# $ 35 driveway meets ice/freezing rain= rock solid



## DodgeBlizzard (Nov 7, 2003)

So what do you guys charge when you have a $ 35 driveway that would normally take a few minutes to plow.....but this last storm it now has 1" of solid ice ? We're talking LOTS of salt on the first trip. Plow on the second trip, followed by even more salting for the small areas that didn't peel up. Double the normal price? Triple the price? Four times?


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

I don't understand. Why would it be anymore than the predetermined price?


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## qualitycut (Jan 13, 2008)

Is this a current customer or a person that just called for a one time plow? If its regular customer and it turned to ice due to you not keeping up with it then you are SOL. If there was an ice storm then I would charge what ever you have stated in the contract for the price of salting along with the plow price.


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## luky013 (Dec 31, 2009)

first of all there is no such thing as a $35 driveway. that is absurd. with all the costs involved with snow plowing how can you afford to start your truck at that price? second why is this in the commercial blog?


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

luky013;1227647 said:


> first of all there is no such thing as a $35 driveway. that is absurd. with all the costs involved with snow plowing how can you afford to start your truck at that price? second why is this in the commercial blog?


:laughing:


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## Neige (Jan 29, 2008)

cretebaby;1227651 said:


> :laughing:


I totally agree Crete :laughing:


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## Eronningen (Dec 20, 2008)

DodgeBlizzard;1227581 said:


> So what do you guys charge when you have a $ 35 driveway that would normally take a few minutes to plow.....but this last storm it now has 1" of solid ice ? We're talking LOTS of salt on the first trip. Plow on the second trip, followed by even more salting for the small areas that didn't peel up. Double the normal price? Triple the price? Four times?


Your SOL. If its a plow only account, than what is there to plow if its only ice? If you have your terms set up well than you'll be fine. Do you have a set amount or charge for salt applied? I only salt a couple driveways upon request. If what happened to you happened to me I would plow the dust off the top and ask i they want more done and tell them their options


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## qualitycut (Jan 13, 2008)

luky013;1227647 said:


> first of all there is no such thing as a $35 driveway. that is absurd. with all the costs involved with snow plowing how can you afford to start your truck at that price? second why is this in the commercial blog?


I have to disagree with that I have 4 driveways that are within 1 mile and I charge 35 per and takes me about 25-30 minutes to do them so if 140.00 per hour is absurd then you must be either a millionaire with what you charge or only have one driveway.


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## mkwl (Jan 21, 2005)

^^^ totally agree ^^^ :laughing:

For me, it's stated in my contract that 2-6" is $xx to $xx, 7-12" $xx to $xx, etc... based on the "heaviness of the snow." So, while i have some drives that might usually take 3 mins at $40, on this one they're $50+ because it was so heavy. NOW- granted, I got all of mine done before it froze up again, if you waited and there's no thaw in the forecast you're probably SOL


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## mkwl (Jan 21, 2005)

qualitycut;1227671 said:


> I have to disagree with that I have 4 driveways that are within 1 mile and I charge 35 per and takes me about 25-30 minutes to do them so if 140.00 per hour is absurd then you must be either a millionaire with what you charge or only have one driveway.


So you're charging the same for 2" as 12"... YIKES!


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## qualitycut (Jan 13, 2008)

mkwl;1227678 said:


> So you're charging the same for 2" as 12"... YIKES!


They get plowed every 2-4in during a storm and are charged every time I show up. If its over 4 there is additional charge. I would never wait to plow at 12 inches.


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## Eronningen (Dec 20, 2008)

qualitycut;1227689 said:


> They get plowed every 2-4in during a storm and are charged every time I show up. If its over 4 there is additional charge. I would never wait to plow at 12 inches.


I've plowed alot of driveways and still do but mainly focus on commercial. The driveways I still do have an 1-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, etc rate. I think its crazy to show up and plow their driveway all those times on a trigger when most of the time they are laying in bed or at work. I couldn't get away with it. Wow. 
So if it started snowing at 7am and ended at 5pm with a total of say 10" you would plow 3-5 times? Or same deal overnight? If so good for you.


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## qualitycut (Jan 13, 2008)

Eronningen;1227731 said:


> I've plowed alot of driveways and still do but mainly focus on commercial. The driveways I still do have an 1-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, etc rate. I think its crazy to show up and plow their driveway all those times on a trigger when most of the time they are laying in bed or at work. I couldn't get away with it. Wow.
> So if it started snowing at 7am and ended at 5pm with a total of say 10" you would plow 3-5 times? Or same deal overnight? If so good for you.


Depends on the amount of snow. Its closer to every 4-5 for resis sorry I was going with all of accounts in there because my commercials are same price structure as resis. Totally depends on how much snow and how long it lasts, we got 18 inches in about 2.5 days and every one was plowed 3 times at +4 pricing. If we get 6 in during the day I will do them 2 times.


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## Eronningen (Dec 20, 2008)

qualitycut;1227746 said:


> Depends on the amount of snow. Its closer to every 4-5 for resis sorry I was going with all of accounts in there because my commercials are same price structure as resis. Totally depends on how much snow and how long it lasts, we got 18 inches in about 2.5 days and every one was plowed 3 times at +4 pricing.


Did the same storm here


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## qualitycut (Jan 13, 2008)

Eronningen;1227750 said:


> Did the same storm here


Out of curiosity if we got 6 inches of snow do you go more than once or just wait till its done. Not trying to be a pri*ck just trying to understand.


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## qualitycut (Jan 13, 2008)

This is my example of plowing everyone 2 times during a 4 inch snow. The other day we had 2 inches by 300 am I plowed everyone. By 6pm we had another 2 everyone got plowed again that night.


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## Eronningen (Dec 20, 2008)

qualitycut;1227765 said:


> Out of curiosity if we got 6 inches of snow do you go more than once or just wait till its done. Not trying to be a pri*ck just trying to understand.


6" on residentials, the one I do, I would only do once. There is exceptions to this rule. Timing of the snowfall is key to our plowing. All the people I plow residentials for arefairly hardie. They can get in and out of their drives well. Some are in town with 30' flat drives and most are longer rural drives. In either case they manage. 
Sometimes they'll get hit twice in 6", most times not though. It just depends on the timing. I do have one residential that panics about snow and we plow the hell out of it. 6-12" they all get plowed at least twice. 12'+ they will get hit a few times as some of them are pretty steep and I do it more because of me being afraid to get stuck.


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## Eronningen (Dec 20, 2008)

qualitycut;1227770 said:


> This is my example of plowing everyone 2 times during a 4 inch snow. The other day we had 2 inches by 300 am I plowed everyone. By 6pm we had another 2 everyone got plowed again that night.


We had the same storm. Timing was a tad later but I didn't plow the residential until snow quit. Sometimes the weather man tricks us into plowing twice when it doesn't quit as planned. 
But think, why would I plow a driveway at 3am, banging a plow around waking them up, than when they get up and leave they can't even tell we were there. 
Commercial is a totally different story and thats where we spend most of our time.


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## qualitycut (Jan 13, 2008)

Eronningen;1227782 said:


> 6" on residentials, the one I do, I would only do once. There is exceptions to this rule. Timing of the snowfall is key to our plowing. All the people I plow residentials for arefairly hardie. They can get in and out of their drives well. Some are in town with 30' flat drives and most are longer rural drives. In either case they manage.
> Sometimes they'll get hit twice in 6", most times not though. It just depends on the timing. I do have one residential that panics about snow and we plow the hell out of it. 6-12" they all get plowed at least twice. 12'+ they will get hit a few times as some of them are pretty steep and I do it more because of me being afraid to get stuck.


LOl this thread got way off topic be cause of my 4 driveways buy each other for 35 dollars each responding the the 2nd post on here with out giving much info as I was trying to prove that 35 isnt bad for a one time plow on a 2-4 snowfall


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## Eronningen (Dec 20, 2008)

Dude- If you can get away with it all, morepower to ya. I could care less. Sorry


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## delonglandscapi (Jul 13, 2010)

qualitycut;1227671 said:


> I have to disagree with that I have 4 driveways that are within 1 mile and I charge 35 per and takes me about 25-30 minutes to do them so if 140.00 per hour is absurd then you must be either a millionaire with what you charge or only have one driveway.


i completely agree also. 35 dollars per drive is greatmoney. I have 16 houses on one road within 1/2 a mile. I can do them all within an hour usually. I charge 30 for snow up to 4 inches, 4-7-35, and 7-10- $40 and and 10-15-$45.

We just got a 13 " storm, i charged $45 per drive and made 720 in a little over an hour. Best profit margin i have ever had, me and my little brother snow blowing the walk ways. Houses are close so he did sidewalks in between houses and walked the whole way. Aftter i finished plowing, i finished the end of the streets sidewalks and walk ways (like 5 houses)

At 35 per drive, idk how you could do better than that


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## WIPensFan (Jan 31, 2009)

luky013;1227647 said:


> first of all there is no such thing as a $35 driveway. that is absurd. with all the costs involved with snow plowing how can you afford to start your truck at that price? second why is this in the commercial blog?


WTF are you smokin? No such thing as a $35.00 driveway? You need to get out of the house more.

Sounds like the OP had freezing rain, what's the big deal? Charge enough to make on the salt, then the plow charge for removing the slush. Then charge again for the final salting.


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## DodgeBlizzard (Nov 7, 2003)

Man, talk about my post getting off topic. But since it is I will add to the off topic. Nobody around here charges x amount for certain inches. Maybe it's a region thing. But I can just see it being a way of customers saying we only had this many inches and you charged us for that many inches. 

As far as a $ 35 dollar driveway. Some guys around here are doing them for $25. A lot of plows in a small town. 

As far as this being in the commercial thread. My bad. Moderators, feel free to move this to the residential thread. 

A little background. This drive is a plow and a half wide. Three swipes near the garage. And with the garage facing the way it is, I can push straight through with no backdragging. This is a residential customer that only wants done when we get two inches or more. We only got an inch....but it was all ice. I don't show....due to "her terms". Their is no predetermined price for this situation. Normally I don't take on this kind of customer, but she pays quick and is what I would call the perfect residential customer. She never complains. She never calls. If every customer was like her, I would do more of them. So back to the original question, do you 2x, 3x, 4x, etc. up the original price?


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## qualitycut (Jan 13, 2008)

If you are just on a per plow charge her for 1 plow if you have something stating salting charge her for that if not talk to her about it. If you have 1in of ice how could you charge her for more than one plow. If it comes down to it salt it and plow it charge her for one plow and keep her happy. I dont know your situation but if it's ice from a ice storm then you dont have a obligation to plow it's not snow just talk to her about salt. Now if it snowed and you left it and it melted and turned to ice then deal with it like I said salt and plow and charge her for one plow. Im giving this info to you assuming the only agreement you have is plowing with no discussion of salt.


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## qualitycut (Jan 13, 2008)

Forget the last post I missed the all ice accumulation if she said don't come then make her pay for it accordingly by charging her to salt and scrape it if thats what it takes. How do you expect to plow an inch of ice? I dont think the concept is to hard to understand. Salt is a diiferent price than plowing if you put 50.00 of salt and plow once why would you charge for two plows that would nt make sense they are to different services charge so you make money just explain what may need to be done and how much for it.


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## luky013 (Dec 31, 2009)

i wouldnt plow my neighbors driveway for $35


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## qualitycut (Jan 13, 2008)

luky013;1228172 said:


> i wouldnt plow my neighbors driveway for $35


I didnt know trailer parks had driveways.


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

luky013;1228172 said:


> i wouldnt plow my neighbors driveway for $35


That is just fine and dandy but telling someone else that price is absurd just shows ignorance.


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## Stik208 (Oct 19, 2004)

qualitycut;1228194 said:


> I didnt know trailer parks had driveways.


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## duane1982 (Dec 23, 2007)

luky013;1228172 said:


> i wouldnt plow my neighbors driveway for $35


And you wouldn't leave your house when it snows around here because you would have nowhere to plow.

The majority of people where I live pay 15-20 a driveway every 6 inches or so.

We get well over 100 inches a year here.

Hell I know 2 small business lots that are 2inch trigger and 35.00 a whack.

No ones going broke here doing it. We probably pay more in taxes and insurance than you. We just all hustle real hard consistently.


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## ColvinsPS (Oct 16, 2010)

DodgeBlizzard;1227843 said:


> Man, talk about my post getting off topic. But since it is I will add to the off topic. Nobody around here charges x amount for certain inches. Maybe it's a region thing. But I can just see it being a way of customers saying we only had this many inches and you charged us for that many inches.
> 
> As far as a $ 35 dollar driveway. Some guys around here are doing them for $25. A lot of plows in a small town.
> 
> ...


Here is how i would handle it:
You aren't really plowing much of anything since it is ice so i would keep track of all the salt used and charge here your price for salt application. Some people get away with 3x the cost of salt for a price to charge but if i am paying $7 a bag of salt there is no way someone is going to pay me $21 a bag here so i had to drop it significantly.

So $35 is a plowing price but this is all ice and you are salting. If there is nothing in your contract just be fair with her and make sure you are taking care of your costs involved and tell her you will include salt in your contract next year if she would like.

Some people see salt and choke over it since they aren't used to using it. I recently had a commercial place of mine where the manager initially told me to use my judgment for salt application. The last storm she stopped me and said her boss told her it is only at her discretion now. I told that is fine with me because my contract places all liability on them so just let me know when you need it. It is all about saving a buck for them. He actually told her that why can't she and her workers slat the lot? I was only using about 200lbs of salt. 
It is all about saving a buck until they get a lawsuit. That 200lbs of salt could have saved them millions if the problem arises.


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## South Seneca (Oct 22, 2010)

I absolutely agree with you Duane.
We have so many people running plows for nothing around me that getting paid at all is a challenge. I charge $30 for and average driveway here. It takes me 10 minutes to do a nice clean job (mostly because the banks are getting bigger now), and I go on to the next one.
A lot of people around here only want it plowed if they can't possibly drive through the snow. Then they want their rolled down and packed and frozen driveway plowed for the same $30. I charged him $60 and that wasn't enough. He called someone else for this last storm.


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## RTEnt (Apr 14, 2007)

As I sit reading this thread with drool running out of my mouth wishing that we could get the kind of money you guys are talking about I think what we all need to realize is that everybody's business is a little different. 

We work in the eastern suburbs of Rochester and the going rates seem to be somewhere in the 15-20 per trip range or seasonal contracts in the 225-250 range. Most companies here try to do volume. I know of guys that are doing almost 20 driveways an hour. Understand though that these are 1000-1500 sq ft driveways and generally very close together.

This area is very competitive and if your going to be in the business you need to find a way to make it work. I saw advertisements for work going into this winter as cheap as 199 for unlimited service. Our winter is around 100 inches and average of 20 pushes. So obviously this guy figured out he can work for right around 10 a push.

Bottom line is basic supply and demand. Lots of contractors = cheaper prices.


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## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

I cant wait for Neige to chime in on this subject, Im pretty sure is rate works out to something like $5-10 dollars a time for a drive way


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## luky013 (Dec 31, 2009)

I wont charge less than 75 per drive and that will cover most average size drives. a couple i charge 85 because they are corner lots with more sidewalks, and one is a large paver drive that is a pita that is usually around 400 to plow and calcium. The customers love the work and are happy to have someone reliable that they dont have to call everytime it snows. we only have about 14 residentials and it takes a plow driver and hand laborer about 3 hours to do the route. the plow is a sub at 75 per hour and the hand labor gets 15. you do the math. I guess I am fortunate to live in the area I'm in.


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## qualitycut (Jan 13, 2008)

luky013;1228434 said:


> I wont charge less than 75 per drive and that will cover most average size drives. a couple i charge 85 because they are corner lots with more sidewalks, and one is a large paver drive that is a pita that is usually around 400 to plow and calcium. The customers love the work and are happy to have someone reliable that they dont have to call everytime it snows. we only have about 14 residentials and it takes a plow driver and hand laborer about 3 hours to do the route. the plow is a sub at 75 per hour and the hand labor gets 15. you do the math. I guess I am fortunate to live in the area I'm in.


Wow 400 for a drive and 75 for most you must be the only plower in a 80 mile radius. Good for you if you can get that I wouldnt work in the summer.


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## luky013 (Dec 31, 2009)

Maybe I'm just the guy that is trying to raise the bar instead of lowering it!


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

luky013;1228520 said:


> Maybe I'm just the guy that is trying to raise the bar instead of lowering it!


I think the only thing you are raising is the depth of bull sh!t.


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## qualitycut (Jan 13, 2008)

cretebaby;1228538 said:


> I think the only thing you are raising is the depth of bull sh!t.


Ha im thinking the same thing. My guess is he drives around his moms aerostar with a snow blower in the back.


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## fiveoboy01 (Aug 18, 2006)

cretebaby;1228538 said:


> I think the only thing you are raising is the depth of bull sh!t.


Agreed.

I don't think 35 per swipe on a regular residential drive is out of line, especially if you have lots of them lined up on a street... That's where I start, 3-car drives and corner lots(more sidewalk) are obviously more.

15-20 a drive is too cheap, gotta have a minimum.


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## snyder1924 (Jan 8, 2011)

Why don"t you just charge appropriatly for the salt plus your regular charge.


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## qualitycut (Jan 13, 2008)

snyder1924;1229287 said:


> Why don"t you just charge appropriatly for the salt plus your regular charge.


Lol I told him that twice. I think he is stuck on plowing more than once though


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## Burkartsplow (Nov 1, 2007)

The few residentials I do are per push and for snow ONLY! If they get freezing rain and ice, then it is there responsibility to call me if they want me to come over to salt the drive, break up all ice and get it removed. They know they are not getting that service for the regular per push price. Tell them it is hourly with a 1 hour minimum plus cost of material. It is hard work and does come at a cost.Good Luck,


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## DodgeBlizzard (Nov 7, 2003)

The original question wasn't...How much do YOU charge for YOUR driveways.....or how much do YOU make? If you feel the need to brag what you're supposedly getting for you driveway, go to the bragging section. Oh wait, we don't have one of those here. I gave the original price just so you knew where the starting point was. If you guys get a thousand dollars for your residential drives, well that's wonderful. I'm not envy or jealous by any means. It is what it is. The area could be a wealthy one. This area is not. I compare prices as often as I get the chance. I land the better part of my bids, but not all of them. That tells me I'm right where I need to be with my prices.

A little more depth to this particular driveway. It has just enough slope to it to make it sketchy enough that I wasn't going to attempt skimming the top layer with any of the equipment. So we salted heavy, then hand scraped (went real quick) 2/3 of the slope, just to make sure it was broke loose. Not every square inch, just enough that we knew it was going to break loose. That way when we did plow, we knew the truck wouldn't start sliding. So we went from the normal $ 35 to $ 200. Bill to be sent out in about a week.


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