Tree Protection Tips Before the Construction of Your Commercial Building

Tree Protection Tips to Consider Before the Construction of Your Commercial Building

During the beginning stages of a construction project, trees might not be the first thing that comes to your mind, but they are one of the most important things that you should be considering. Of course, there are many factors to consider when you’re constructing a commercial building, but don’t let trees fall through the cracks, because maintaining your site’s trees is crucial. 

When you’re constructing a commercial building, it might seem like the simplest and most ideal option, is to clear the trees on the lot that you’re building on. However, it is more responsible, to preserve the trees that surround your site. Preserving trees has benefits, because trees that provide shade increase the value of your commercial building, healthy trees aren’t hard to preserve, and trees are good for the environment. 

Beyond the fact that trees are attractive things to have on your property, trees also improve the quality of your property’s water, soil, and air. It has been proven that trees up the property value by about twelve percent, so for many practical reasons, it is a good idea to keep your property’s trees healthy and plentiful. Although, admittedly, it does cost money, take time, and require a thoughtful plan, to keep your property’s trees healthy, it is worth it in the end because there are many perks to having trees on your property.

Mayer Tree Service believes in the importance of trees, so we want to make sure that you understand how to keep your trees healthy, during a construction project. So that you understand how you can help keep trees healthy, even as you pursue a construction project, we’ve compiled a list of things to consider, when you’re trying to preserve trees at a construction site. Keep these tips in mind, because it is important to preserve as many healthy trees as possible.

Tips to Consider 

Prepare Your Construction Site

Before you begin work on your commercial building, be sure to enlist a professional to survey the site and the trees that are planted on it. A tree professional can let you know what the specific types of trees around your site need, and you can learn the risks of construction that are associated with the trees that are specific to your area.

In Some Cases, Replanting is Best

Sometimes a tree might not survive a construction job, even if you take the necessary precautions to protect it. For example, if you have a small tree that is freshly planted and scrawny, then it might be better to replant the tree in a safer area. In this case, moving a small tree to the outskirts of a site, as opposed to right in the middle of a job site, will be the difference between a dying tree and a lively tree. 

Protect Your Trees’ Root System

When you’re working on constructing a commercial building, the chances are that you’re going to be digging and getting close to the root systems of the trees on the site. A tree’s roots are housed in the top sixty centimeters of the soil, and it is incredibly easy to damage a tree’s root system. Since a tree’s root zone extends horizontally, for about half the distance of the tree’s height, be sure to preserve fifty percent of that space, to ensure that there is no damage done to the tree. Beyond digging, a tree’s root system can be damaged because it doesn’t have enough access to water. So, be sure to water your trees every one to two weeks, if there is not enough rainfall to keep the trees hydrated. 

Prevent Injuring Your Existing Trees 

If you’re worried about expenses, then it’s better to prevent a tree injury, than to cause one and be required to remedy that mistake Because it is cheap to prevent a tree injury, and it is expensive to fix one. To avoid injuring your trees, install a barricade around your trees, that is highly visible and durable. It is even better, to install signs that alert visitors and employees to the fact that the trees are vulnerable and should not be bothered. Although the size of your barricade varies, depending on the specifics of your project, it is a good rule of thumb to have your barricades extend past the tree’s dripline. For even more protection, put wood chips inside of your barricades, and be sure to examine your barricades and your trees around once a week. 

Don’t Harm Your Trees

There are multiple ways that you can harm your trees. But here are the four most common ways that you can harm your trees: removing your trees’ bark, injuring your trees with equipment, breaking off branches, and permitting surface grading and trenching injuries. 

Removing your trees’ bark is also called skinning, and this process often happens because of different types of power tools. When you skin your tree, you are likely to kill it, because the bark is what allows the tree to survive. So, you can injure your trees with equipment, by hurting their bark. 

Furthermore, when you’re trenching, you might have to go underneath of a tree’s root system, and this has the potential to damage the tree’s root system. So, you should avoid trenching underneath a tree, if at all possible. 

Be Sure to Avoid Any Soil Compaction Problems

Once a tree is established and planted, it is going to respond negatively to any changes in soil condition, because it is detrimental to a tree’s health to alter the soil compaction. However, construction traffic has a tendency to alter the soil compaction, which decreases the permeability of the soil. This can restrict root growth, so it is best to keep construction traffic as far away from your trees as possible. Again, it is much cheaper and easier to avoid any soil compaction problems than it is to fix a soil compaction problem. So, it is best to prioritize the health of your tree, by keeping its soil healthy. Another way you can reduce soil compaction is to put wood chips around your tree if it is necessary that construction traffic passes by your trees. 

Stay Away from Soil Fills

It is dangerous for there to be too much soil around your trees because when this happens, you will interfere with the air and moisture circulation that is necessary to keep your trees’ roots healthy. When your topsoil is too high, your trees will tell you, because you’ll be able to see your trees’ leave size decrease and your trees will adopt a fall coloration too early. 

Don’t Prune Trees that Are Injured Until They Show Signs of Dieback

Although it is important to prune dying branches, you shouldn’t arbitrarily cut branches of trees that are injured, because this can do more damage than harm. Be sure to only prune injured branches, so wait until your tree is showing signs of dieback, to prune it. 

Make Sure that Everyone Knows How to Protect Your Trees

When the construction specifications for your project are laid out, be sure to include a blurb about the logistics of preserving the site’s trees. It is important that the architect, builder, builder associates, and other laborers all understand the trees’ needs, because if one person makes a mistake that affects the trees’ health, then you’re going to have to deal with the repercussions of an injured tree. 

Make Sure that You Know What to Do After Construction Ends

Although it is vital that your trees survive construction, make sure that you know how to take care of your trees after construction, to ensure that your trees can last for the duration. It is best to get in contact with an arborist, who can let you know the specific needs of the trees around your site. Plus, an arborist can let you know the ways that you can care for and maintain your trees, post-construction.

Tree Protection Tips: Final Thoughts 

Not only is keeping your trees healthy during construction a positive thing for your property, but it is also a positive thing for everyone because it is an environmentally conscious thing to do. Whereas it might seem easier to clear the land before you start construction, taking time to care for the existing trees near your property is a worthwhile choice. Although construction is a task that comes with many risks, it is possible for your trees to withstand the construction of your commercial building. 

Mayer Tree Service has a team of experts, who know about trees. No matter what you need to know about trees, tree preservation, and tree removal, Mayer Tree Service can help you. So, if you have any questions about these tips, contact Mayer Tree Services. We can’t wait to hear from you.