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I guess it might be time to start thinking about this nasty subject....
I'm a first time home owner, and I need to find a guy/gal to plow my driveway this winter. For a few reasons, I won't be able to do it myself.
How much can I expect to pay? Its a flat driveway, about 100' long with a small turnaround. Do you normally pay per storm, or how many times the driveway actually gets plowed? Am I better off going with a large company, or an individual?
Find out who your neighbors use and use him/her...
The more in one place the better the cost, and faster the service.
Exactly.
Some do it by the storm. Others pay by season.
Be sure to know where the snow will be piled up.
If you have propane need to shovel a path to tank.
If you have mail delivered - keep that area free of snow too.
Some do it by the storm. Others pay by season.
Be sure to know where the snow will be piled up.
If you have propane need to shovel a path to tank.
If you have mail delivered - keep that area free of snow too.
Also for Oil, need path to fill point,
Does not need to be down to grass/pavement, but need to be ~3 feet wide,
Next time I talk to my dad in NH, I'll ping him on his costs, I know he does it by the number of times they guys comes and clears it, (He comes when its over 3-4" i think, but the 1st clearing might be when the snow is over 6" or so based on the forecast, or after the snow stops falling, again based on forcast.),
and if its real bad season midway thru the guy brings bobcat and push the side pile more off to the side, and clear the built up snow that is @ House end of driveway next to two retaining walls that builds up over time. to 8-10' high.
I know about clearing a way to the oil fill, and keeping the mailbox cleared. I've lived in NH my whole life so snow clearing isn't new to me, paying someone to do it for me is.
Driveway is 350' and paved. We used to pay $30 per storm for the first 9'', each additional 6'' was another $30. He would plow each morning and then again when the storm was over.
Used another guy one year that was $35 / day regardless of depth. Storm starts at 6 PM and ends at 4 AM, it is a $70 storm.
We were spending in excess of $500 per year. Last year I bought a snowblower attachment for my tractor, it was expensive >$2K but it should pay for itself eventually. Can do the entire drive in about 10 - 15 mins. Went the attachment route rather than standalone so the wife can use it when I am out of town. Personally I wish I would have bought the blower years ago:
-Does not chew up your lawn or driveway
-You always end up shoveling when you use a plow: dig out the mailbox, dig a path to the door, dig a spot for he dog to poop, shovel out the wall of snow against the garage, dig a path to the oil fill spout, etc. No more shoveling anything with a blower.
-You can put the snow where you want it. Our house is built into a hill, I blow everything down the hill so it runs away from the house in the winter.
-No more waiting for a dirt covered pile of ice to melt in April when you are ready to start working on lawn.
Driveway is 350' and paved. We used to pay $30 per storm for the first 9'', each additional 6'' was another $30. He would plow each morning and then again when the storm was over.
Used another guy one year that was $35 / day regardless of depth. Storm starts at 6 PM and ends at 4 AM, it is a $70 storm.
We were spending in excess of $500 per year. Last year I bought a snowblower attachment for my tractor, it was expensive >$2K but it should pay for itself eventually. Can do the entire drive in about 10 - 15 mins. Went the attachment route rather than standalone so the wife can use it when I am out of town. Personally I wish I would have bought the blower years ago:
-Does not chew up your lawn or driveway
-You always end up shoveling when you use a plow: dig out the mailbox, dig a path to the door, dig a spot for he dog to poop, shovel out the wall of snow against the garage, dig a path to the oil fill spout, etc. No more shoveling anything with a blower.
-You can put the snow where you want it. Our house is built into a hill, I blow everything down the hill so it runs away from the house in the winter.
-No more waiting for a dirt covered pile of ice to melt in April when you are ready to start working on lawn.
Thanks for the info. I'd like to get a blower too, but it just won't be possible this winter for a bunch of reasons. Hopefully for next year I can get a ride on mower for the lawn, and get a blower attachment for the driveway.
Get at least 3 estimates and choose the best.'
Find out what neighbors, if any, use the same people.
Get opinions, get references.
Find out what the payment policy/contract is.
Don't pay up front for service, only have plowing done once or twice because Mother Nature changed her mind.
Get it in black and white!
Get all the deals of the contract and make sure both parties sign and get copies.
Never pay full price when you can negotiate.
I bought a 2 stage snowblower.....big snow takes me 20 mins, maybe.....100ft drive, but to do paths and rest is another 10 mins. I went whole hog and bought a Honda self drive with tracks as I am on an incline too....and I live right off RT 4 so they push snow into my drive which is probably the biggest aggravation and time consumer because on big snows I can literally have a 5 foot wall of snow/ice/sand/salt. Set me back about 2800....that was 4 years ago, and I am glad I did. Last 2 years would easily have been about $1200 for all the snow we have gotten.
I can do it at night or in morning.....and mostly I wait until snow is over and just do it one time......I work from home, but I have to do a lot of driving to pick up and do shows. That can be a drawback having a show that takes me out in February, and coming home.....first thing I have to do is fire up the blower.....like this February when I came back to at least 44", not including the wall at the end of the drive.
So two sides to this coin.
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