We recently moved to a house in a rural area (NYS) that has a long, steep driveway. We were out of town for several weeks, and when we came back, the driveway was covered with fairly hard snow and ice, making it virtually impassable without chains. It then snowed AGAIN the day after we got home. I cleared most of that snow with our snowblower, but the storm devolved into sleet and freezing rain. This morning, we were left with about an inch of snow and a hard crust of ice.
The ice is easily broken with a metal shovel (or boots), but a plastic snow shovel wouldn’t stand up long. I haven’t attempted the snowblower, but it’s not really designed for this kind of thing. The temperature has been high (mid-40s) today, but I’m worried it won’t all melt quickly enough. We need a heating oil delivery, and the fuel oil truck driver refused to attempt the driveway today.
Any advice on clearing it up–short of shoveling the entire thing with a metal shovel?
Simpsons quote aside, this may be a time to call in the professionals. If that’s not your game, I’ll throw my weight towards the “salt the earth” approach.
An article in a nearby city newspaper talked about how it was very hard to find locally–stores couldn’t keep it in stock because there were so many snows. Although I have no ideas about the OP’s area.
After the blizzard a few weeks ago, we had one small area that even metal shovels and salt wouldn’t touch. Unfortunately, it was right where the driver’s side car door was.
I ran a hose from the hot water heater to the spot and let the hot water trickle over the ice, then used a wet/dry vac to take care of the water. That worked, but I don’t think you could do a whole driveway.
For breaking up ice on asphalt or concrete, I recommend an ice breaker. Just slam it down directly on the sheet of ice to crack and break it, and then use it or a shovel to pick it up. Not easy or quick if you have a large driveway, though.
We have an ancient garden spade, on which the bottom edge is flat, which means that the business end of it is shaped a lot like that ice breaker. It’s our go-to tool for that task, but yeah, even with our small amount of pavement, it’s a helluva lot of work.
It doesn’t help when it comes down as sleet/ice, but it is important to shovel/snowblow before you drive on it whenever possible. Otherwise you’ll just create more hard to remove packed snow/ice.
You may be aware, but I’m constantly amazed by the number of people I see trying to shovel driveways and sidewalks that have been packed down. Triples the work compared to shoveling immediately.
Driveway is about 200’ long. Asphalt, in poor repair. (We just bought the house, and the previous residents had done little to maintain the house/property; we plan to re-do the driveway at some point, but it was way down the list compared to the nightmarish interior problems with the house.)
I’ve already deployed 100lbs of salt over the top (which is a flat plateau about 60 feet long) and the steepest part of the slope (just below that plateau). I’ve got another 150 lbs on hand I can use.
The weather is dropping below freezing tonight, then is supposed to be in the 40s tomorrow and Friday (with rain Friday). With luck, that’ll help move it along…
Depending on the aspect, you might want to think about removing some trees.
Salt is great for melting the ice but for getting fuel truck up the driveway you might want to just use gravel. A half yard of 1/2 in minus would go a long way.
If it’s only an inch thick, then I would recommend sanding it. Even better, I sometimes see a mix of sand and salt. We have just had a 16" snowfall and the driveway (about 40’ long) was covered in ice. Our snow removal guy will plow the snow, but that won’t do a thing for the ice. And his clearance will like remove the salt and sand I had laid over the ice.
When I moved into this house, the previous owner had left a fireplace poker in the garage. I was a bit bemused since there is no fireplace. But it turns out to be quite effective in chipping ice, similar to the ice breaking tools recommended above. Generally our ice is impervious to a spade unless the temperature is near or above freezing. In any case, clearing ice is hard work. We have had a couple of snows, followed by rain, followed by -15 or worse freezes this year. Truly an enchanted climate. Fortunately, next summer we will move to a condo and it will cease to be my problem.
I live in rural New England, where snow removal is a highly developed skill.
I suggest that you set up a regular contract with a snow removal company. In rural areas it’s a common side business. It will relieve some stress. After the plow leaves, sand it.
My asphalt NYS driveway is only 100’ long and only half is steep, but I’ve managed without salt, sand, or professional help. I use a 2-stage snowblower to remove snow and ice as much as I can, then I spread ashes from my fireplace. The minimal salt content of the ash melts the ice at least a little, and the ash itself breaks up the smooth ice sheets at least a little, improving traction. But once some sun shines anywhere that the snow is black from the ash, the snow starts melting and I soon have enough patches of ice-free asphalt that I can safely go up and down the driveway. The only downside is that the ash is messy–I only use it away from the house.
Salt’s really the best answer. I always keep a few hundred pounds around. You can spread it by hand or with a push spreader. When it gets up to 40, if you keep after it with the salt, it’ll be gone in no time. I guess this year, you’re just in trouble if you can’t get any and doing it by hand over that distance is going to be an all day chore, but I would say that’s really your only option.
Get a TON of salt… Let that do the work, and keep track when it’ll be under/over 32 F… I know and have heard of many getting heart-attacks (hard work mixed with freezing weather?) so be careful.
