Spent a full day on a single oak root flare that was buried too deep

Got called out to a property in Springfield for a white oak that was looking stressed. Thought it was a simple soil compaction issue. Started digging and found the root flare was buried under almost 8 inches of fill dirt and old mulch. It took me and my ground guy six hours just to carefully excavate it without damaging the major roots. We had to use air spades and hand tools the whole time, way longer than the two hours I quoted. Has anyone else had a job blow up because of something that should have been done right when the tree was planted?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavinlopez1mo ago

Eight inches of fill dirt" is just criminal.

lewis.troy1mo ago

Man, a buddy of mine bought a house and they had to bring in a whole dump truck of soil just to level the yard. It's a total scam that they can sell a place like that. He's still mad about it years later.

sam_murphy391mo ago

My uncle's new build needed six inches of fill just to grow grass. It feels like every new house sits in a hole now. Builders save money by not hauling away extra dirt, then leave you with the bill. You pay top dollar for a home and still get a half finished lot. Why is that the new normal for construction?