Is it safe to remove this tree root?

Hi everyone, first-time poster.

We're trying to sort out the front garden and, after some digging, found a tree root (see picture) that runs under the concrete and potentially under the house.

We don't want to harm the tree. Given this, is it safe to remove this root? Does a tree have multiple roots and perhaps wouldn't miss this one (I'm very new to this), or would it cause damage? Is burying the root deeper a better option?



Thanks in advance!

 

Just cut it off, but listen to it scream ! (about 4 ft from trunk)
It will have more, in all directions, and assuming its alive, can grow more.

 

A bit of root pruning.
It will possibly put out new fibrous root just back from the cut off.

 

Hi, @mitya, and welcome.

Yes, cut it off. It should have plenty more to be getting on with. Tree roots can stretch a good way from the actual trunk in all directions. It must be a right tangle underground.

 

Hi, and welcome.
Do you know what type of tree it is?
I would certainly cut that root off, as close to the tree as possible, and GENTLY but FIRMLY pull as much of the root out as possible.

Personally, I wouldn't keep a tree that close to the house, solely because the roots will continue to grow underneath the house.

However, I would, if space permitted, plant a tree elsewhere - or possibly two.