Are magnolia (saucer and star) roots a problem for foundations or pipes?
Thick, fleshy, shallow roots with few fine laterals, which is exactly why an established magnolia resents root disturbance and why moving one rarely takes unless it is dormant with a very large ball. Nothing should be trenched, edged, or paved inside the drip line, and turf under the canopy is a losing effort — but they pose no threat whatsoever to sewer laterals or foundations.
Size drives root spread
Saucer magnolia runs 20-25 ft tall and frequently wider than tall; star magnolia is smaller at 15-20 ft, and both are low wide multi-stemmed forms rather than shade trees. Landscape lifespan is commonly cited around 50 years or more, and because they stay short with nothing significant overhead, removals sit in the low cost bracket — the labor is in the multiple stems and the wide low spread, not in height or rigging.
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