Problem with Tree roots

Hi,I have recently moved to a new house in North London with a medium size garden, right at the back there are 2 matured pine trees one about 20 ft high, needle kind of pine. the problem is that the whole paved area of the garden which is about 5 foot away from the base of this tree is covered with broken paving slabs and the soil is bumpy in places,the problem exist at the other end of the garden too, closer to the building some 30 ft away from the garden. after removing few slabs I have noticed tha a massive root has been growing underneath close to surface, about 4 inches deep.Thickness of this root is about 2 inches in diameter and it goes all the way down underneath the lawn coming to surfece again closer to the building and breaking yet more slabs.

My builder said the he needs to cut this root before re paving the damaged areas and also said that this root may cause damage to the foundations,he says it will be ok as the tree has plenty of roots going deep into the ground,however he is no specialist so I was wondering if any one here could help me,will cutting this root cause damage or distress to the Tree?

apologies for the long post!

 

Hi SamK80

The large tree roots act as an anchor and help to hold the tree in place. leading from these thick roots are the fibrous roots that look link twine, and it's these roots and specialist root hairs, that absorb water and nutrients from around the tree. Carelessly hacking away at the roots of the tree is a sure-fire way of reducing not only the tree's stability, but also its ability to absorb water and nutrition. It sounds as if the tree is already fighting to find enough water because the roots have been paved over, so cutting these roots will probably lead to tree health decline, although by how much is hard to distinguish.