# Snow plowing a concrete driveway....



## dupont338

Brand new to the site and am hoping to get some experienced advice since I couldn't find any info doing a search. I am seriously considering putting an 8ft. Western Pro on my 2007 Chevy 2500 HD(new body). I only want it for doing 3 larger driveways, one of them being my own which is concrete. My question is will plowing ruin my driveway? I know that I may get scratches and such, but how much damage will I really do with a 700lb. plow? The other two driveways are not a concern as one is blacktop and the other is gravel. Any info is greatly appreciated, thanks for helping a newbie.


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## theplowmeister

The gravel drive will ruin the paint on the plow ... then snow will stick to the plow. Seams to me they plow the concrete highways with plows that weigh over 1500 Lbs. I think using a jack on a driveway puts a lot more than 700 Lb on a much smaller spot.


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## bharry20

you won't hurt the concrete with the blade. getting the driveway to stay completely clean all season is another story, more so if it has to have any back blading done without down pressure.


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## BKFC255

i think if you do some searching on the site most guys on concrete drives use a poly or rubber edge on the plow


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## M&M

I have a concrete driveway and have been plowing it for 5 years with my old 7.5 fisher. Granted the concrete is old and aged but there are no visible signs of the plow doing any damage on its own. I will say that I stored my old blade with a rusty cutting edge on the concrete and THAT left a mark. I think I have seen pics of Grandviews plow on his concrete driveway also.


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## Indy

M&M;660074 said:


> I have a concrete driveway and have been plowing it for 5 years with my old 7.5 fisher. Granted the concrete is old and aged but there are no visible signs of the plow doing any damage on its own. I will say that I stored my old blade with a rusty cutting edge on the concrete and THAT left a mark. I think I have seen pics of Grandviews plow on his concrete driveway also.


minor correction, GV stores his plow(s) on wood in the driveway, also sprayed with FF so, less rust streaks......

he'll catch this and tell you more.....


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## dupont338

Thanks for the input so far. One thing I should have mentioned is when I put my driveway in I used real expansion joints between the sections, not saw-cut control joints. I do get some minor heave, probably less than 1/4". I know most guys here prefer not to, but would plowing with the shoes on help avoid catching an edge?


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## schuitb

*catching an edge*

The shoes will only help you not catch an edge if they are lifting the plow higher than the edge (or any other obstruction). but doing this will likely leave snow on top the concrete and two marks where your shoes ran down the driveway.... OR remeber to always angle the plow when crossing the expansion joints.. you will not trip the blade and you will scrape the drive clean.. Use this same tactic on gravel drives and lots..  an angled blade trips less as it can not dig in to the ground like pushing straight on. Unless the concrete is really uneaven, and I mean 2-3 inches you should have no problem.. When you push straight the whole blade catches the joint and then it will trip the plow..


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## RepoMan207

I used to pur crete for a living in the summers. You have nothing to worry about.


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## KGRlandscapeing

BKFC255;659491 said:


> i think if you do some searching on the site most guys on concrete drives use a poly or rubber edge on the plow


Your kidding right i would venture to say most of us on the site plow crete with steel edges with out an issue. I plow new and old the sameway. For any of us durabillty is what counts steel gives us that far beyond any kind of rubber or compound cutting edge.


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## Stan MI

dupont338

Welcome to the site !!

I also have a long driveway. Part of it is asphalt and part of it concrete. The concrete has expansion joints about every 10'. I try and make sure the blade is always at an angle when I cross the joints. I do get some heave and I have scraped the corner on one of the sections. The asphalt looks fine. I'm not sure how long the plow has to sit to leave a mark on concrete but it will leave one. I have thought about trying the urethane or rubber cutting edge just to make sure I didn't mark up the concrete any more. Don't know if it would do less harm or not, but it seems like it would give before a steel edge did when plowing and maybe not leave the mark from sitting. JMT's
If you get the plow you will be surprised how many people will turn into your "Good Friend" when it snows heavy. You'll also like the 8' blade better than the 7' or 7' 6". Seems to clean up faster when you have the blade angled and you are turning. 

Good luck with what you get !!


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## Stan MI

Forgot to add.

Gravel is not real fun to plow. Especially when the ground is not frozen underneath it. I set my shoes about an inch below the blade and just go real slow so if the blade digs in I can raise it and not scrape off a ton of gravel.

Hope that helps !!


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## dupont338

I appreciate all the responses. Busting off a corner or breaking chunks off the slab at an expansion joint is what I was most concerned with. But it sounds like that really isn't an issue as long as the blade is angled while going over them. The gravel drive I will do is probably more dirt than gravel, not sure if that's better or worse. I think I'm convinced enough to buy the plow. Thanks again.


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