Root Barriers

Root attacks on a houses foundation is something that is commonly ignored by the home owner which unfortunately can be a expensive mistake whilst being intoxicated with the plant beauty above ground level. See the above picture of a root attack on a federation verandah from a Franga Pani tree growing in the front yard. Whilst in this photo you can’t see the damage to the wall, it cracked along the lime mortar joints causing the mortar to fall out and make a mess of the tuck pointing devaluing the home.  To rectify the problem the complete front of the house needed underpinning to counter the root heave and matric suction from the roots. The cost to fix thousands more then it would of been to install a root barrier.

This picture shows tuck pointing failure as a result of wall cracking and a cheap patch up pointing to hide  mortar joint separation. Front face of house how much has this cheap repair really cost?

One may well pause to  rethink the budget for long term house renovations and maintenance or the budget for a quick flip considering the relative costs of house foundation repairs. Pre 1970 houses are particularly susceptible to foundation issues as they were never built to today’s foundation standards

The root barrier can also serve as a moisture cut off wall so is particularly beneficial to capture overland water flow and below surface water flows in and out under the foundations. And some scenarios is even used to maintain a consistent soil moisture content.

They can be installed in most soil types, generally 900mm deep and use a 1 mm permathene sheet.

Cost of installation usually $4-$500/ln meter + site establishment