pic of bay window

Burying the roots under the stone deck might kill the tree.

Go for a floating deck that leaves the roots undisturbed.

On this side of the tree will be a 16x16 screened in porch on traditional concrtete tube footers 24" deep

If the screened porch will be 16 x 16' and the tree is 14' from the house, how close will the screened porch be to the tree?

It would be helpful to see a diagram showing the locations of the proposed deck, the proposed screened porch, and the tree.

If the screened porch is on tube footers, are you talking about some sort of kit rather than an addition to your house which would involve extending the roof?

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Just for reference, here's the OP's thread on the Porches & Decks forum:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/porch/msg0308381617832.html

I need to put in a 16x12 flagstone patio to keep my view of the lake from being impeded by chairs(lower profile)

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i dont understand this comment.. are you going to excavate a foot or two of soil???

proper patio building requires a deep substrate ... you either excavate to maintain a certain height ... or you work on top ... and if on top... your ultimate patio height is much more.. than the brick height itself ... and no tree.. especially an old one.. wants its roots buried under 8 or 10 inches of crushed rock and sand .... and then brick ...

frankly ... i would get rid of the tree... while it can be done easily ... once you build all your other things.. surgical removal will be harder ...

if you did mean excavation ... see pics below.. and try to figure out.;. how you will be able to excavate.. without damaging about 1/2 of the tree roots on that side of the tree .. and once half the roots are torn up... you substantially impact the trees ability to stay upright in storms ... besides the fact that the tree is too close to the house... mostly likely overhanging the house with large branches... and doesnt have the healthiest of trunk per your picture ... sorry ... but in my world.. and seeing the baby swing in the window.. this tree is not important enough to stay .... i would rather not worry about it ... [and i fully understand that you want the house shaded so the a/c runs less]

could you favor us with a pic of the whole tree.. and the house ...

just playing devils advocate ... i wish you luck with the project ...

ken

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It is an addition with gable roof there will be about 6' btwn the tree and the screen porch local forestry guy said that should be fine the tree is 14' from the concrete porch that is being torn down and centered in front of the small window. There will be 8' btwn the two gables with the small window in the middle if that helps. I will be doing it all by myself. I live in Hawkins county and there are not any quality construction people here. NO Building Codes. The only thing that is inspected is buried power lines. I called the local power coopereative for an electrician and two of the people they gave me were no longer liscensed.( sorry, got on a rant) I've considered removing the tree, but the shade is quite nice and it hasn't damaged the foundation yet so I figure it I would have already if it was going to? The forestry guy marked several limbs to have removed during thanksgiving.

As for patio I wasn't planning on the "right way". That would kill it for sure. Weed barrier then crushed granite and large flagstone 36" or better by 3" or better stones with some type of border to keep the integrity of the edges. And yes the tree would be gone if it weren't for the shade, and power savings(summer). But, its still an option. It gets in the high 90's sometimes here not often though. Then in the winter that large window provides alot of heat.

tree limbs do grow over the house some about 6 or 8' over the gable and just to the edge on the right.

From the bark, I wonder if that's not a Black Maple (Acer nigrum) vs. a Sugar. Almost the same tree...but subtle differences. The dark bark being one.

The leaves also tend to be slightly "droopy" vs. a sugar maple.

As far as your project, I'd only feel comfortable leaving the tree if you build a "regular" deck that rests only on 4 footers with minimal root disturbance, and air space between the deck and the soil underneath so the roots aren't bothered much. Plus water could still get into the soil via the slats between the decking.