5
Hated air spades until I tried one on a root compaction job in Denver
I always thought air spades were overkill for residential work. A buddy convinced me to borrow his on a tight silver maple in Denver with serious soil compaction around the base. Broke up the clay in about 20 minutes without damaging a single root. That tool saved me at least 3 hours of hand digging. Anybody else find a tool they swore off until the right situation came up?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
thompson.xena1d ago
Honestly, I was the same way for years. I saw air spades as this overpriced gimmick that only made sense for huge commercial jobs, not the small residential stuff I do. But then I had a nasty old sugar maple in Boulder with soil so packed it was like concrete a foot down. Borrowed a buddy's air spade for one afternoon and broke through that clay in maybe 15 minutes without hitting a single root bigger than a pencil. Totally changed my mind. Sometimes you just need the right tool for a specific mess.
7