A tree protection inspection is a site visit by an arborist to check that the trees a construction project promised to keep are being kept: fenced at the agreed distance, signed, and free of the soil, trucks, washout and trenches that kill trees slowly. Most of the damage that kills a tree on a building site happens underground and shows up two or three years later, which is why the visits matter and why the record of each one matters. This checklist scores what you see on the day and turns every failure into a finding with an instruction. Fill it in here and download a PDF without an account, or speak while you walk, and the document writes itself.
The fence is the whole game
Roots spread far beyond the trunk, and the fine roots that take up water live in the top foot of soil. Driving a loaded truck over them once can compact the ground enough to starve them. A sturdy fence around a protection zone keeps traffic, storage and digging out, and nothing else works as well.
The distance is set in the project's tree protection plan or by the local ordinance, often based on trunk diameter. This form does not suggest one. It asks you to type the agreed distance for each tree and the distance you actually measured, so a fence that has crept inward over the weeks is plain to see.
What happens inside the zone
The checks walk the usual offenders: stockpiled materials and spoil, parked equipment and pickups, concrete and paint washout, fuel, soil piled against trunks, signs nailed to bark, and new trenches. Ground protection such as mats or a thick layer of wood chips counts only where the plan allowed access through a zone; where it did not, the check is N/A.
Root work with the arborist present
When a utility trench or a footing has to come near a protected tree, the plan usually calls for the arborist to be there: digging by hand or with air, cutting roots cleanly rather than tearing them with a bucket, and covering exposed roots so they do not dry out. Those checks only appear when there was digging near a zone since the last visit, so a quiet week is not marked down.
Any pruning for clearance should be done by an arborist to the job's specification; ANSI A300 is the US standard most specifications refer to.
Instructions, not just observations
Each visit ends with instructions to the contractor: what to fix, who should fix it and how soon. An instruction marked "stop work near this tree" shows up as a safety finding at the top of the report, and the next visit can check it was done.
Common questions
What is a tree protection zone?
It is the area around a tree that is fenced off during construction to protect the trunk, the crown and especially the roots. Its size is set by the project's tree protection plan or by local rules, often as a multiple of the trunk diameter, and it is usually larger than the dripline people expect.
How often should an arborist inspect tree protection?
Many plans call for a visit before work starts to approve the fencing, then regular visits — often monthly — plus a visit whenever digging, grading or utility work comes near a protected tree, and a final visit at the end. Your permit conditions or the plan may set a schedule.
What damages trees on construction sites?
Soil compaction from vehicles and storage, roots cut by trenches and footings, grade changes that bury or strip the root zone, chemical spills and concrete washout, and wounds to trunks and limbs from equipment. Most of it is invisible at first and shows up as decline years later.
Is this form the official city inspection?
No. It records the arborist's site visit. Many cities have their own tree protection inspections and forms; this one gives the project a clear record of each visit that can be attached to whatever the city asks for.
How is the score calculated?
Each Pass/Fail check that applies counts once, each protected tree's fence-distance check counts once, and N/A answers are left out. The score is the share of checks passed. A missing fence or digging in a zone is always a finding, even if the score looks good.