When you say Red Maple, do you mean the native Red Maple (Acer rubrum) with green leaves in summer and red in fall, or do you mean the Crimson King (reddish-purple leaved) Norway Maple?

I'm assuming you mean the former, and the tree can still get very big. 40-50 feet is not unreasonable. The native Red Maple can have similar roots as it's cousin, the Silver Maple. Both have fibrous surface root systems.

I can't advocate removing a tree when it is growing so well. I understand that after a number of years, the roots can buckle a side walk. But they are just so beautiful. Your patio will be the first to be impacted by the roots. 8 feet away... maybe not so much. The main reason the roots can buckle a sidewalk is from city streets that were planted en masse with Red and Silver maples in the 30s, 40, and 50s. There are old streets in Montreal with 80 foot Silver Maples planted, the trunks literally taking up the entire space between the street and the side walk. Walking is an adventure in mountain ranges, and the sheer size of the trunks and main roots have heaved the side walks up and down.

That being said, it will still take the tree a long time to get that big.

I'd be more concerned about your patio than your neighbor's driveway. Your neighbors will be more impacted by the low hanging branches than the roots.

If you have more clay-loam soil (like many of us in the eastern part of the continent) that soil stays mostly moist all year and it encourages red & silver maples to root more deeply. In areas that have drier soil types with little water retention, you have more danger with the surface roots as they only wander to where they can find moisture (on the surface).

All that being said, if you have the Purple maple, those things can grow right beside a house and not have any impact on the pavement/foundation!

I hope you keep the tree... but that's just my two cents.

Thanks cocos nucifera, yes Red Maple. Sorry, I forgot to capitalize. We have clay soil alright but dry summers where the clay becomes like baked bricks. I have noticed in eastern US and north to Canada all the trees have much better color than on the midwestern prairies so I'm afraid all I can say is the tree is pretty but no tree here is very spectacular for color most years in comparison to what you see. I will wait a bit and see. I haven't figured out what I would replace it with but it doesn't sound like a tree to keep around forever in its site.

Yeah... I would delay your decision as long as possible.... pretend to be distracted. Forget to do it. Hahaha I'm kidding. If it needs to be removed then I understand. I've been known to donate a small tree to a friend in lieu of one that had leaves more in the shape I want.

Good luck!

One of the attributes claimed for certain Freeman maple cultivars is that these inherit the greater drought and soil tolerance of silver maple.

While having some of the appearance, including reddish fall color, of red maple. At least a few clones look so much like red maple they are often offered as such.

That is very interesting. I found an article online saying these have extensive root systems and should not be planted closer than 20' from driveways, sidewalk, or patios due to their lineage to Silver Maples. If Red Maples are sensitive to high Ph soils as this article alluded to, this must be a Freeman. We have 7.5-8 soils. Thanks.

My son told me he believes it to be a Burgandy Belle. He works for a nursery's tree team and thinks he can tell by its leaves.