novocaine
Old School Grand Master
1, what does the walls foundation look like? is it a pored concrete pad over compacted stone? if it is then the root dieback wont effect the wall further. from the looks of it though, this isn't the case as it should extend beyond the wall and I can't see anything there.
2, trees like to grow. even from a stump. there will be no growth this year but next you'll see little shoots. Tooty mentions the problem will be in ten years, but in ten years you'll be dealing with trees again if you don't remove it.
how to get them out?
I like the jet wash idea for a start, but it's messy.
so far you've dug about half of what you need to.
cut the roots you've exposed, you'll want to cut twice, once near the stump and once about a foot back. then keep digging. you'll hit more roots, do the same thing till you get right under the stump.
assuming it's fir rather than rhododendron (that's a hell of a trunk for that) there will be a nice big tap root to cut.
you are now at half way stage.
time for a chain saw (like I wouldn't be using one already to cut those roots, but I won't recommend it in ground, do as I say not as I do).
cut the stump straight down as close to the wall as you can and remove. you'll now have access to tug, pull and wiggle what's left to get at the root system under the wall. cutting as you go.
you are leaving a future issue, but you are doing that no matter what. that wall will need to be rebuilt at some point.
2, trees like to grow. even from a stump. there will be no growth this year but next you'll see little shoots. Tooty mentions the problem will be in ten years, but in ten years you'll be dealing with trees again if you don't remove it.
how to get them out?
I like the jet wash idea for a start, but it's messy.
so far you've dug about half of what you need to.
cut the roots you've exposed, you'll want to cut twice, once near the stump and once about a foot back. then keep digging. you'll hit more roots, do the same thing till you get right under the stump.
assuming it's fir rather than rhododendron (that's a hell of a trunk for that) there will be a nice big tap root to cut.
you are now at half way stage.
time for a chain saw (like I wouldn't be using one already to cut those roots, but I won't recommend it in ground, do as I say not as I do).
cut the stump straight down as close to the wall as you can and remove. you'll now have access to tug, pull and wiggle what's left to get at the root system under the wall. cutting as you go.
you are leaving a future issue, but you are doing that no matter what. that wall will need to be rebuilt at some point.