Trees and shrubs add value, shade and beauty to your property. That’s great, until their roots begin to grow into and under sidewalks, foundations, driveways, hardscapes and landscaped areas. Damage from tree root intrusion and soil hydrology can mean expensive foundation and concrete repairs.

There is an alternate solution that will preserve trees, your home and property. The BioBarrier tree root control root barrier system.

What is a root barrier?

A root barrier is designed to prevent tree roots from disrupting the soil around buildings, sidewalks, patios, pools, fountains and landscaped areas. Root barriers redirect root growth away from the barrier, dramatically decreasing the roots’ potential to cause damage.

Southeast Texas has mostly clay soil, with some areas of sand and normal topsoil. This clay soil, called ‘gumbo’, expands when wet and shrinks when it dries out. Large trees and even some small to medium trees can consume large amounts of water through the long, hot Houston summer. This can lead to uneven soil hydrology around the trees and can cause differential settlement that damages home and outbuilding foundations, pools, decks and hardscapes.

We use the BioBarrier root control barrier, which works invisibly to deflect and limit root growth.

The root barrier is installed in a narrow trench along with a moisture barrier. The root barrier itself is a carrier sheet with nodules of a biodegradable herbicide called trifluralin that creates a ‘zone of protection’ on both sides of the barrier preventing root growth for up to fifteen years. The barrier does not adversely affect soil hydrology, allowing water, air and nutrients to pass through. The root barrier installation is optimized for each situation and the tree root area away from the root barrier is unaffected.

How deep should root barriers go?

Because of the soil in the Houston area, tree roots normally grow in the top 18-24 inches of soil where they can get the most oxygen. We use 24 inch BioBarrier root barrier to ensure we control tree roots at the correct depth and maximize the effectiveness of the root barrier.