Home Improvement Today?

I'd go with a patio too.
Are you cutting down the maple or building patio around it?
If you're cutting it down you'll want to have the stump and roots ground down and remove the wood chips before adding fill.

 

I can just about see the finish line

Phase 2 borders stripped , exposed aggregate infill panels rebar tied and chaired , grade stakes in . Pours tomorrow and Friday and the concrete placing / finishing will be complete

 

Tree is going to stay. The patio will mimic the existing footprint of the deck except the one side will be a semi circle of large stone steps leading out to the yard.

 

My vote would be patio, hands down. I have friends who had the composite deck and it was nothing but a pain (the version that spalls/peels/whatever you call it). It was years ago and maybe the manufacturers have fixed it, but the cost just doesn't seem worth it. A stone patio seems much more durable and better looking, IMHO. I have a ginormous deck (about 700sf) and the dream is to one day replace it with stone, but I fear the cost for such a large space!

 

I would have done a patio, but the slope of my back yard wasn't conducive to building a patio.

 

Be careful adding fill over the tree's roots. It might kill the tree. In my previous neighborhood the developer/builder filled all the lots but kept the existing trees as a selling feature since most developers just take everything out. It looked great to have the old existing trees in the new neighborhood, but within a couple years they all died and the new home owners had to pay to get them removed.
Trees get oxygen and nutrients from the surface, so filling in over the roots will deprive them of that.

 

It's amazing seeing the construction techniques of foreign countries. Down in Nicaragua this week seeing where the Mrs. grew up and was eating breakfast at this little hostel. Well, they were patching a hole in what I assume is stucco or plaster and when adding mesh they used beer bottle caps to keep the nails from pulling through.

Later on, down near the beach saw this poor dude having to sift his own dirt to free it of rocks. Crazy!

 

5 pours down , 1 to go

 

This^ you don't want to cover the root flare. I would consult an arborist.

 

Is that a thing? Like calling up a plumber or electrician? Interesting.

 

Yes, an ISA certified arborist would be the preferred choice. You can also google the effects of burying the root flare.

 

Cover the deck in concrete board,then put blue stone over it.

 

How does one become an arborist? I've been looking for a career change.

 

I think a patio is always preferable when site conditions allow it. In this case, I'd say it is not, if you like the tree. You can't do that to the tree and expect it to bee in the best possible health or maybe even survive. Turf right up to the trunk is bad enough. You see people ringing the trunk with stone blocks and filling it with shitty flowers, thanks to Home Derpo. Also no bueno.

 

So it collapses even more rapidly when the wood inevitably rots?

 

Yea the decks old as hell. They attached the damn thing to the house with nails and not bolted through. Home inspector said it wouldn't hold more than 10 people haha. It's coming down eventually.

 

When I was a Utility Line Clearance Arborist, I went by Tree Skinner.

 

http://www.paulsmiths.edu/learn/arboriculture-landscape-management/ <-- this is where I graduated from with an Arboritculture degree many moons ago.
I only worked in the field for 3 years, it was going to destroy my body.
As far as burying roots of a tree 1-3 feet... I would highly discourage it, maybe consider a staircase down to your current grade and burying 6" maximum your existing roots with a structural soil that has organic mater. Read page 11 and on for more information.
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/uhi/outreach/pdfs/CU-Structural Soil - A Comprehensive Guide.pdf

 

It's coming along nicely! A short history of the journey so far (I don't have a pic of the brown/yellow/green/pink monstrosity it was when I bought it).


Laying out the floor heat wire


Subway tile grouted, floor tile grout next then tile will be 100% done!