Prevent tree roots in sewer

[D. Gerasimatos]

I am installing a new main sewer line because I am tired of snaking the line twice a year to get rid of roots. Yes, this is more expensive in the medium-term, but the peace of mind will be (I hope) worth it. Now that the new line is exposed, is there anything I can place around it (other than concrete) which will deter roots from bothering the line for at least a moderate amount of time (a decade)?

One plumber told me rock salt works. Another mentioned a crystalline herbicide that Home Depot sells. I do not wish to harm the tree, just keep the nasty little root hairs at bay for a decade or two.

Dimitri

[Joseph Meehan]

Most of the time when you find roots in a sewer you find a sewer that has been leaking. The roots just go where the water is. If the sewer does not leak it is root safe. The first sign of a leak will attract the roots.

[D. Gerasimatos]

Thank you for your response. Do you know of something I can use to deter tree roots? I still want to be as safe as possible, since I'd rather not do this again.

In an ideal world the line will never leak, but I live in a paranoid world.

Someone else e-mailed me and asked if the new line is ABS. Yes, it is.

Dimitri

[Jim & Lil]

Just an Idea as I am a pipeline welder by trade of 25 yrs and see a lot of pipe get buried in the oil fields....what about tarring the outside of the pipe with a brush and then use heat shrink plastic over top of it to seal it? or after tarring...use pipeline wrapping tape and wrap the length of the pipe with it..... if the roots get through the plastic...then the tar should hold them at bay for fifty years. this is common practice in the oil industry to prevent steel pipe from rusting....but I can also see the way it would keep roots at bay....Hope that was of some help....Jim

[Joseph Meehan]

Not really. I don't think I would use anything myself. I wonder if I would remember about it in five years when my grass died over that line?

[jim]

dont have any fittings.... use one complete line of PVC pipe and you wont have any leaks... and where there are fittings try to put a metal pipe into the ground where the fitting is located so you can pour some kind of vegetation killer down there when needed...... you wont have any problems with the roots once you replace the pipe with something that has no openings in it... thats what the roots go after the water and sludge for nutriment.....

[Bob Bowles]

We had need for twice/year rooting and now use coppersomethingorother twice/year and tree doing nicely. Currently using Rootkill from HD.

[WebsterSteve]

If the sewer line is 4", get some of the 6" corrugated black plastic pipe and use it as a sleeve around the sewer pipe. Be sure to seal the joints ***really*** well. Then any roots would have to go through the black plastic pipe and then the PVC pipe.

[Frogleg]

Salt poisons the soil for a *long* time. Herbicides generally work by destroying plant foliage, but doubtless there are some that will kill plants through roots, too. As others have suggested, it's a search for water that makes roots invade.

[Bob Bowles]

[v]

Dim, those old wives (or old plumbers) tales are BS IMHO.

If the line leaks, you WILL get roots. Tar and plastic will NOT help if there is a leak, whatever hole (through the tar and plastic) the water is leaking out of, the root will enter. It is ineffective to have a leaking line and then try to "discourage" roots.

If you absolutely positively don't want leaks (who does, but if even more motivated than usual), use an even heavier pipe than code requires, and/or sleeve it inside a 2nd larger pipe (but then for your purposes you'd need to pack and seal the ring at each end whereas usually this is not needed).

Your excavator may think you're nuts, but its your money, have 'em do it your way.

-v.