Believe it or not, I have lived in Montana for the past 10 years and have never needed a snowblower. My full-size truck had a 7-foot steel plow for my long asphalt driveway, and I used a snow shovel to deal with the decks and stairs.
I’m now moving to a new house and no longer need or have room for a full-size truck, which means I have to find a different way to clear off my uneven stamped concrete driveway. Most of my neighbors use a snowblower of one kind or another, but they all have smooth driveways. I am worried about damaging the stamped concrete driveway.
Is there a way to remove the snow without having to use a snowblower? And if the only answer is some type of snowblower, which once would you recommend and why?
We get about 60 inches of snow a year here and the temp can drop to -10 degrees or colder for weeks at a time. Any advice would be appreciated. BTW, I grew up in Northern California so I never really had a need to remove snow until I moved here.
I can’t give you a specific one to buy, but I can help with guidelines. You want it to be gas-powered, not battery powered, not corded. And you want it to be at least 2-stage. With 60" of snow, which is what we get here on in a normal year (there haven’t been many of those the last 15 years, though, we’ve been getting a lot more), I’d also get the widest, heaviest one you can comfortably get through the doorway of the cellar or shed you’re keeping it in and that you can comfortably move on your own with it not powered on.
I’d like to get one of these but a. 30" is wider than I can get through the cellar doorway due to poorly placed support pillars for the deck and b. it weighs 320lbs so I’m better off waiting to move than buy it a shed to live in because moving to a new home it would be a real pain in the behind given I own a Corolla.
What I have now is a 2-stage 24" one that will get the job done well enough in my 1/8th mile long gravel driveway. Eventually. It’s a lot slower going than I’d like.
I’ve never seen any markings on the ground from snowblower use. Friends have those fancy stones, and they seem to take it. Get a nice Honda or MTD and rock on.
The snowblowers have adjustable skids, so you can just set it to not scrape the driveway. Works for my bumpy dirt drive. Maybe set it an inch high, and then clear down to the pavers with a shovel?
I have a long driveway and an even longer private road. Both dirt and rough. A riding mower with snowblower attachment is the fastest and easiest method. Also the most expensive. When I started spending more time repairing my tractor setup than actually using it, I boughtone of these. It has 2 winters on it with no problems and starts on the first try. It has electric start but I haven’t needed to use it yet.
Works very well except in the warmest of snow which is difficult with any snow removal method.
As elfkin477 said " I’d also get the widest, heaviest one you can comfortably get through the doorway of the cellar or shed you’re keeping it in and that you can comfortably move on your own with it not powered on".
I have seen marks left on concrete from snowblowers but I think the skids were set too low. Don’t quote me on that though.
You can easily replace the snowblower’s metal skids with plastic, raise it up a bit on those skids and I don’t see any issue with a stamped driveway. I use mine on a uneven gravel driveway, and yes there is some issue if you had one of those instead, but it is manageable. I tend to leave about a inch of snow, let it pack down and freeze and use that as my drivable and snow blower surface.
Other options, pay someone to plow you, or a kid to remove it. Snowblowers are not exactly cheap and using that money towards snow removal services can go a long way.
I just checked, and western Pennsylvania gets around 28 inches of snow a year. We are on a private gravel road with two other homes. When snow is falling, if I’m at home I’ll drive out the road and back every so often. My neighbors do this also. We all have 4 WD vehicles, and other than the once-a-decade snowfall where we hire someone to plow, we get by just fine.
I live in similar conditions and Elfkin has good advice. I’ll chime in and say tracks>wheels if you have the option, at least a 2 stage and I’ll put a vote in for Husqvarna’s gear. I use their chainsaws and blowers at work and they are great! I’m looking at an ST224 for my house but if you really want a beast check out the 400 series.
60 inches really isn’t that much snow, however wind and topography matters a bunch. If it is re-drifting all over your drive 2 feet deep long after the 5 inches stopped falling, then the amount you have to deal with is effectively much more.
Thanks for the feedback. Good advice all. Maybe hiring a neighborhood teenager isn’t such a bad idea. I have two 4-wheel drive vehicles so it’s not like I’m going to be trapped at home.
