and surrounding plants. Many consider such a pile-screw foundation to be not very reliable, but for wooden buildings, houses made of laminated veneer lumber, frame buildings, it is well suited.

Before starting construction, the trees remaining on the site should be protected from possible mechanical damage:

• Shield the trees with solid wooden shields. Their height must be at least two meters. The shields should be placed in a triangle about 50 centimeters from the tree trunk. Of course, you cannot nail the shields directly to the trunk! They are mounted on pegs driven or dug into the ground.
• The root system of the tree can be protected with decks that are laid within a radius of one and a half meters from the trunk, in a circle.

The location of outbuildings, terraces, driveways, asphalt or tiled surfaces should be planned in such a way that holes with a diameter of at least two meters remain around the tree.

Immediately agree with the builders where they will put the garbage, which will definitely appear during the construction of the house. Find a place for it so as not to spoil the soil around the trees. It is also necessary to store building materials at a distance of at least 2.5 m from the tree. The same principle applies to performing earthworks when laying communications – step back from the tree at least two meters.

If the root system of the tree was nevertheless damaged, special measures should be taken to save it. In particular, it is necessary to prevent the ingress of harmful organisms and fungi into the wounded roots. The site should be quickly covered with earth again so that the roots do not remain outside. Watering and fertilizing a tree can be done to help it mate with injury.

It is equally important to prevent the tree trunk from falling asleep with soil above the root collar, which is a very important organ for plants. To prevent overfilling of the tree with soil, you can equip a dry well around the trunk – open or closed. The depth of such a well can be from 30 to 80 cm, the distance from the trunk to the wall is usually 50 cm.The walls themselves can be laid out of brick or stone.

If you are not sure at what distance from the tree you can safely engage in construction, be guided by the projection of the crown and add about a meter to it, so as not to seriously damage the roots. So that builders and special equipment do not trample the soil, destroying it, it is advisable to organize wooden walkways for people, temporary road slabs or crushed stone pillows for cars.

We agree that such a tree conservation plan seems to be something difficult and costly. However, as the photos presented by us show, you can save plants! Believe me, trees will become the main decoration of your site, and the house will be comfortably located among nature, which has preserved its original appearance..