Sidewalk Repair Tree Roots:

We have lived in our neighborhood for about 10 years now and the homes were all built roughly 15 years ago. The sidewalks are generally in good shape, but there are a few spots where the tree roots have uprooted the sidewalk and caused some uneven pavement. As a homeowner, I am always concerned that if the sidewalk gets damaged or has a safety issue (ice or snow on it) that I would be responsible if someone got hurt while walking or running on it. Our big concern is that kids will be riding skateboards, roller skates, or even scooters and hit the elevated sidewalk section and go flying off and smash themselves up. The city is not that interested in fixing sidewalks that have become uneven due to roots from trees. It says in our city code "It is the duty of the owner of land abutting a sidewalk to maintain the sidewalk in good repair and safe condition". So, we are liable for sidewalk injuries and that is that.

If you are going to have a section or panel of sidewalk repaired, check with the city ordinances to see if you are required to have a permit before starting the work. Our bylaws mention permits if the repair work is beyond a certain level. Adding a new sidewalk of course demands a permit, but just 'grinding' down the raised sidewalk panel does not necessarily mean you need a permit. Each city is different so we always suggest contacting your city hall or public works department and get the go ahead from them. I was reading in one subdivision near us that the homeowners had banded together to get a contractor out to fix close to $50,000 in sidewalk issues. That could be an extreme situation, but sidewalk damage can add up fast. The one legal issue that several homeowners in our neighborhood have looked into is that the trees that the city planted some 15 years ago were not the "right" type given our layout. There are some types of trees that have more roots issues than others and some people are saying the city should have known better. I have to agree with that one. There are 2 sets of trees in our neighborhood and those neighbors that are a few 100 feet away with one type have sidewalk erosion due to roots and our section has little or no damage with a different type of tree. The end result has been that some neighbors have filed for a permit and are having the work done by sidewalk repairm companies. In most cases the sidewalk just needs to be grinded down so that the two panels are even. In the rare case of severe damage, the entire sidewalk panel needs to be removed and repaired.

Sidewalk Repair Cost:

Firstly, the average cost to pour concrete is about $8 to $20 per square foot. This all depends on the size of the job and where the work is being done. Even if you find a contractor that does it for chepaer, you are probably looking at a minimum of 3 cubic yards of cement. That is enough for about 10 sidewalk panels. It's just not worth these guys time to come out and do small projects. Hence, there is some need for neighborhoods or even cities to combine the overall sidewalk repair needs into one large job and get the best rate. The example I used above with a $50K bill for an entire 400 home subdivision worked out to $125/each, but that is assuming all the homeowners pitch in the same amount. We had a sidewalk repair guy quote our neighborhood $150 for the first sidewalk panel he would have to grind down and subsequent panels would be $75. He was not going to replace the cement, just grind or shave down the top section that was raised up 1 inches or so and level it out with the rest of the panel. It's a good temporary fix but if the roots are popping up under the cement, the problem will keep happening every few years. Unfortunately in our area, it is not ok to just cut the trees down and grind the stumps out to keep it from occurring again. The city doesn't allow you to cut down trees unless they are dead and then you have to replant something anyways. Ultimately, the homeowner flips the bill no matter what. I would say go with the sidewalk repair grinding specialist and get rid of the problem for now and potentially let the next homeowner deal with the larger issue of having to get the entire sidewalk panel replaced.

Shaving/Grinding Sidewalks:

I was able to get a few pictures of the actual grinding machine used in our neighborhood and some "after" photos of how the two panels of sidewalks now look. You can see by the images how the sidewalk was "shaved" down with the grinder so that the two sections are roughly the same height again. The process doesn't take too long as the guy was at it for maybe 45 minutes. He said our repair was fairly easy compared to others he has seen. If you do have to grind down more of the sidewalk over time, it may be better to just replace the entire section and start over. You will see the grinders referred to scarifiers and scabblers in some tool shops. The guy in our situation used the SASE SC8E with Honda motor. These machines can run in the $1000's and you are better off renting one if you want to try and do it yourself or let a specialist handle it for $150. Smaller tools like the Bosch 1773AK 5" Concrete Surfacing Grinder or the Makita PC1100 Concrete Planer can also work on smaller projects. A word of warning. If you let the sidewalk get to a point that the "grinding" machine won't do the job properly, you are looking at $600 to replace the sidewalk panel vs the $150 to grind it.

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