Air spade skepticism, then I used one on a 100 year old oak

I used to think air spades were for guys with more money than sense. Why rent a $350 tool for a day when a shovel and some patience does the job? Then last spring I had a call in Portland where a big oak was showing stress, and the soil around the root flare was packed like concrete from years of foot traffic. I watched a buddy use an air spade on a similar tree, and the roots were literally suffocating under 6 inches of compacted fill. I finally tried one on this job, and it exposed girdling roots I never would have seen with a hand dig. I'm still not sold on using them for every inspection, but for mature trees near sidewalks or driveways, it's a game changer. Has anyone else switched sides on air spades, or do you think they're still overkill for routine work?

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irismartinez29d ago

Heard a buddy tell me about digging out an old maple by hand and finding nothing, then the homeowner brought in an air spade and they found a root wrapped around the trunk like a noose. Took maybe twenty minutes to expose it versus the two hours he'd already spent with a shovel. He still jokes about renting it for every job, but he never skips it on trees near pavement anymore.