If the wind is blowing hard it would be impossible to tell I had ever been working a short time after I leave. So in that case I’ll wait until the wind slows down. If blowing snow is not a factor I’ll get out and deal with the snow accumulation each day during a multi-day storm.
No. I may even be able to steer some business their way, since plow people and I are not direct competitors. They do parking lots and long driveways- I don’t. In this town competition would be cut-throat for them, since their are a large number of people who have snowplows on their trucks. Plow people are almost always unwilling to get out of their warm trucks and do a little physical labor.
A four-wheeler with a blade will not deal with deep wet heavy snow nearly as well as will a large snowblower.
A four-wheeler with a blade merely pushes snow to the sides. There is inevitably spillage around the ends of the blade, more so in deep snow. This leads to the phenomenon I call “creeping edges”. After repeated snowstorms with little melting between storms hardpacked snow and ice render the usable area of the sidewalk narrower and ever narrower. And a four wheeler can’t push really heavy snow far at all.
Far better long term results are obtained by using a snowblower to move the snow several feet from the cement.
A leafblower works well if the stuff isn’t packed.
I use a “pet safe” de-icer because I have three dogs and it both keeps them from wincing if they get salt granules stuck between their toes and prevents masses of ice melt granules from being tracked through the house.
It’s sort of expensive, is there a better alternative? I’m in Michigan and my house and driveway face north, with a lot of evergreen cover, so the biggest issue is keeping everything de-iced.
I know that frequent removal is key and “de-icing” probably isn’t part of your service but you are probably more knowledgeable than most!
I love this idea for getting powdery snow off cars.
I have an Ariens 6hp that I hope I can still use this winter.
Not that I know of, but I don’t know very much. Perhaps the question deserves its own thread.
What is your take on using flamethrowers to melt snow? I’m not kidding: Cite.
This old thread explored that question fairly well. My recommendation would be to stick with calcium chloride or magnesium chloride, and don’t play with fire.
How many different words do you have for snow? (More than the average laymen, I presume.)
What did you think of smilla’s sense of snow? Was her sense superior in any way to yours?
When did you carry out your first snow job? What kind of planning was involved?
I recently had a wooden ramp installed on my wooden deck, and the yahoo installer guy didn’t come back to stain it like he was supposed to (note to self: don’t pay until the job is done).
So, do you have any tips for keeping exposed wood as clear of snow and ice as possible? I’m wary of salt on it, seems like it might mess things up. Thanks.
That’s all I use. The plastic ones don’t do squat for packed snow. I have asphalt, not concrete. I also garage my car, so I don’t have to shovel the car. I have a small all-plastic shovel I keep in the back of the car in case I get snowed in in a parking lot.
In my experience the plastic shovels with a metal edge hung up on every little crack or imperfection on a concrete surface. This is generally annoying, a waster of time, less efficient and physically detrimental. I am living proof that a very large number of shocks to the elbows eventually affects range of motion and leads to arthritis.
Well, there’s no concrete around here. They don’t get hung up on my asphalt. They don’t even get hung up on the edge between paving stones on my walk. And i can use them to scrape up packed snow, so it doesn’t turn to ice. 
You said that already.
To be fair, it was 15 years apart…
It was interesting to me to learn who the market is for those all-plastic shovels, though. I had kinda assumed they were just the cheapie version, that i only bought by mistake.
I hadn’t really thought that they would be a lot better for shoveling out cars, although it’s obvious when you think about it. I’m still confused why they are better on concrete sidewalks, but I’ve never shoveled a concrete surface, so I have to accept the experience of those who have.
When the metal edge gets caught on any protuberance, it’s like your arm going from 20mph to zero with no shock absorber in your elbow and wrist while all your forward momentum is behind it. Even my plastic shovel is a problem on my ancient concrete walkway and sidewalk. Thinking about the additional metal edge makes me shudder.
I repeated before @puzzlegal brought my old thread back to life, for the benefit of anyone who didn’t click on the link. So your snark is unjustified, pal.