Snowthrowers or Plowing? (Nashua, Merrimack, Hollis: home, buy, pros and cons)

[BF66389]

So, we're (hopefully) going to end up with a place that has about a 200 foot long driveway. My car is great in the snow but obviously we'll need to clear the driveway. So 2 options- buy a snowblower (it looks like we can afford something that will clear 28-30 inches at a time) or hire someone to plow it (my Jeep's transmission is tired). Any idea what folks generally charge to plow (we're in Hollis, so near Nashua/Merrimack)? Or are we best off just going with the blower?

[DareToDream]

Originally Posted by z28hokie

So, we're (hopefully) going to end up with a place that has about a 200 foot long driveway. My car is great in the snow but obviously we'll need to clear the driveway. So 2 options- buy a snowblower (it looks like we can afford something that will clear 28-30 inches at a time) or hire someone to plow it (my Jeep's transmission is tired). Any idea what folks generally charge to plow (we're in Hollis, so near Nashua/Merrimack)? Or are we best off just going with the blower?

Good morning z28hokie - We're in northern NH and debated the same thing. We opted to have someone plow our driveway. Hubby leaves for work around 6 a.m. and it was just easier for us to have someone come and plow us out in time for him to leave, rather than getting up earlier and snow- blowing before he left. Our guy charged $25 to plow - we spent $200 this season getting plowed out. I don't know what the going rate is in Hollis.

I would suggest that if you go with the "plow out" option, have those in your area come and tell you what they would charge to plow your driveway and then weigh the pros and cons from there. For us the "plow out" worked better for us, mostly because of the extra sleep

[GregW]

A friend of mine in Mt. Vernon, NH, has his 400 ft long driveway plowed by a guy with a truck mounted snowblower. Two passes and all the snow is spread in the woods and not stacked in giant mounds at the ends of the drive. I have no idea who provides this service but look in the phone book.

I suggest you get a "powered broom" for clearing walks and paths. Snow shoveling can be very dangerous to your heart if you don't do it every day.

[leggo]

200 ft is really too long to snow blow. It will take you a couple of hours with the small size of a blower your talking about.
Plowing cost will depend on the severity of you driveway. You might get lucky and find someone to do it for 25$ but I would guess more around the 40-50$ price. Then they usually will get you twice for the big snow storms that are over a foot.
You could get a price on fixing the Jeep's tranny, it might not cost as much as you think. Fiberglass plows are going for 995$ at Sams Club.
I do my own driveway with my tractor, but my neighbor spent around a 1000$ on plowing this year. You could recoup your initial outlay pretty quickly if we get another few winters like this year. <wink>

[mal7014]

I use a snowblower. I paid someone to plow for a couple of years. I felt like I was throwing my money away. I like knowing that I can snowblow myself out when I need to. And not wait for someone to "rescue" me. My snowblower has paid for itself over and over again.

[WIMU]

I have a 150 foot driveway and my snowblower was my best friend this past winter. I t cost me about $575 but it wouls do everything I could ask and I used it probably 25 times if not more and at $25 each time to plow i more than paid for it already. It took about 45 minute in big snows and maybe 25 minutes in smaller snows. Just get up a little earlier or do it when you return it worked great for us and we had at least 125 inches this year

[rmcewan]

Yep, my snow thrower paid for at least half of itself this winter too. For 200ft you'll want a high end blower. Forget all the gimmicks (joystick chute control etc.), just opt for biggish engine and the widest you can find and still be able to push it if it runs out of gas halfway down the hill ;-)
You'll need to go down and up your drive twice to clear it enough to get to work in the AM. A powerful blower will go at a fast walking pace through a foot+ of snow. So if you can walk 800ft in 10 mins, you're done. Of course, you'll need to get your wife/kids to do the rest while you're at work otherwise you'll need to do it yourself when you get home - and what else will they be doing on a snow-day anyhow?*

However, if the drive is not paved, you might want to get a plow guy out. Make sure any quote you get is "per storm" not per visit.




*just kidding ladies.

[sgthoskins]

Originally Posted by mal7014

I use a snowblower. I paid someone to plow for a couple of years. I felt like I was throwing my money away. I like knowing that I can snowblow myself out when I need to. And not wait for someone to "rescue" me. My snowblower has paid for itself over and over again.

+1 I have a 9hp snowblower and about a 150 driveway. It doesn't take long to do, about an hour.

The plowing for one year was about half the price of a big snowblower. Not to mention I don't have to wait for the plow anymore.

[BF66389]

Thanks everyone. Spending an hour or so to get it done doesn't bother me in the least.

Would 28-30" be considered "big"?

Any exceptionally durable (or exceptionally not-durable) brands?

[lisa g]

Hi Z,
We have an old but very durable 26" Troy Bilt blower. My husband gets our 200 ft long driveway done just as rmcewan describes. We'll probably get someone to plow next winter though if it's like this past one mostly due to an old injury irritated by the blowing.