When should I salt and what kind?
How do you dress warm without getting soaked in sweat hot when shoveling in freezing weather?
Do you hate it when a snow storm is coming or do you love it or both love n hate?
How is your back?
I don’t know where The High Plains are - does your area commonly get a lot of snow in winter? Do you at all feel the need to counter or deal with the homeowner mantra of “I’ll do it myself”? (I’m asking because I’m genuinely curious. I’m one of the homeowners that hates to shovel but is also too thrifty not do to it myself. Other homeowners have other opinions - it’s money well spent to them to have someone else do it on a proscribed timetable and gain their own time back.) Or do you have enough clients that it’s not a concern at this point? (IOW, you don’t actively have to solicit business anyway.)
Question about the footwear. I’ve spent my time (amateur only! just my own sidewalk and walkway and digging out cars and stuff) shoveling [strike]shit[/strike] snow, but I can’t imagine how many miles you must end up walking working a steady rotation during winter.
I’ve never found real tough boots that can actually be comfortable (i.e., no blisters) for walking in snow for a lot of distance. Do you use fancier backpacking/hiking boots, or are your feet just not pansy-assed like mine?
Have you ever tried goretex-lined socks, like SealSkinz?
How do you deal with ice under the snow? Is that a “leave it, I’m here for the snow” [/tony montana] or is there some kind of extra bonus you can get for salting/putting deicer on the ice?
Also, how do you make sure you don’t slip on ice? I know there’s good technique for walking on ice, but even the best will fall on their asses, and they usually aren’t carrying some mega-behemoth snow-thinger around. Good footwork? Crampons (not the c;limb Mt. Everest kind but the sort three-piecers wear sometimes on their wingtips)?
How much do you earn from one season’s worth of snow removal?
When it snows A Lot do you get all giddy and race out to your clients? (Because most people I know get all giddy over the possibility of a snow day.)
The contract says I will remove snow no later than 24 hours after snowfall has ended, unless streets are closed. That’s worst-case scenario. In practice I strive to get everything done within 12 hours. In a light to medium snow I’ll get it all done in 4 to 7 hours. If the snowfall stops in late afternoon (or later) I’ll wait until 7AM to get started.
If it’s enough to make the sidewalk white I’ll go to work.
The most I’ve ever worked in one day is 14 hours. On average The most consecutive days I’ve worked is, iirc, 5 (about 6 hours each of those days). I work 10 hours per week.
It’s in the contract that I’m not responsible for ice. I do a good job with the snow but I don’t want to be responsible for ice. That said, I can assure you that magnesium chloride will not damage cement as much as sodium chloride will. Read the directions. Kitty litter can be a decent alternative just to provide traction. The best tool for spreading ice melter is a little hand held fertilizer/seed spreader with a hand-crank on the side. Regarding when to apply ice melter, I don’t think timing matters much.
My attitude toward work depends on how often I’ve had to work lately. When I have to work more than 3 days in a row I begin to feel a little sorry for myself.
My back is great. It used to go “out” once or twice a year, leaving me crippled for a few days, but that hasn’t happened since I stopped using a waterbed and started doing stretches religiously. My right hip, right elbow and right shoulder are in a worrisome state these days. I gave my right shoulder a permanent injury while playing hacky sack and my right elbow has a lot of wear & tear from 20+ years of shocks when the snow pusher comes up against cracks in the sidewalk. I’ve altered my technique so as to take it easy on the right elbow. I’m not sure what to blame the hip on.
I’m in incredible physical condition and I’ve gotten very good at doing things the easy way at work, so I never huff’n’puff or sweat. Being able to thermoregulate with the right clothing helps too.
It’s The High Plains of Wyoming, at 7,300 feet. The clients all pay me for November through March and some pay for October and/or April as well, with good reason. I suppose it depends on what you mean by “a lot of snow”. It’s certainly not nearly as much as places like Buffalo NY which get a lot of lake effect snow. I think we average 2 or 3 snowfalls of from 1 to 3 inches each per week. There might be a snowfall of 6 inches or more once a month. Two to four times in a season we will have a 3-day whiz-banger totaling 2 or 3 feet of snow. Some seasons there might be an entire month without snow.
I usually sit back & wait for new customers to call but right now at the beginning of the season I have been handing out business cards at locations near to places I already service. I don’t negotiate; if a potential client doesn’t like my price that’s too bad.
Boots cost me $100-$130 a pair and last about a year. I get the least expensive ones I can find which have GoreTex linings. I had problems with the last pair of cheap non-waterproof “work boots” I bought, but I’ve had really good luck with Merrel and Columbia brand hiking boots. It’s important to have plenty of room in the toe area.
I have lightning-fast reflexes and lots of experience so I almost never fall. The only time I’ve slipped on ice in recent memory was when I was cleaning up at the end of a tree job. I’ve never used any kind of anti-slip devices on my boots.
As I explained above, removing ice is not something I do.
No, I’ve never tried Goretex-lined socks. I’ve read that putting plastic bags between your socks and the shoe or boots can work well.
Should be "I never huff’n’puff or sweat at work in Winter.
My profit from snow operations last season was about $25,000.
I get giddy when there is snowfall in the mountains but not here in town, because then I can go skiing on fresh powder. Work is not nearly so much fun.
You say your rate is non-negotiable, but how do you charge? Is it by the amount of snow you remove (like, square footage), or a flat per-lot fee? I assume you wouldn’t make someone with a short single-wide driveway pay the same as someone with a really long double-wide. And corner lots have twice as much sidewalk.
You said your average workweek is only 10 hours, right? Does that pay like a full time job would pay the average workin’ stiff?
Factors in pricing include:
*size of area to be cleared of snow.
*Drifting potential- places adjacent to a large open area or on the edge of town will have larger and more frequent snowdrifts. for those of you who don’t know, a snowdrift is where snow has accumulated much deeper than elsewhere in the vicinity, due to blowing snow. Drifts can be extremely hard-packed.
*Condition of the concrete- if it’s uneven or has cracks it’s more difficult and creates excess wear & tear on the equipment.
*Location relative to other clients- time is money and travel takes time. I love to get clients right next to each other.
*Misery factor- low branches, steps or other areas not doable with a snowblower and lots of other pain in the ass type things.
*Urgency- how soon in the morning the client wants the job to be done.
The pay is enough to live on. I clear 3 or 4 thousand a month and the season runs from October thru April. Prices for locations served by me range from $22/mo to $180/mo.
pwnd !
What’s the easiest way to clear snow off a car? Especially when the car looks like a snowbank with only the antenna sticking out?
I use a broom or a shovel with a plastic blade. I’ve never known a plastic-bladed shovel to scratch a window or a car finish.
Btw, those shovels having a plastic blade with a metal edge riveted to it are something to stay far away from for any use. Those metal edges hang up on any little irregularity in the concrete.
One other thing to keep in mind when shopping for a snowblower- do not get one which has tracks instead of wheels. They look good but are difficult to maneuver. It’s a bitch to turn those things. If you need extra traction get chains for the tires.
GoreTex socks don’t seem like a good idea to me. If wetness gets inside your footwear it could freeze, making for a heck of a misery factor.
During a really big snow, do you go out while it’s still falling? Obviously the job wouldn’t be completable, but in other words making two passes of 8 inches vs. clearing out an entire 16 inch snowfall at once?
Are you worried that Homer or Barney might steal customers away from you?
Ever considered a four wheeler retrofitted with a plow to cut down on the man hours?