# Snow Blower and a Shovel



## howardsells2000 (Apr 9, 2006)

It seems most of the guys on this site Plow Snow with their trucks. I however will be using a Snow Blower and Shovel on my customers sidewalks and driveways. So I'm hoping some of you can still help me out. For you guys that are in my situation I'm wondering should I set up my pricing by how many inches are on the ground? If that is how you folks do it, what are your ranges. For example 1" - 6" $25.00, 6" - 12" $30.00, 12" - 24" 35.00. Am I close to how you do it or should my prices increase more often or should I price more per inch? Any advise will be appreciated.


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## hillndale (Oct 25, 2005)

*Unique Market Your Service*

I'm no pro on this subject, and it will be my first season plowing (with truck). In my area I have been told that one can make a lot of money using a snowblower. I also have a snowblower which I will utilize if plow accounts come up short.

There are a lot of folks, at least in my area, that don't want a truck and plow on their drive for fear of damage. Some drives are made with "pavers" and insist on a snowblower. I would make snowblowing a unique commodity for a particular group, if that is suitable for your area. You can charge accordingly, especially since it will take longer and you're braving the elements. Make it a specialized service, if you have the market. Just my thoughts. All the best!!

hillndale


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## DBL (Aug 27, 2005)

moving snow is moving snow and sidewalks and shoveling anything is just as important as plowing in a truck get it done


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## oldtimesnowplow (Oct 7, 2006)

*Billing your jobs*



howardsells2000 said:


> It seems most of the guys on this site Plow Snow with their trucks. I however will be using a Snow Blower and Shovel on my customers sidewalks and driveways. So I'm hoping some of you can still help me out. For you guys that are in my situation I'm wondering should I set up my pricing by how many inches are on the ground? If that is how you folks do it, what are your ranges. For example 1" - 6" $25.00, 6" - 12" $30.00, 12" - 24" 35.00. Am I close to how you do it or should my prices increase more often or should I price more per inch? Any advise will be appreciated.


 Hi: I am from Anchorage and I use a plow truck and snowblowers and the old shovel. I charge by the hour. This way it works out great because of the time the added snow adds to your work load. No pavers up here. Everybody likes a good job and that is what will keep you up and making the money! I started in 1976 working for a Chevron gas station. I did the best job of everone that worked there so I was keeped on that job when it snowed. I charge $70.00 per hour. Now rember I do have a plow truck and a sander. If I was doing it without the truck my charges would be about $45.00 per hr. Old Time Snow Plowing - Thomas Brunner:waving:


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## CMLandscaping (Oct 15, 2006)

Thats how I started out myself with a snowblower and a shovel then I moved to a atv with plow that did the trick. But i traded it for a new one w/o a plow so ill be going back to the old way till i make enough money for a plow. I go one price for 1-6 inches of snow inless its heavy i charge a lil bit more. For 6+ inches of snow i charge more. This year I have 39 accounts in which 2 of them are commercial so I have to sub out for this year.


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## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

howardsells2000 said:


> It seems most of the guys on this site Plow Snow with their trucks. I however will be using a Snow Blower and Shovel on my customers sidewalks and driveways. So I'm hoping some of you can still help me out. For you guys that are in my situation I'm wondering should I set up my pricing by how many inches are on the ground? If that is how you folks do it, what are your ranges. For example 1" - 6" $25.00, 6" - 12" $30.00, 12" - 24" 35.00. Am I close to how you do it or should my prices increase more often or should I price more per inch? Any advise will be appreciated.


I think your prices are in line with the exception of the 12"-24" snowfall. it should be almost double of the 1"-6" snowfall, maybe $45.00. I know with me if I had a customer who is a 3-4 inch trigger, within those 12"-24" numbers he/she would have been plowed 2-3 times for that amount of snow.


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## Avery Landscape (Oct 3, 2006)

i think you are too low...

my prices..

.5-3 - $25
3-6 - $30
6-9 - $35
9-12 - $40
12+ - $50

salt application - $10w/ removal of snow
salt application - $15w/o removal of snow


these have worked out for me great.. always remember salt em.. you will make lots more if you do.. salt salt salt!... there are always salting events..

i started out with just a snowblower last year and was able to get 4 drives done per hour.. i was making $100/hr easy..

it's great money


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## Brian's Lawn (Sep 25, 2006)

Avery Landscape said:


> i think you are too low...
> 
> my prices..
> 
> ...


i should use that same pricing method. that sounds like it would be perfect for my area since we dont get tons of snow and i could still be making money even if we dont get a lot of snow! mind if i use that? is there anyway you worked in the length of the driveway or wasnt that a factor? or did you just not pick up anything to big.

thanks
-brian-


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## illday (Oct 12, 2003)

I to am a guy who will be out there with a snowblower and a shovel.
This thread has answered alot of questions for me. But I still have a couple.
1. Can I get a descent snowthrower at Home Depot?
2. I expect to have 20-25 accounts. Should i hire someone to work with me?
I can get help fo about $10hr.


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## Brian's Lawn (Sep 25, 2006)

i think i saw a really nice husqvrana or whatever at lowes. it looked nice to me at least.


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## RedneckPlowGuy (Oct 18, 2006)

i just looked on the lowes site, those husquivarna's are a nice looking unit!


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## RJ lindblom (Sep 21, 2006)

Seems like you can and lowed or home depot. A Toro single stage runs about $650 or so. This winter I plan on using a single stage, and a have a JD (not sure of the model) dual stage as a second choice.


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## AFM Contracting (Oct 4, 2006)

Home depot has some really cool models of snowblowers... they really have come a long way, but I have an old ariens snowblower (from the seventies) that I picked up as a backup last year and it does 10X better job than the new models. Especially in wet heavy snow


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## EnviroTeam (Sep 29, 2006)

Problem with buying at home depot etc...are they going to be there to service it when it breaks at 3 am in a storm? I just bought from a local equipment dealer and they will be open anytime there is a storm. I paid a bit more maybe but I like the peace of mind knowing that anytime I need service it can go right back where I bought it. 

Not saying you shouldn't buy wherever you want ...just my 2 cents


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