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I recently had a huge oak tree removed. It was ground to a stump. I'm going to pave that area soon. Do I need to do anything to the area before paving? Someone told me to put salt in the soil.

Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL
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Lolita
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  • Salting the area is unnecessary and pointless, whether you're wanting to pave or not - I'm rather curious as to why that 'someone' said to put salt down at all... – Bamboo Jul 14 '16 at 22:19
  • Salt would help kill the soil under the pavement, and prevent plants from growing. Generally, you need a lot of salt to kill vegetation... and keep roots from growing under the paved area. It's long lasting though. – Ben Welborn Jul 15 '16 at 18:46

1 Answers1

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Salt will not do anything to help you pave the area over.

I don't recommend paving the area at all unless you are willing to excavate at least a foot deep for four to six feet around where the tree was. The reason is that there are still roots and part of the stump in the ground. These will start to decompose and shrink in volume. As this happens the gravel and asphalt above it will sink when weight is put on or water moves through.

kevinskio
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