# Residential Pricing for Snow Blowing / Sanding or Salting



## arborist24 (Aug 22, 2021)

Hey there new member here,

I own a tree care company and this year am going to do residential snow blowing.

I looked at a driveway the other day and am working on the quote. I came up with $75.00 per storm for the snow clearance which includes blowing the driveway, clearing the side steps, front walkway and front steps, and sidewalk in the front of the property near street.

I have done some research and though this price was around average for snow blowing, any thoughts? It's a medium sized driveway, two car garage.

They also want sand or salt application / ice taken care of in the event that it's slippery or hazardous and the snow blowing alone doesn't take care of it. But I'm not sure how to price this out.

I'm providing two quotes, one as a seasonal contract and one per storm. I'm located in MA.

_*Here are my primary questions:*_

*1. Is $75 per storm for the snow blowing / clearing reasonable for an average medium sized two car garage driveway?

2. What should the additional cost be to apply sand or salt on walkways / areas of the driveway if needed on an as needed basis? This would be done by hand, not with a sander / salter in the truck.

3. Also, what is a typical seasonal contract rate for services like this? I did some research and came up with around $500-$600. Does that sound reasonable or too low? Do you include that it only covers up to a certain number of times you come and then there is additional cost or is it a set rate no matter how many storms you have?*

Thanks!

I apologize if this is in the wrong section.


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## BossPlow2010 (Sep 29, 2010)

A snowblower? Like a small walk behind one?
If so, I’d consider working as a sub and do sidewalks for a company, one of the largest snow contractors in the country is in mass.

welcome
To the site.
As an arborist, you’ll get along well here!
We’re all nuts!


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## arborist24 (Aug 22, 2021)

BossPlow2010 said:


> A snowblower? Like a small walk behind one?
> If so, I'd consider working as a sub and do sidewalks for a company, one of the largest snow contractors in the country is in mass.
> 
> welcome
> ...


Yes. I don't have a plow yet. I may get one, but mainly I'm just looking for ways to supplement my income, and also because I enjoy keeping busy in the winter. I don't mind doing the work.


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## Kinport (Jan 9, 2020)

Welcome!
you'll get a barrage of answers on any questions related to price on here. Some of us will tell you your too cheap, some will tell you your too expensive. Here's my .02, but take it with a grain of salt cause I'm in a totally different market



arborist24 said:


> Is $75 per storm for the snow blowing / clearing reasonable for an average medium sized two car garage driveway?


Seems high for a per push on a two car garage driveway, but by all means if you can get it, take it. Treat your customers like royalty if they pay you that rate cause someone will come along offering to do it for $25(or less). I would think a single operator could average 2-3 of those an hour, which would be a pretty nice wage considering your overhead with just a walk behind blower will be pretty low.



arborist24 said:


> What should the additional cost be to apply sand or salt on walkways / areas of the driveway if needed on an as needed basis? This would be done by hand, not with a sander / salter in the truck.


It should be whatever it costs you to apply the ice melt plus profit. Your the only one who know your costs. Purely speculation here but it would probably take a 40lb bag to cover an entire driveway the size your talking about, and it would probably take about 5 minutes to spread it. If it were me, I would probably charge somewhere around $30-40 per bag. Keep in mind, salt is harmful to plants/turf and can irritate pets, so you take on extra liability by offering to spread it. Also, people may hold you to a zero-tolerance expectation if your salting, meaning all ice has to be removed and they'll want wet/bare pavement. So charge high cause you'll probably deal with some headaches.



arborist24 said:


> *Also, what is a typical seasonal contract rate for services like this? I did some research and came up with around $500-$600. Does that sound reasonable or too low? Do you include that it only covers up to a certain number of times you come and then there is additional cost or is it a set rate no matter how many storms you have?*


Are you saying $500-600 per month or for the entire season? And as far as terms of service, it's whatever you can negotiate with the customer. Obviously it would be nice to put a clause in there that they will have to pay additional if it snows more than you anticipated when you wrote the contract, but does that mean you'll refund money if it snows less? We only do commercial and have a few seasonal contracts and everything else is per push. Looking back over the last 4-5 years, I think we make more money overall on our per-push accounts, but it is nice to have the consistent cash flow every month that the seasonal accounts provide.


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## arborist24 (Aug 22, 2021)

Kinport said:


> Welcome!
> you'll get a barrage of answers on any questions related to price on here. Some of us will tell you your too cheap, some will tell you your too expensive. Here's my .02, but take it with a grain of salt cause I'm in a totally different market
> 
> Seems high for a per push on a two car garage driveway, but by all means if you can get it, take it. Treat your customers like royalty if they pay you that rate cause someone will come along offering to do it for $25(or less). I would think a single operator could average 2-3 of those an hour, which would be a pretty nice wage considering your overhead with just a walk behind blower will be pretty low.
> ...


$500-$600 per season, a one time payment that covers the whole season. That's what I found online when doing research of what the average cost is that people are paying in my area. But not sure how accurate that is.


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## cwren2472 (Aug 15, 2014)

arborist24 said:


> $500-$600 per season, a one time payment that covers the whole season. That's what I found online when doing research of what the average cost is that people are paying in my area. But not sure how accurate that is.


So if it snows 15 times, you are ok snowblowing a driveway, sidewalk, and walkways for $33 per time? What about 20 times?

If it snows off and on for 3 days, how many times do you come back to maintain the property? Or will you only wait until the storm is over? Because your clients might have a different opinion on how soon and how frequently you should be there when they "paid you $500 already"

If you get a storm that drops 24" on you, are you equipped to handle that shoveling and snowblowing?


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

arborist24 said:


> Do you include that it only covers up to a certain number of times you come and then there is additional cost or is it a set rate no matter how many storms you have?


Always use a cap based on either number of services or inches. I prefer number of services because you don't plow every inch that falls.


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## kg26 (Feb 5, 2013)

Look at the average amount of events youve had in your market over the last 3-5 years that will let you know how many snow events to expect. In my market if you can get about 500 for the season for horse shoe drives your good and north of $300 for straight backs. Truth be told youll probably plow 8x if you get a average 10 events on average.


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