What do you mean it is not your oak tree? All else fails at least get some ground cover it there so it has a chance to grow ans stabilize the soil

The oak tree (which you can see the trunk of in this picture) is actually on my neighbors property but in digging back my yard, the landscaper exposed some of the roots of my neighbors tree.

Find out the local codes regarding walls and fences.

If you do not put a retaining wall there, the wall of dirt will get wet, freeze, collapse, repeat, repeat until ... Timmmerrrrrrr -- tree across your driveway/vehicle or you.

The white fence belongs to your neighbor? If so, your neighbor may be of the "good fences make good neighbors" ilk or just have pets or children that live there or visit.

Talk with your neighbor and be sure you're in agreement as to the exact location of the property line and, at your expense, build that retaining wall.

If you find your neighbor wants a fence on the property line, discuss the possibility of your paying for a retaining wall on your side of the property line and, perhaps, y'all splitting the cost of any fence above it.

Short of kudzu or English ivy (and even that may take a year or two), ground cover will not even come close to making a straight up/down dirt wall "stable".

If oak trees are valued in your locale, I’d get an arborist to give you advice. Fast. You didn’t intend this and you obviously want to make it right, but you will be held liable if the neighbor’s tree dies.

Yes. I don’t want it to look like some passive aggressive gesture intended to get rid of the oak tree.

IMO a retaining wall is the answer and high enough to back fill to cover the roots you have exposed and you better have a long talk with your neighbor since you are liable for the damage

I guess my next question is then, what is the landscaper’s responsibility here? He told me that he would create a “gentle slope” and I relied upon his expertise to know how far back he could go without exposing tree roots. He assured me a retaining wall wouldn’t be necessary. I wouldn’t have had him remove the dirt if I knew that the result would be this.

If I were you, I’d sort out responsibility after getting the problem solved. He said/she said can be discussed later. Unless no one ever sues anyone where you live.

That slope doesn't look gentle.

Totally agree that morally/ethically, there's an obligation to mitigate potential damage to the tree. But the actual liability issue confuses me. If the roots of that same tree had damaged the foundation of the OP's house, the OP would be responsible for fixing it, not the neighbor, right? Similar to overhead branches - usually you get to trim branches that encroach on your property. And your insurance pays for the damage when your neighbors' trees or branches fall on your house. If the OP "owns the roots," and authorized the digging, it might be harder to get any concessions from the landscaper, unless he's a swell guy.

That said, the thought of a tree suffering makes me sad, so I'd get the recommendations of an arborist and take steps to save both the tree and relationship with your neighbor.

What a disaster. So much for my happy holiday weekend.

Maybe just a stacked block wall in the high curved area.

Do not use English ivy, please. It is highly invasive and illegal in many states.

This carte blanche directive to "NOT USE IVY" is 100% senseless when the entire surrounding area IS ivy! In such a case it would be senseless to use anything but ivy! That ivy is invasive elsewhere, or even here if it is already massively in use, is pointless, as we are talking about healing 1% of an area that is 99% ivy.

Has anyone ever used their GPS and had it guide them, inexplicably, to a wrong location? I have. What is supposed to give good guidance cannot be blindly trusted beyond all reason. A landscapER is not quite at the same level of a doctor, lawyer, fiduciary agent ... or even a landscape architect is. One consults with them but cannot throw their brain away in processing the information that they get back. They have the bottom line responsibility of making sure that the information is good before they act on it. Most landscapERS are not even college degreed. If the information had come from a landscape architect, he would likely have legal responsibility and would probably be carrying design liability insurance.

I'm a tree lover as much as anyone, but these are entities without brains, feelings or even cares. If they need to be sacrificed because of greater human needs, then they must be sacrificed without needing to shed tears over it. The loss of a tree can be fixed much more easily than can be the loss of a house or human life.

Well I’m glad you said that. I talked to the landscaper and he is coming back to discuss the matter on Tuesday. I also talked to my neighbor and she seems to think that the oak tree is mine, and told me that if I have to cut it down, go right ahead (I want to avoid doing this but if it comes to that, I’m relieved to know that I won’t have to battle with her over s tree.)

Also this is the first time I’ve owned a home and hired a landscaper, so it was a rookie mistake. I shouldn’t have blindly trusted him.

Stressful start to home ownership but you’ve handled it well. Do you have a plat or better yet a survey? It may be worth establishing your property line, especially if you intend to do work in that area. Hope it didn’t wreck your weekend ;-)

Right after I bought my first house, a big tree fell right onto the front yard of my elderly neighbor. On the Fourth of July! I was mortified and stressed about getting someone to come take care of it on a holiday. Neighbor was easygoing about the whole thing. Sounds like you’ve got a good neighbor too.

One more heads-up ... not everywhere, but in most civilized places, trees cannot just be cut at will (our country in NOT THAT FREE!) One has to get authorization from city or county authorities. To cut without the permit can invoke big fines. Usually, if there is any question of safety, the permit is not difficult to obtain. However, it could also alert authorities to unauthorized grade-changing, if that has been the case. (We don't know your authorities or regulations.) Nevertheless, it's going to be best to face up to whatever must be faced up to and get it over with. IME, the authorities are human and understand how things happen, especially with new homeowners.

Assuming that picket fence is normal height, that's a 4 ft cut with a significant toe slope behind it. WTF? Your dude is way over his head if he couldn't see that one coming. I'm curious what his resolution would be. From looking at pics the two obvious ones are bringing soil back to the site, or building a wall. If he proposes soil, make sure he plans on compacting it in lifts or you're going to have a mess. If it's a wall, I would insist on seeing several he's installed that have made it at least 5 years, based on his inability to foresee this.

I do agree the landscaper is not the best but live and learn is what all of us do. I would make sure before cutting down a tree that it is actually yours not just becuase your neighbor thinks it is There should be markers for property lines so check it out. I still think a nice retaaining wall back filled with some plants is the answer and that tree will be fine. I happen to love english ivy it serves a purpose in many instances I have it planted to help cover a tall retaining wall that looked to severe and it has done its job well.

Yes a retaining wall would look nice there. But I sure don't have $15k for a surprise retaining wall lying around because Chuck in a Truck went "whoopsie! I don't know how to measure!" and I'm guessing most people don't either.

I honestly do not understand what you were trying to accomplish here. What did you gain by having it dug back at that location? The way it is now not only will you need some kind of retaining wall but also probably additional drainage. That looks like its going to erode and leach water so there will be a big puddle when you get a good rain.

This is what I was trying to accomplish. Before there was a rickety white fence, cheap pavers and random landscaping. Also, in the picture with the grass there was a significant dip in the yard (that with water when it rained) that I wanted to have filled in dirt so that it was level and drained properly. There was always a hill behind the fence but not nearly as severe as was left behind by the landscaper. I thought jf he could take the yard back a little bit we could square off the driveway so that the cars could back a little farther (obviously we’d have to pave the newly exposed area).

If you recall, everyone was saying how slope looked steep, but in fact the pictures were showing it at such an angle it couldn't be told how steep it actually was. And you've gotten a lot of advice based on that lack of knowledge (How we do it here!) I suggest you add two or three pics where the slope is at the left side in the camera viewfinder and you are shooting across the face of it while holding the camera level. Then, we could get an idea of its actual grade.

Ok hopefully this will help. The area where the red arrow is—I’m 5 feet 8 and when I stand right up next to that, the base of that skinny tree is about 6 inches above my head. The second picture is just to give you a sense of the size relative to the car.

An umbrella next to the slope for perspective.

Those pictures confirm it is as steep as we suspected. Needs wall.

This might be an easy fix. And I sincerely hope it is.

Or it could turn into a nightmare that will cost a lot more than just $15k. Depending on local regulations, you might have to get a survey of the soil conditions from an engineer. And you could then be required to drive pilings before installing a new concrete retaining wall.

That would involve thousands of dollars in architectural/engineering work and a few more thousands of dollars in permits before you even start any work.

Let's hope the city will let you get away with a cheaper option.

Of all the mistakes to make as a new home owner, this was one of the more unfortunate ones.

Holy cannoli!!! You need a major wall. Yes, I can see the value of more backup room for your cars, but wow. That's not gentle by any sane person's viewpoint. And a wall to hold that dirt back will not be cheap.

I'm curious - what happened to the dirt your 'landscaper' dug out? Did he haul it off? I'll bet that was not cheap either.

How aggressive (and expensive) your solution will be comes down to how flexible you are with the amount of level space you're left with. The least expensive fix would probably be to bring soil back in, grade it to no more than a 1:1 slope (45 degrees), compacted it as you go, and planting the holy heck out of it w/ groundcover. I'm not touching the ivy/no ivy fight though. So if you're 6 ft up (+/-), you'll be coming 6 ft forward of the cut. Sad trombones playing for what your stated goal was.

Most expensive is a wall to preserve exactly what space you have now. Most jurisdictions want a permit over 3 ft and an engineer over 5 ft. Given the severity of the slope coming down the back of the wall, it WILL require an engineer even if you stop it at 4'-11.5".

Middle ground would be picking a point to where you can get away w/ a shorter wall (3-4 ft range) and reduce the severity of the slope behind the wall, which means the wall is pulled out in front of the cut by a few feet. It looks like the majority of the wall could be under 3 ft, but there's just that big gnarly corner that's going to be expensive. You'll still lose some of the space you gained this way, but it's a simpler wall.

You want to find a local pro with some design chops, some creativity, and some problem solving ability. There are several different ways to address this and they all impact 1) budget and 2) functionality of the finished space. You want someone who can set those expectations for you at the START. Good luck!

The least expensive fix is for you and your neighbor to be on the same page (as the second step) -- even you buying him an oak sapling to be planted wherever he wants you to dig a hole for it )if you need to do so), including his agreeing with and being on the same page for the third step -- building the wall.

If and when the two of you are on the same page, then next step is for you to build your wall (or have it built.). It may be cheaper for you dig a ditch alongside the embankment and mix concrete in your wheelbarrow for a footing, then you mix cement in your wheelbarrow to build a concrete block wall atop the footing as close to the embankment as practical -- maybe three blocks high with a cap block atop that -- and then you level or gently slope about 16" above/behind that wall and plant your ground cover there to "hold" any dirt above your block wall, filling in any spaces left between the block wall and embankment with the soil you remove to create a mostly level ( in all directions) planting area above/behind the wall for what you plant to prevent erosion..

The first step is you researching how to build a three block concrete block wall (w/cap block) as a retaining wall and you knowing how to do it yourself and you knowing what is involved, including costs. Do contact that same landscaper that created the problem and and get a (?discounted?, hopefully) price for him to build a three blockhigh (with cap block) concrete block retaining wall as a part of your research in costs.

Note: If you end up building a tall wall, you may need some rebar inside the blocks to help hold them in place and even curved pieces ("L" shaped) to set in the block and to be hammered into the wall and even adding more concrete behind the wall between blocks and dirt to help hold those blocks in place.

This is 6ft of sandy soil in an area that gets soaked with water. Don't do a half assed job that is going to collapse come next winter. You need to hire some experienced professionals and you need to get permits. Going the "easy" route is what caused all this trouble.

Yep - This is a can of worms. You need to locate the surveyor's stakes or whatever to find the exact property line. Then consider your options. You might be able to do some kind of gabion or stacked wall that does not require footings. And then backfill. The fact that no one know whose oak tree is threatened makes me think you are right on the property line now. And hard to tell the grade but water runs downhill so you will need additional drainage to a lower level somewhere on your driveway.

I don’t care about giving up the space I gained when he dug the area out. He can cover all of that up. I just don’t want landslide conditions.

Where do you live? It looks very green so I'm assuming you get quite a bit of rain, but do you get snow too? I don't think you'll get a landslide, but over time the dirt will erode so I think some people on here might be overreacting as far as soil reports and engineers, but you def need some earth retaining in that tall curved cut. If you do want footings, its not big of a deal to just do a block wall. It would be able to stand and naturally fill in with dirt between the wall.

Massachusetts.

MA? Yeah that soil isn't going to hold that shape long, I grew up doing this in RI and SE MA.

Bottom line, only you know what you're looking for in terms of function and what you're comfortable spending at this point. I would still get a second opinion from a local pro on how to move forward. Just because you feel like the original guy owes you a solid for doing this doesn't mean he's going to have the best solution (or be the best value). I still have a few contacts in that part of New England. If you want to message me more specifically where you are, I may know someone that I would trust that I can suggest.

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Helpful.