Question
i am building a two houses about 5 meters away from a row of lime trees about 50 ft high.the foundations are 2 meters deep.can you tell me what damage it will cause to the roots and what effect it will have on the tree and what prevention could be used.thank you regards darren

Answer
The footing should not cause any damage to the root system. Most of the roots are within the dripline of the foliage (width of the limbs). 5 meters should be outside this area so there would be little damage to the roots.
The major problem would be compaction of the roots around the trees. You will need to NOT allow any traffic on the roots of the trees as you build the structures. This compaction will damage many roots and cause major foliage loss. This means putting a temporary fence to stop the contractor from entering this area OR putting anything on this area. No vehicles, sand piles, bricks. etc.