A photo or two would help if you want well-considered answers.

I will take some tomorrow. Thanks!

But I am feeling guilty as the tree has some life left

==>>> NOT ... in tree time.. its dead man standing .... [winging it here.. without a pic] ....

the last thing i would be ... is feeling guilty ...

you either invest in property.. and raise its value with what sounds like a wonderful new deck system ...

or you leave a dying liability hanging there .... pshaw .. be done with it ... and spend the 10 years the tree guy gave it.. enjoying your backyard ....

and come proper planting time.. plant a couple new trees ,... mother earth 'plus one' ...

just do it ... no tree hugging allowed ... ken

Thanks everyone. Here are some pics but I think it looks better in pics than in real life. The leaves are healthy and it does not look dire.

If we do take down, we definitely will be planting trees in its place.

Not a huge example at all. But still big enough to hit the house. And as you say, pruned to have an unattractive crown shape. Along with there being signs of root problems - including the root crown being up out of the ground.

Plus with all those other trees nearby, this one seems redundant. And crowded looking.

Emborthrium, thanks. I know I shouldn't feel guilty, but it I do. I am most likely going to remove it. Unfortunately, the trees on the back of the property line are not too healthy themselves. There are a few black walnuts that may cause toxicity to any new ones I plant so I need to keep that in mind. The walnuts are less than 50 feet away and I read that distance can still be problematic.

The one thing that you do not give is the cardinal orientation of the house. If the house is facing south, it is entirely different than if it is facing north.

Personally this tree looks health, and while there is a problem with a Relatively small root, I would keep it. Based on the size of the main roots, I suspect that the tree will be there long after you have sold the house.

If you cut it down you will loose a lot of shade on your patio (assuming a back of the house is facing south. ) In addition to cutting the tree down you will also have to do some grinding of the large stump and root system to be able to construct the deck over the space.

To me it looks like the new deck would be a great place to sit in the shade of that tree and have a glass of Iced Tea, or your favorite beverage.

If it were me I would work the tree into the deck. I would keep the deck at least 5 to 6 feet back from the trunk, and use the space create for some thing similar to a Japaneses Zen Garden. I think that with a little planning you can keep the tree as long as it wants to stay, and manage the deck construction so that if it decides to leave, that the damage would be minimized.

The front of our home faces north so the back is south. Unfortunately, the tree is only 16 feet from the house and the current deck is only inches away from the tree. and the tree roots are indeed under the current deck. We are not replacing the footings of the deck or the shape so we cannot push the deck in as it will just be a porch then. We have already removed the old deck boards so the pics are a bit misleading. I can grind the main trunk with very little issue. Some of the other roots might be a problem but since they are under the current deck, I will let them go.

To me this is a classic case of someone not thinking about how big a tree can get in 30 years.

not a sugar maple

Sam, what type of maple is it? Thanks.

ETA: I am not a person that knows a lot about plants, trees or landscaping. This forum has lots of very experienced and helpful members that are knowledgeable. Hence, why I decided to ask here about thoughts on what to do.

Both the seeds on the ground and the bark don’t look like sugar maple.

I don’t know where you are located, but in my area imy best guess would be a Norway maple, though the seeds don’t look quite right for that to me.

If you give a country or state/province and a large nearby city, you may get a better ID.

NHBabs, I think you are right. I pulled the paperwork from the tree guy and it says Norway. I am in Michigan.

Sorry about the mis-identification on the tree. Hope it did not lead anyone astray.

I am scheduling the removal. If anyone has other opinions, I am still being open-minded and wanting to learn. Thanks!

ETA: This thread was interesting and helpful to me. https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/2028639/should-i-have-my-norway-maple-removed

I am looking forward to now planting a non-invasive species that will be beneficial to wildlife and to the land.

Hi Aurora Tee, see [this[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/sugar-maple-vs-norway-maple-id-dsvw-vd~3472121) previous thread.

Just called my county extension office to talk about native trees that would be good to plant. Since I have shade from the other trees, I would need something shade tolerant and could handle being relatively close to the black walnuts. They suggested a red or sugar maple, hornbeam or basswood. I definitely do not want to plant anything less than 20 feet away.

If the roots from this Norway spread pretty far out into the yard will their dying off well-spread roots cause any problems for the new tree? The tree guys will remove the stump and the surface roots.

Norways almost always have at least some girdled roots, but usually doesn't bother them much.

A-T,

You'll probably get a mushroom show for several years, as the roots rot, that doesn't hurt anything. But I'd plant the new tree away from the old stump.

Yes, from what I did read yesterday the girdling is pretty common. I have another maple in the front that is also suffering from girdling as well as verticillium wilt. That one has a very limited life. We are babying (extra watering, treatments) it for a few years but eventually it will have to come down.

We had a lightening strike in our neighborhood just last night. Luckily it hit an old but very tall tree. Bad enough that the fire department came racing out as it was smoking. Never seen anything like that before. Tree didn't fall on the house but if it is not removed in the next few days, it might. For me, that was another sign that I am doing the okay thing.

Michigan State University EXTENSION

Smart trees and shrubs for Michigan landscapes

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/smart_trees_and_shrubs_for_michigan_landscapes

Emborthrium, I read that yesterday as well. Thanks.