Tree roots visible lifting a section of sidewalk indicate:

Root-lifted paving has two properties that matter to the report. It is a trip hazard now, in a location people walk, and unlike most trip hazards it is progressive — the root that lifted the slab continues to thicken every growing season, so the displacement grows and any repair that does not address the root will be undone. That progression is what makes the recommendation different from a simple levelling: grinding the lip or replacing the slab buys time, while addressing the root, rerouting the walk or installing a flexible surface addresses the cause. The inspector reports the hazard and its progressive nature, and can note the root as the visible cause because in this scenario the roots are visible — which is a different situation from inferring an unseen subsurface cause.

The lifted section is a present trip hazard, and because the root continues to grow the displacement will increase. Reporting both the hazard and its progression tells the client that a simple levelling will not hold.

Tree roots grow radially and thicken over time, displacing adjacent paving. Resulting trip hazards are progressive, and durable remedies address the root conflict — rerouting, root pruning by an arborist, or a flexible surface — rather than only levelling the displaced section.

Roots Do Not Stop Growing. Grinding the lip fixes today; the root is already working on next year.

Suggest arborist involvement alongside the paving repair. Cutting structural roots to fix a walk can destabilize a mature tree, which is a hazard of its own.

• •Reporting the trip hazard without noting it will worsen
• •Recommending levelling alone where a root will re-lift the slab
• •Reading root displacement as evidence of tree decline