diff --git a/fs/btrfs/ctree.h b/fs/btrfs/ctree.h
index 8490ee0..a2c91a1 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/ctree.h
+++ b/fs/btrfs/ctree.h
@@ -967,6 +967,12 @@
 	struct srcu_struct subvol_srcu;
 
 	spinlock_t trans_lock;
+	/*
+	 * the reloc mutex goes with the trans lock, it is taken
+	 * during commit to protect us from the relocation code
+	 */
+	struct mutex reloc_mutex;
+
 	struct list_head trans_list;
 	struct list_head hashers;
 	struct list_head dead_roots;
@@ -1172,6 +1178,14 @@
 	u32 type;
 
 	u64 highest_objectid;
+
+	/* btrfs_record_root_in_trans is a multi-step process,
+	 * and it can race with the balancing code.   But the
+	 * race is very small, and only the first time the root
+	 * is added to each transaction.  So in_trans_setup
+	 * is used to tell us when more checks are required
+	 */
+	unsigned long in_trans_setup;
 	int ref_cows;
 	int track_dirty;
 	int in_radix;
diff --git a/fs/btrfs/disk-io.c b/fs/btrfs/disk-io.c
index 20c111b..0b2b4b7 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/disk-io.c
+++ b/fs/btrfs/disk-io.c
@@ -1620,6 +1620,7 @@
 	spin_lock_init(&fs_info->fs_roots_radix_lock);
 	spin_lock_init(&fs_info->delayed_iput_lock);
 	spin_lock_init(&fs_info->defrag_inodes_lock);
+	mutex_init(&fs_info->reloc_mutex);
 
 	init_completion(&fs_info->kobj_unregister);
 	fs_info->tree_root = tree_root;
diff --git a/fs/btrfs/relocation.c b/fs/btrfs/relocation.c
index f25b10a..086b1e6 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/relocation.c
+++ b/fs/btrfs/relocation.c
@@ -1368,7 +1368,7 @@
 	int ret;
 
 	if (!root->reloc_root)
-		return 0;
+		goto out;
 
 	reloc_root = root->reloc_root;
 	root_item = &reloc_root->root_item;
@@ -1390,6 +1390,8 @@
 	ret = btrfs_update_root(trans, root->fs_info->tree_root,
 				&reloc_root->root_key, root_item);
 	BUG_ON(ret);
+
+out:
 	return 0;
 }
 
@@ -2142,10 +2144,11 @@
 	u64 num_bytes = 0;
 	int ret;
 
-	spin_lock(&root->fs_info->trans_lock);
+	mutex_lock(&root->fs_info->reloc_mutex);
 	rc->merging_rsv_size += root->nodesize * (BTRFS_MAX_LEVEL - 1) * 2;
 	rc->merging_rsv_size += rc->nodes_relocated * 2;
-	spin_unlock(&root->fs_info->trans_lock);
+	mutex_unlock(&root->fs_info->reloc_mutex);
+
 again:
 	if (!err) {
 		num_bytes = rc->merging_rsv_size;
@@ -2214,9 +2217,16 @@
 	int ret;
 again:
 	root = rc->extent_root;
-	spin_lock(&root->fs_info->trans_lock);
+
+	/*
+	 * this serializes us with btrfs_record_root_in_transaction,
+	 * we have to make sure nobody is in the middle of
+	 * adding their roots to the list while we are
+	 * doing this splice
+	 */
+	mutex_lock(&root->fs_info->reloc_mutex);
 	list_splice_init(&rc->reloc_roots, &reloc_roots);
-	spin_unlock(&root->fs_info->trans_lock);
+	mutex_unlock(&root->fs_info->reloc_mutex);
 
 	while (!list_empty(&reloc_roots)) {
 		found = 1;
@@ -3590,17 +3600,19 @@
 static void set_reloc_control(struct reloc_control *rc)
 {
 	struct btrfs_fs_info *fs_info = rc->extent_root->fs_info;
-	spin_lock(&fs_info->trans_lock);
+
+	mutex_lock(&fs_info->reloc_mutex);
 	fs_info->reloc_ctl = rc;
-	spin_unlock(&fs_info->trans_lock);
+	mutex_unlock(&fs_info->reloc_mutex);
 }
 
 static void unset_reloc_control(struct reloc_control *rc)
 {
 	struct btrfs_fs_info *fs_info = rc->extent_root->fs_info;
-	spin_lock(&fs_info->trans_lock);
+
+	mutex_lock(&fs_info->reloc_mutex);
 	fs_info->reloc_ctl = NULL;
-	spin_unlock(&fs_info->trans_lock);
+	mutex_unlock(&fs_info->reloc_mutex);
 }
 
 static int check_extent_flags(u64 flags)
diff --git a/fs/btrfs/transaction.c b/fs/btrfs/transaction.c
index 2b3590b..833996a 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/transaction.c
+++ b/fs/btrfs/transaction.c
@@ -126,28 +126,85 @@
  * to make sure the old root from before we joined the transaction is deleted
  * when the transaction commits
  */
-int btrfs_record_root_in_trans(struct btrfs_trans_handle *trans,
+static int record_root_in_trans(struct btrfs_trans_handle *trans,
 			       struct btrfs_root *root)
 {
 	if (root->ref_cows && root->last_trans < trans->transid) {
 		WARN_ON(root == root->fs_info->extent_root);
 		WARN_ON(root->commit_root != root->node);
 
+		/*
+		 * see below for in_trans_setup usage rules
+		 * we have the reloc mutex held now, so there
+		 * is only one writer in this function
+		 */
+		root->in_trans_setup = 1;
+
+		/* make sure readers find in_trans_setup before
+		 * they find our root->last_trans update
+		 */
+		smp_wmb();
+
 		spin_lock(&root->fs_info->fs_roots_radix_lock);
 		if (root->last_trans == trans->transid) {
 			spin_unlock(&root->fs_info->fs_roots_radix_lock);
 			return 0;
 		}
-		root->last_trans = trans->transid;
 		radix_tree_tag_set(&root->fs_info->fs_roots_radix,
 			   (unsigned long)root->root_key.objectid,
 			   BTRFS_ROOT_TRANS_TAG);
 		spin_unlock(&root->fs_info->fs_roots_radix_lock);
+		root->last_trans = trans->transid;
+
+		/* this is pretty tricky.  We don't want to
+		 * take the relocation lock in btrfs_record_root_in_trans
+		 * unless we're really doing the first setup for this root in
+		 * this transaction.
+		 *
+		 * Normally we'd use root->last_trans as a flag to decide
+		 * if we want to take the expensive mutex.
+		 *
+		 * But, we have to set root->last_trans before we
+		 * init the relocation root, otherwise, we trip over warnings
+		 * in ctree.c.  The solution used here is to flag ourselves
+		 * with root->in_trans_setup.  When this is 1, we're still
+		 * fixing up the reloc trees and everyone must wait.
+		 *
+		 * When this is zero, they can trust root->last_trans and fly
+		 * through btrfs_record_root_in_trans without having to take the
+		 * lock.  smp_wmb() makes sure that all the writes above are
+		 * done before we pop in the zero below
+		 */
 		btrfs_init_reloc_root(trans, root);
+		smp_wmb();
+		root->in_trans_setup = 0;
 	}
 	return 0;
 }
 
+
+int btrfs_record_root_in_trans(struct btrfs_trans_handle *trans,
+			       struct btrfs_root *root)
+{
+	if (!root->ref_cows)
+		return 0;
+
+	/*
+	 * see record_root_in_trans for comments about in_trans_setup usage
+	 * and barriers
+	 */
+	smp_rmb();
+	if (root->last_trans == trans->transid &&
+	    !root->in_trans_setup)
+		return 0;
+
+	mutex_lock(&root->fs_info->reloc_mutex);
+	record_root_in_trans(trans, root);
+	mutex_unlock(&root->fs_info->reloc_mutex);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
 /* wait for commit against the current transaction to become unblocked
  * when this is done, it is safe to start a new transaction, but the current
  * transaction might not be fully on disk.
@@ -882,7 +939,7 @@
 	parent = dget_parent(dentry);
 	parent_inode = parent->d_inode;
 	parent_root = BTRFS_I(parent_inode)->root;
-	btrfs_record_root_in_trans(trans, parent_root);
+	record_root_in_trans(trans, parent_root);
 
 	/*
 	 * insert the directory item
@@ -900,7 +957,7 @@
 	ret = btrfs_update_inode(trans, parent_root, parent_inode);
 	BUG_ON(ret);
 
-	btrfs_record_root_in_trans(trans, root);
+	record_root_in_trans(trans, root);
 	btrfs_set_root_last_snapshot(&root->root_item, trans->transid);
 	memcpy(new_root_item, &root->root_item, sizeof(*new_root_item));
 	btrfs_check_and_init_root_item(new_root_item);
@@ -1247,6 +1304,13 @@
 	} while (atomic_read(&cur_trans->num_writers) > 1 ||
 		 (should_grow && cur_trans->num_joined != joined));
 
+	/*
+	 * the reloc mutex makes sure that we stop
+	 * the balancing code from coming in and moving
+	 * extents around in the middle of the commit
+	 */
+	mutex_lock(&root->fs_info->reloc_mutex);
+
 	ret = create_pending_snapshots(trans, root->fs_info);
 	BUG_ON(ret);
 
@@ -1312,6 +1376,7 @@
 	root->fs_info->running_transaction = NULL;
 	root->fs_info->trans_no_join = 0;
 	spin_unlock(&root->fs_info->trans_lock);
+	mutex_unlock(&root->fs_info->reloc_mutex);
 
 	wake_up(&root->fs_info->transaction_wait);