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My driveway is crushed rock. I have learned to allow the first snow to lie and I drive tractor up and down a bunch of times to pack it down. That forms a base layer of ice. Then all future snow can easily be blown without gouging the driveway.
If I ever lose that base-layer, then blowing must stop until I can re-establish the base layer.
Hmmmm. A former neighbor just drove over snow and let it turn into a very thick glacier. Then he decided it had gotten unmanageable...probably too slick.
He trotted out a small bulldozer and tried hacking out the ice. It didn’t work. Plan B: Wait for the thaw.
I once tried clearing a small area of snow with a heat gun. Experiment time! All that did was make liquid that instantly refroze as ice—NOT an improvement.
I bet someone somewhere has built a giant bonfire in hopes of clearing snow!
Hmmmm. A former neighbor just drove over snow and let it turn into a very thick glacier. Then he decided it had gotten unmanageable...probably too slick.
He trotted out a small bulldozer and tried hacking out the ice. It didn’t work. Plan B: Wait for the thaw.
I once tried clearing a small area of snow with a heat gun. Experiment time! All that did was make liquid that instantly refroze as ice—NOT an improvement.
I bet someone somewhere has built a giant bonfire in hopes of clearing snow!
I have a propane flamethrower that shoots a one foot flame, and a diesel flamethrower that shoots a 40-foot flame. Neither of them is useful for melting snow/ice.
Beside when it is -20F the ground is frozen down to four foot below grade, liquid water can not sink into it. there is nowhere for water to go. So obviously it refreezes.
Our vehicle tires are studded from mid-October until mid-April [in accordance with the law], so driving on ice is not a big deal.
We wear studded sandals over our shoes so it is very safe to walk on our driveway.
I have a propane flamethrower that shoots a one foot flame, and a diesel flamethrower that shoots a 40-foot flame. Neither of them is useful for melting snow/ice.
Beside when it is -20F the ground is frozen down to four foot below grade, liquid water can not sink into it. there is nowhere for water to go. So obviously it refreezes.
Our vehicle tires are studded from mid-October until mid-April [in accordance with the law], so driving on ice is not a big deal.
We wear studded sandals over our shoes so it is very safe to walk on our driveway.
Hee hee, you win the Most Icy contest! Someone else in our old neighborhood had a heated paved driveway put in. Don’t know how well that worked, though.
Here's my future plan.
I'd like to try and live in a cabin in a snowy cold location.
Maybe a survival situation (having to chop wood and shovel snow, cook by a fire) since I'm a Floridian that's never been exposed to northern climes.
I always hear northerners in Florida tell me about living in the cold and it being brutal but their words have no meaning since I've never actually experienced it.
Here's my future plan.
I'd like to try and live in a cabin in a snowy cold location.
Maybe a survival situation (having to chop wood and shovel snow, cook by a fire) since I'm a Floridian that's never been exposed to northern climes.
I always hear northerners in Florida tell me about living in the cold and it being brutal but their words have no meaning since I've never actually experienced it.
Most could do that as young retirees but as you age things become more difficult. When I was younger I lived in the woods with only a woodstove for a while and it was a lot of work. Probably easier for a man because they're usually stronger, but it wasn't only the heavy work, there was the responsibility of keeping that fire going at all times, always having fuel close at hand, and just in general, the way we live in the north--being prepared.
As you get into your later retirement years, it's often better to move into an apartment where someone else automatically comes and plows the snow, trims the hedges, does the repairs. Yes, we more or less hibernate in winter where I live. It gets dark early, about 4:30pm in winter and I mean pitch black. So you don't really want to go anywhere that's too far from home unless you're going to stay overnight. Driving in the dark on ice and snow plus probably it's snowing or sleeting while you're driving, isn't safe. I had a few terrifying times when I was younger and I sure wouldn't want to drive on a frozen highway in the dark now with the falling snow blinding my view.
Winters are long and they can get boring and depressing with the lack of light. You go to the store, visit friends, read, play on the computer, and at night you watch tv or videos. You can eat out locally but some nights you don't even want to drive to a local restaurant because it's so freezing cold and it's starting to snow hard. Thing is, in winter you can't make plans. If there's going to be a concert somewhere in January should you buy tickets in advance? You're taking a chance that it will be cancelled or that driving conditions won't be safe. You also use your instinct and imagination to mitigate any dangers, such as reserving a motel near the concert hall if it's maybe a half hour or an hour's drive. You never know when the weather is going to change. It's impossible to predict it around here.
Winter is a time to be sure that you are stocked up on food and other necessities because there will be times when you can't possibly get out to get anything. In our parents' day they were stocked up with canned foods. These days it's usually frozen and also some fresh food but you'd better have some non perishables too for when the power goes out. If you still live in a house you can buy a generator but if you live in an apartment the power just goes off and there's nothing you can do. Probably the more expensive apartments have generators. With a power failure in winter you can certainly keep the milk cold, lol, but you can't cook and there is no heat so you will be extremely uncomfortable and, in extreme situations, a person could get frostbite or end up getting sick. it's not a healthy situation being exposed to the cold for any length of time. There is just so much preparation that anyone can do and then you just hope for the best--that the utility companies will come though for you. Summers are more interesting and you can always go and drive and do things. You can't always be outdoors, of course, because too many times it's 90+ and humid, so there again, you hibernate.
That is 100% true story. in_newengland. And exactly why I got out of that climate before getting too old.
It was fun, Great, wonderful, adventurous and challenging when young. As a person gets older it just becomes too difficult and a hardship. Although I still love the winters, I will love them from a distance.
Thanks for the above comments. And good point about age. I'm in good shape now but in a few years, who knows.
I guess my plan sounds good in fantasy but then reality kicks in.
Hee hee, you win the Most Icy contest! Someone else in our old neighborhood had a heated paved driveway put in. Don’t know how well that worked, though.
With our local concrete plant the owner told me that he has a heated driveway [PEX tubing installed underground with 2 inches of foam under that, and fed by his household wood furnace].
I also have a commercial building in the next town from us, their city hall has heated sidewalks, a path going from the city hall side entrance out to the city hall parking lot and specifically to the city clerks designated parking spot [it is nice to be the person who signs for contracted work to be paid].
With our local concrete plant the owner told me that he has a heated driveway [PEX tubing installed underground with 2 inches of foam under that, and fed by his household wood furnace].
I also have a commercial building in the next town from us, their city hall has heated sidewalks, a path going from the city hall side entrance out to the city hall parking lot and specifically to the city clerks designated parking spot [it is nice to be the person who signs for contracted work to be paid].
Y’know, sleds pulled by huskies sounds like a decent low-tech solution...
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