Snow Blowers

Where is the snow plow when you need it? You received a foot of snow overnight and you have to get to work and before you can even get the car out of the garage you have to shovel the driveway. This is one of the worst situations that many people experience through the winter and many baby boomers and seniors are now opting for snow plow services to make sure that their driveway is clear of snow to get to work or just to get out for the day. In addition shoveling the snow can be dangerous to your health especially if you are a couch potato the rest of the year. If you experience any chest pain stop immediately and get help. You could be having a heart attack. It is so much easier to just have someone do this heavy work for you.

Hiring Snow Plow Services

You have to get to work! The last thing you want to do is to shovel snow before going to work. At the same time, your wife needs the car to run her errands during the day so you cannot just leave and not shovel the driveway. Then you have to fight the traffic and the long commute into work. The 15 to 20 minutes of snow shoveling can make the difference between an hour delay in traffic.

The city snowplow cleared the street and dumped a pile of snow at the end of your driveway. It is too high to get the car out and you just have to shovel. Or again your wife wants to get out during the day and can’t because there’s too much snow at the end of your driveway. What can you do?

The snow is way to heavy to shovel some days the snow is that heavy wet stuff. A heart attack waiting to happen when you have to shovel heavy wet snow out of the driveway. Why bother with this at all when you can hire snowplow services to clear your driveway.

Hire a snowplow services company that provides snow plow services in your area.

What to Look for from a Snow Plow Services Company

Make sure that they will come back to clear the snow from the end of your driveway that the snow plow from the city leaves. Also, make sure that they will clear the snow in time for you to get out in the morning to get to work. You may want to confirm also how much snow must fall before they will come and clear the driveway. Do you want them to also shovel the front steps?

You may not even care about the price they charge. On the other hand asking for quotes from several companies in the area will give you confidence that you are not overpaying. You can also ask for references or talk to neighbors who also use a company to keep their driveway clear in the wintertime. Sometimes if you and the neighbors use the same contractor he may give you both a deal since he can do two driveways at less cost to him.

These are all the various factors that should be taken into account when setting a contract to have have your driveway cleared of snow.

The season is almost over for snow plowing services. Most contracts end at the end of March. Any snow that arrives in April will need to be looked after by the homeowner. Or they can make special arrangements with the snowplowing company. In many communities snow plowing service contracts last from the 1 December until the end of March. Another issue is that many operators have a maximum snowfall amount in their contracts. If it goes beyond a specified amount they get to charge more.

This is also an opportunity for consumers to lock in their contracts for the coming year. It may seem early to think about this however it may also be an opportunity to negotiate a better rate by locking in your contract in advance compared to waiting until next fall.

What should you expect for Snow Plowing Service?

The date your contract will start and end, how often they will clear the snow, how much snow needs to fall before they will clear your driveway, will they clear the snow from your steps, and will they come and clear the snow from the end of your driveway after the snowplow has cleared the street. These are all things that should be considered as part of your contract.

The details do matter. For example, if the snowplow cleared your street at 4 o’clock in the afternoon but the contractor had already cleared your driveway in the morning, will they come back to clear the snow left by the snowplow operator from the end of your driveway.

Avoid snow being blown against your house. The contractor should already know this, but you should make sure that snow is not blown against the side of your house or your neighbor’s house. Occasionally there can be rocks and chunks of hard ice that could damage the siding on your home or break a window.

Snow Clearing Frequency

How often should you expect the snow to be cleared? Most contracts specify how much snow must fall before they will clear your driveway. It is also important to understand who makes that decision. Is it based on the weather report at the local airport which could be miles away or is it based on the actual snow on the driveway?

Will they clear snow from your steps? You may not want the service. However it is pretty nice to be able to walk out in the morning knowing that your steps are clear of snow. Your driveway is cleaned as well. There will be an extra fee for the service and consumers must decide if they wish to pay for the service.

How many months will they clear snow? Depending on where you live, snow clearing contracts will start approximately December 1. They will continue until March 31 of the following year. If you are concerned that this is not broad enough. You may wish to have the snow contract start on November 15 and finish by April 15. However expect to pay more for the service

Get it in writing! Always get all of the details and specifics in writing on your contract and initialed by the contract provider. Otherwise, you have nothing to fall back on if the services you thought you were getting is not being provided.

Snow plowing companies come in all sizes and shapes. By this we mean that some are large organizations that provide snow clearing services all over the city that you live in while others might be small one person operations that only clear snow on the city block that you live on. One example that we know of was a gentleman who cleared snow for several of his neighbors every day during the winter. He was happy to do this for a reasonable price. Since he did not travel during the winter and was looking for something to do. He made enough money to pay for his snow blower. He replaced the one that he had for many years. This gentleman enjoyed getting outside and he enjoys the fresh air.

Types of Snow Plowing Companies

Some people will use a snow blower that is offloaded from a small truck as they travel from customer to customer. Their cost is low, they have minimal equipment and while they will have more customers than your neighbor, they will still be a small one-man operation as a rule.

Some companies use a truck with a blade on the front. You probably have seen them rushing around from house to house, driving into the driveway, dropping the blade and pulling the snow down the driveway. Once they have the snow off the driveway, they push the snow up into large snow banks that can get quite high on your lawn.

Other snow plowing companies use a tractor with a combination blade and snow blower. these machines often do the best job. The snow can be directed almost wherever it is needed and there is no huge snow bank on your front lawn. Both companies using this equipment can also have Teflon coated blades which will not mark your driveway. Anyone with interlocking brick on their driveways will appreciate this extra feature.

There are front mounted and rear mounted snow blowers on tractors. Both types work equally well. Front mounted snow blowers on tractors will also have a blade on the back to scrape snow and ice off the driveway down to the pavement. With all of this equipment, how does a consumer decide which company to choose from and what are some of the criteria?

Which type is better?

Aside from price, how often will they clear the snow from your driveway? How much snow must fall before they will come and clear your driveway? Do they use Teflon coated blades to protect your driveway? Do they return after the street snow plow operators have passed and left a large amount of snow in your driveway? All of the above types of equipment work equally well. It really depends on the commitment and care of the operator regarding the quality of the job. Some operators do a better job than others and references are probably better than others to weed out the bad operators. If this does happen to you, make sure you let the operator know as well as the owner of the company.

The last thing snow plowing companies want is to get a bad reputation because one of their operators is not doing a good job! They understand that in addition to neighbors talking, the internet is another powerful tool to leave comments and influence someones company reputation. Check for comments before you hire someone to make sure that the provide great service to all of their customers.

What are some of the issues you should consider when hiring a commercial snow plowing company to clear snow from your driveway? This is what many people ask themselves the first time they think about hiring someone to clear snow from their driveways. We have put together a list with a short description of each of these issues for you to consider. One major item that comes to our attention recently is the maximum annual snowfall. Some contracts contain a clause that allows the contractor to add a surcharge if the annual snowfall is over a specific amount.

Type of Equipment

Most people will not care what type of equipment is used as long as the snow is removed. However, it does make a difference depending on the type of driveway that you have. Snow blowers do not mark a driveway generally speaking. However, trucks with blades could scrape your driveway and leave marks. You may want to consider carefully what type of equipment will be used.

Some of the smaller companies will use a snow blower which they have to unload each time they use it. They will be happy to have several customers close by to reduce the number of times they need to load and unload their machine. Many of the larger companies will use either a small truck with a blade on the front. Or a tractor with a combination blade and snow blower. In both cases, you will want to make sure that the edge of the driveway is marked to avoid damaging your grass.

Will they Clear Walkways and your Front Step

If you want this particular service, you may have to pay more for the service. Most companies will only clear driveways with the machines. A second crew may come around to those properties that have contracted for snow removal on walkways and front steps.

How often Will they Clear Snow From Your Driveway

Most companies will specify that they will only clear snow after a specific amount has fallen within a specified time period.  Anything less than this limit means that you are on your own. You can choose to leave the snow on your driveway or clear it yourself.

Will they Come Back When the Snow Plow clears the Street

Depending on where you live the snow plowing companies that clear the city streets may not get to your street ahead of the company clearing snow from your driveway. The question is whether the snow plowing company you have hired will return to clear the bank of snow that the street snow plow leaves at the end of your driveway. Sometimes this can be a large amount and no one really wants to deal with that. Make sure your company is coming back to clear snow from the end of your driveway.

Do You Pay in Advance

Some will require 100% paid in advance for the entire season, while others are happy with two equal payments, one at the time the contract is signed and the other half halfway through the season.

How Many Months Do you Need them For

Most companies have a regular period for their contracts. Usually from Nov 1 or Dec 1st through to the end of March, depending on where you live and how long your season is.

Other issues for Commercial Snow Plowing

The above items are the major issues to consider aside from the overall price which is sometimes negotiable. You may also want to ask for references from other customers. Slso include any special conditions that you may have that relate to your property.

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Many consumers arrange for snow plow service every year. This usually includes just clearing their driveways of snow and perhaps the steps leading to their front door. The operator will use a snow plow or blade on the front of a truck. They could also use a tractor to remove the snow from their driveway.

They will drag the snow down the driveway. Then push it up onto the lawn as a means of clearing it. The excess snow cannot be left on the street. It cannot be left on the driveway so the only place left is to push it onto the front lawn. During this process, the blade of the snow plow sometimes may dig into the lawn a bit. It will take some of the sod along with it. This leaves an unsightly mess to clean up in the spring for the homeowner.

Alternatives to Destroying Your Lawn

One alternative that many snow plow operators will use is that they will essentially extend the length of the driveway into the road a bit and use this space to store the extra snow. This will only work for some customers depending on the space on the road. Also how far back the city snow plow pushes the snow back off the road.

Another approach is to ask the snow plow company you deal with to use a snow blower mounted on the front of a truck or a tractor. This approach will ensure that all of the snow is blown well away and not create large snow banks.

Finally, when the banks get too high, operators may have to arrange for the snow to be removed and trucked away to a snow dump. This is an expensive proposition and homeowners must be careful just who pays for this service and how it is reflected in your contract.

Regardless of which approach is used, the operator should mark the end of your driveway and also the sides of your driveway with markers to indicate where the edges are. This will help to ensure that the amount of damage is kept to a minimum.

City Removal of Snow Banks

In the writer’s case we have over 10-foot high snow banks in front of our home. The city pushes snow off the street and also the snow plow service that we hired. Fortunately for us the city also comes along halfway through the season and trucks away most of the snow.

Both neighbors beside us as well as across the street have this problem. We are certainly very happy when the city clears the banks of snow away. This avoids any potential flood in the spring when drains are plugged and the snow is melting with nowhere to go for the water. The other reason we are so happy about this is that a narrow street is actually a fire hazard. Since the firetrucks may not be able to get down the street if there is an emergency of some kind. Even parked cars on a narrow street can make it very difficult for these emergency vehicles to move down the street and do their job.

If you are hiring a snow plow service, always obtain a contract that accurately spells out the service you will receive. How often snow will be cleared from your driveway and when it will be cleared. This is the best approach to protect yourself and get the service that you expected.

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It is still not too late in the season to hire a snow plowing company to clear your driveway. Although it is already January, snow plow companies are still taking contracts for the season. Most will prorate their seasonal fees to reduce their charges for the year. You may still pay a little more on a monthly basis compared to signing up for the full season. However you will save money overall by waiting until January to sign a contract. Of course the risk was that you had to shovel snow a couple of times during December. This alone convinced you more than ever that you should have hired a snow plowing contractor back in November!

The winter of 2014 has been particularly difficult for urban homeowners between the amount of snow and the very cold weather. Snow plowing companies have been kept very busy this year and you may have trouble finding one this late in the season who is able to take on more clients. They also may charge a bit more as well if they are really busy and just do not need the extra business.

Services Offered by Snow Plowing companies

A snow plow company offers various services. Including clearing snow from your driveway, clearing the sidewalk up to your home and also the steps to your front door. For the full service treatment, expect to pay a little more than you would just for the driveway. There is also the timing of the snow clearance that should be discussed as part of your contract.

If you need your driveway clear before you go to work and at night, include this in the contract. The same should apply to clearing whatever snow the city snow plow leaves in your driveway as well. They seem to fill our driveways at the most inopportune times just when we need to get out of our driveways or are coming home from work.

Snow Clearing Contractors

From a snow plow company’s perspective, they really would prefer to follow the city snow plow. They want to avoid making several trips. This way they can clear your driveway of snow. At the same time clear whatever snow that the city snow plow leaves in your driveway. The timing may be less than convenient for you. However consider that even if your driveway is clear, if the street is still full of snow you will still have to navigate down a snow filled street and risk getting stuck!

The other factor to keep in mind is how much snow will need to fall before your snow plowing company will clear your driveway. Two inches of snow fall can be quite a bit of snow. If that is the limit of what must fall before they will clear your driveway you may be a little frustrated.

Consider all contracts carefully. If it is not written down and signed by both parties, then there is little chance of the service being delivered exactly the way you want. There is little chance of enforcing it either.

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Do you really want a snow plow company with a blade clearing snow from your new driveway? What kind of job will a snowplow company do for you? There are all kinds of issues associated with people who use a blade on the front of a truck to clear your driveway.

For example, you can end up with the blade overlapping on your grass. It could remove a bunch of your sod from your lawn. This makes an unsightly mess when the snow melts in the spring.

What about the impact on interlock?
Will the blade damage the surface and leave scratch marks on your new interlocked driveway. Some snowplow operators will use Teflon blades. This should make sure that there are no scraping or scratch marks left on asphalt driveways as well as interlock driveways.

Snow Plow Companies – Questions

These are questions to ask yourself when hiring a snow plow company. In addition to price, clearing times, how much snow must fall before they clear the driveway. Some companies will only clear snow after 5 cm or two and a half inches of snow fall. This may be acceptable for many people however for some they may want the snowplow to clear snow from the driveway more often.

Also what happens when the city snowplow operator clears snow off the street and creates a snowdrift at the end of your driveway? will the snowplow contractor come back and clear the snow from the end of your driveway? They will eventually get to the job, but how long will you have to wait, and will it be cleared before you go to work in the morning?

Make sure these details are spelled out in the contract.

Most snow plow companies operating in urban areas will also leave markers at the end of the driveway on both sides. They indicate where the edge of the driveway actually is. This helps them avoid cutting into the lawn. Or go on to the lawn when they’re clearing snow from the driveway. They are about 3 feet tall and are easily seen by the snowplow company operator.

These signs at the end of the driveway left by the snowplow companies are also a form of advertising. Most of them are about 3 inches wide and 3 feet tall. They have the name of the snowplow company as well as the phone number. Your neighbors can see who you’re using and decide for themselves if they would like to get the same company.

Our neighbor has hired a snowplow company to clear snow off the driveway. They also shovel the snow from the steps leading into his house. This is a service that many companies will provide. However, he also has one car that is left permanently on the driveway. The snowplow operator cannot get close to the car for fear of damaging the car. The snow shovelers when they arrive will also shovel the snow from around the car.

Clear Snow From the Steps

Typically there are two crews. The first one will clear the snow using a snowblower on the tractor. The second crew will show up several hours later and clear the snow from the steps and also from around the cars mentioned. He is quite well-off and does not mind paying for this extra work. I’m quite sure that he pays a lot for the service.

Whether you just need your driveway cleared of snow, or would like extra services such as Clearing snow from around your parked car and the steps leading into your house always negotiate the best price that you can. Many Snow plow companies will provide a discount if you sign up with them early on the season, while others will discount the fees if you decide to only hire them for a couple of months. They will prorate the annual cost of clearing snow from your driveway over the number of months that you actually need the service.

Landscape in the summer, snow removal in the winter has many advantages for both the company as well as the consumer. There are numerous marketing opportunities, equipment efficiency advantages and you get to keep your employees employed most of the year, which means you get to keep your experienced people and do not need to worry about training as many new employees. There will always be some, but at least you can keep it to a minimum. This should also transfer into less breakage and equipment break downs as well. We will examine a few of these in more detail.

Landscaping Snow Removal – Keep your employees

If you have landscape projects to work on right up until the frost comes, then a few weeks off for vacation and then into snow removal, you have a good chance of keeping the same employees year round because they know they have a job to go to. The same applies in the spring as well.  The transition between seasons is the most difficult so if you have landscape construction projects to work on you can work much longer into the fall season for example as compared to landscape maintenance projects. Yard clean up in the spring, outdoor repairs and design work are all part of the job in the spring time, just before you get started with actual landscaping projects.

Multi use some equipment

Some equipment can be reused such as tractors and trucks. Obviously equipment such as lawn mowers and snow blowers cannot be reused across all seasons. During the in between season i.e. in the fall before it snows, your employees can also be completing repairs and maintenance activities on all equipment. In the fall for example, get your snow removal equipment ready for the coming season and update and repair your landscaping equipment from the previous season.

Cash flow

Cash flow is one of the most critical elements of any business regardless of what type of business you’re in. With a landscaping business in the spring, summer and fall and then snow removal in the wintertime, you can ensure a continuous cash flow from both business operations. Your customers will also like the idea of using the same company especially if you provide excellent service.

Market snow removal in the fall
Market landscaping, lawn care etc in the late winter

Selling your services at the appropriate times. Obtaining repeat customers and signing up customers for both services is one of the key success areas. Small business owners in this area must have at least one person dedicated to selling and marketing. They should market your landscape and snow removal service all year long. Someone should man the phones and be able to quote standard prices, set contracts and set up appointments for quotes. It is critical that your customers can reach a live person at all times, whether it is a request for a quote, make an appointment, or deal with a complaint.

Encourage word of mouth

This is one of the marketing items that is difficult to manage. However by providing excellent service to your clients they will let other people know. Also by providing a 5% referral bonus to customers who bring customers to your business helps grow clientele. Business owners who provide multiple services such as landscaping maintenance and snow removal may also reward their customers with discounts for taking both services from them.

Customer service is your best advertising element that must be managed carefully. It is your best advertising medium. It can bring many new customers especially if it is good comments. Installing markers at the end of the driveway to mark the edge of the driveway for snow clearing purposes. As well as advertise your company’s name and phone number is almost as good as the word of mouth advertising. All the neighbors see your signs and may talk to your customer to find out if they are satisfied.

Every homeowner requires some sort of snow clearing equipment. The basic requirement is to have a shovel and snow scoop to clear snow from your driveway and sidewalks. The problem with shoveling snow is that it is actually hard work. Every year we hear of men in their mid-fifties or sixties overtaxing themselves. They have a heart attack right on the driveway. This is typical of the person who is a couch potato most of the year. Someone who suddenly decides to shovel snow and does not know when to stop. Either higher someone or upgrade the Snow Removal Technology you are using.

Snow Removal Technology

There are several solutions that are easy and not too expensive. They will help to ensure that you avoid having a heart attack. If you get a lot of snow you may want to either purchase a snowblower. Or hire someone to clear snow off your driveway in the wintertime and clear your sidewalk. Both solutions are going to cost you money. However the snowblower solution is usually less for many people over the long term. Provided that they maintain the snowblower properly. If you are not comfortable with changing oil, renewing spark plugs etc, then hiring a contractor might be the right approach to clearing snow.

The following are the various solutions and some of the issues for each.

Electric Snowblower, Gas Snowblower

Many consumers in the northern part of the USA and Canada will purchase either an electric snow blower or a gasoline snowblower to clear the snow from their driveway for the winter. These units come in various sizes with various power levels. The one that I am running is an 10 hp and 28 inch wide machine. The size of snowblower that you need will depend on the amount of snow that you will have to clear in the wintertime. Avoid trying to manhandle the snowblower and let the machine do all the work for you.

In general the larger the machine the better the job will be. Heavier machines will have more traction to push through the snow and they will have more power to also throw the snow further away from your driveway. Storage may be an issue for some people, particularly if you have a one-car garage. Most people will not be able to store a snowblower in their garage and also get their car in the garage with it.

Truck with a blade

Contractors will sometimes use a truck with a blade mounted on the front to clear snow from your driveway. the danger with blades on the front of the truck is that sometimes they scrape the sod off the ground at the edges of the driveway. Also, these scrapers or blades can sometimes scratch the asphalt or brick in situations where consumers have an interlocking brick driveway. Make sure that you include this issue in your contract and that the snowplow contractor uses a Teflon tipped blade to avoid scratching a brick driveway.

Tractor Mounted Snowblowers

This is the preferred equipment used by many contractors giving them much better traction and control of where the snow is thrown. Just like a small snowblower the snow can be directed in almost any direction to the left or right. Contractors can blow snow over hedges so they do not get ruined by the weight of the snow on them.

The other advantage of tractor mounted snow blowers is that you do not end up with a large pile of snow on your lawn or alongside the road from your driveway. This is typical of blade mounted snow clearing equipment. Snowblowers spread the snow over larger areas and it also melts much faster in the spring since it is not all concentrated in one area. This is a definite advantage if you are concerned about gardening and getting rid of the snow in the spring as quickly as possible.

The very first thing that you should do when you’re trying to figure out how to start-up a snow removal business is to develop a business plan. The business plan will lay out all of the things that you need to do, the cash flow, revenue, your expenses, and your capital expenditures. This is probably one of the most important areas to focus on particularly if you plan to request a loan from a bank or other lender. They will want to see your projections and understand how you will manage your costs and how sure you are regarding your income. Once you have a plan, it will become pretty obvious very quickly whether you can afford the equipment that you are going to purchase and whether you will make a profit or not.

Snow Removal Business – Budget

A basic budget is required for your business plan. This should include all of the expenses and operating costs that will be included in your business. It will also include the forecast revenue that you expect in the first year of your business. They should reflect on the number of customers that you expect to have. The number of customers will then drive the equipment your business would require, the number of operators that you require, and the associated expenses with regards to fuel, repair, maintenance, employee costs, etc.

Snow Removal Business – Equipment

The equipment that you need for your snow clearing business will depend on how aggressive you expect to be. For example, some people will use a truck with a blade on the front to clear snow off driveways. Other business people will tow a trailer behind a truck with a number of snow blowers and shovels on the trailer and at each location, they will have to use the snowblower to clear the snow from the driveway.

In other cases, larger businesses will use tractors with snowblowers mounted on the back or on the front of the tractor. The type of business that you’re going to run will be based on the volume that you will have and will dictate the type of equipment that you will need. This will be part of your business plan assumptions and will it affect the capital that you will need to run your business.

Staff

You will also need people to run your business. These people will consist of someone to answer the phone and do your billing. There will be people who are needed to operate your trucks, run your tractors, and run your snowblowers. They must be available whenever there is a snowfall. Regardless of whether that is during the week on the weekend or at night over the evening period. They must be reliable people who will take care of your equipment and not abuse it. People who run equipment roughly will cause a lot of maintenance costs that could be avoided.

Advertise

There will be advertising costs which will have to be included in the budget. This will be money that will be used to get your first customer and many customers after that. Advertising by word-of-mouth and advertising on the radio will be needed. Also advertising by putting flyers up in the neighborhoods that you are available to clear snow. Start slowly and build your business over time. This will be the easiest way to make sure that your cash flow is managed. Also that you have enough equipment to do the job. You must have people on staff to also run the equipment.

Manage the details

Staying in business is all about managing the details. You must also keep track of the big picture to avoid any major issues. Such as mechanical breakdown and lack of equipment. However, managing each customer and making sure that they are satisfied at all times is one of the most critical things that you must do. Do checks on the operators from time to time. Look for the quality of work that they are doing. Assess how well they are treating the equipment. These can make big savings for you if you are sure that you were treating the customer properly. Also that your equipment is being used well.

Most significantly, owners must also watch the cash flow to ensure that revenues match expenses. If your expenses get out of hand you can find that there is not enough money in the bank. At the end of the month there may not be enough to pay all of the bills and then you are in trouble.