Latent conditions and street trees (Article 23)

WHAT THE STREET ONCED LOOKED LIKE

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​It should not be a surprise that you are likely to come across some latent conditions within the ground adding a few extra tasks to deal with. To be fair, there was not that much except for striking rock at 600mm...and of course, the big old elm street tree root system that more than likely was contributing to the telephone book-sized crack in my neighbour's wall.  Even though we knew the boundary wall had a crack within it, I think we were all surprised to see the actual size once exposed. 

.The Elm tree, nearing 80 years was a majestic mistress and with its fellow brethren, significantly contributing to the glamour that a tree-lined street brings.  These trees were like a gateway to the hidden forest, and they provided ample shade in Summer that gave the road an unnatural coolness during those long summer hot days. With such beauty can come many a troublesome root and this one was the size of a man's thigh. Too big to cut without fearing for the life of the tree. In the end, it did not really matter as the tree inspector from council quietly said that this and another tree needed to come down with some urgency as they were in bad health and were a public safety issue. I could not help feeling a bit guilty that I had fast-tracked the demise of such glamourous beings, yet maybe it saved a life. Needless to say, it was not too long before the tree-lined street was looking a bit bear as trees were quickly escorted off the road to becoming future garden mulch.

After all that was resolved, we managed to excavate and get the slab down. Yet another problem was about to eventuate. 

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Finally being poured on the 24 June 19