# Help bidding 20-80 Miles of sidewalk



## DHaight10 (Oct 22, 2007)

The city awarded the contract to clear 80 miles of sidewalk. Unfortunately I did not win the bid, however, the individual that did win the bid wants me to give him a price to subcontract part of the job. I will be quoting for 20-30 miles of sidewalk snow removal (5 feet wide). For the most part it will be lots of hills and curves & and I'll be using an ATV & plow. I assume I will be able to average about 8 - 10 MPH. I don't really want to bid by the hour as I would prefer to bid by the foot or the mile. What would be reasonalbe? My initial thoughts are a minimum of $20 / mile? Is that fairly accurate?


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## Snowpower (Sep 2, 2007)

I cant resist.

.65 cents a foot.


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## powerjoke (Nov 13, 2004)

Snowpower;417194 said:


> I cant resist.
> 
> .65 cents a foot.


i can't resist either

NO GOMER it is

.65dollar per foot 
$.65 per foot 
65cents per foot 
65C per foot

".65 cents" Thats way too cheap but using one machine "Toro CCR Single Stage is the ONLY snoblower you should ever buy and will ever need" i understand

the point of the post was not to pick on snopower but to ask:
DHAIGHT10 call the city offices and find out how much the bid went for and let us know


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Need something like this. Our town uses it.


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## Snowpower (Sep 2, 2007)

Brooms work good for large sidewalk jobs.


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## DHaight10 (Oct 22, 2007)

Awesome, that sure beats $20 / mile. I'll be debt free in the spring and I might as well start planning an extended holiday...

I'm actually waiting for the city to post the winning bid on their website...just wanted to get a feeling for what others might bid.


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## Camden (Mar 10, 2007)

What did you bid?


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## DHaight10 (Oct 22, 2007)

I didn't make it in time to for the initial bid...


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## murphyslaw (Oct 2, 2005)

thats what we have too.


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## cet (Oct 2, 2004)

Clearing 20-30 miles without a cab enclosure might be a little optimistic. I don't think an ATV will be heavy enough. You will most likely be doing well traveled packed in sidewalks. Our town uses John Deere tractors, I think they are 4310's. Do you not have to salt or sand/salt the walks as well?


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## framer1901 (Dec 18, 2005)

He's up north, shouldn't it be loonies per mile not cents per mile?????


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## DHaight10 (Oct 22, 2007)

No worries, I'll be dressed appropriately... No salting or sanding is required. Just need a general idea of what's fair to charge. And yes the our 1 dollar coin is called a Loonie, and the 2 dollar coin is the "Toonie".


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## cet (Oct 2, 2004)

When they plow the sidewalks here there is grass on each side of the sidewalk. You have to go slow enough to make sure you are on the sidewalk. When you go off the walk you chew all the grass plus the plow is too high and off the sidewalk. I think you would be doing well to average 5 MPH. 30 miles would be approx. 6 hours. Here they also push the sidewalks during daylight hours only. I would think $50-60/hour might be in the ball park.


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

The only thing you can do is wait until the bid is posted. If the posted amount is worth your time then ask him what he is willing to pay. He will probably keep some for himself.

I put together a bid down here that worked out to .007 cents per foot. I would have gotten $7,800 per push.

You can do 10 - 20 mph plowing with a quad, depending on conditions. Heck I even have one spot where I can do 30.

I would also recommend also getting a tractor with a blower for the deep snows. Or the best would be a Holder 2.42 with a plow and blower to do it all.

Does the City have a speed limit? Do they require you to only do it during the day? Do you have insurance or is he going to pay for it? Can you trust him to pay you after he is paid from the City?


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## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

Snowpower;417221 said:


> Brooms work good for large sidewalk jobs.


Apparently you've never used a broom before, the upkeep is expensive and is not practical for this situation.


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## Snowpower (Sep 2, 2007)

JD Dave;417627 said:


> Apparently you've never used a broom before, the upkeep is expensive and is not practical for this situation.


I've never used them but seen plenty of towns that do use them. How much can a set of bristles cost.  How long do they last? They look pretty damned indestructible.


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## DBL (Aug 27, 2005)

thats quite a distance to be on a atv in the snow....is only one pass wide enough for them


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## xfire1wi (Oct 23, 2007)

sidewalks are tricky to bid, do you have a place to put the snow? how much snow do you get yearly? do you have to remove the snow from the area or just plow? it is is going to have to be differnt prices for differnt amounts. Holder or trackless tractors work great for this a bit expense at first, but very versital


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## DHaight10 (Oct 22, 2007)

Thanks for all the input!
I'm waiting for the winning bid to be posted so I can accurately bid for my services.


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## powerjoke (Nov 13, 2004)

Snowpower;417747 said:


> I've never used them but seen plenty of towns that do use them. How much can a set of bristles cost.  How long do they last? They look pretty damned indestructible.


i have a 72" pickup(broom with a bucket not a truck) broom and we just put all new sweepy things on it and it was about $1000 and the operator can make it last up too??.. i am guessing 300 hrs or as little as 30hrs i bought the broom second hand and give $1800 i think, so i realy can't answer the life of the broom Q' so my answer is just a guess


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## Snowpower (Sep 2, 2007)

I do hear they are best for lighter snow but I have seen them pushing a lot more than light snow and doing a reasonable job. Sweepy Things. I like it.


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## Wicked500R (Sep 6, 2007)

QuadPlower;417606 said:


> The only thing you can do is wait until the bid is posted. If the posted amount is worth your time then ask him what he is willing to pay. He will probably keep some for himself.
> 
> I put together a bid down here that worked out to .007 cents per foot. I would have gotten $7,800 per push.
> 
> ...


I would pay to see you plow snow at 30mph...even 20 on an ATV on a sidewalk. .. I would laugh when your plow catches a lip and gets put out of commission. What kind of clothing and protection do you wear to keep the flying snow at that speed from turning you into a block of ice?? Is this with 2" of snow?? When it gets wet, heavy and deep...you'd be wishing you were home sleeping instead of trying to maintain forward movement without sliding off track...I've done it before....


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

If I could get my laid off worker (during the winter) to come and tape it I would. It is not a long section, but yes I can do 30. It is an exception. I probably average 15.

Blade has custom made deflectors and a windshield on the quad helps keep the snow off. I know every inch of the sidewalks I do. I know where the cracks are, where the water pipe caps are, and where the man hole covers are.

The first year it did catch a man hole cover. Was only doing 2 mph at the time because I knew it was somewhere up ahead. Hit it and sent the rear wheels in the air. Bent the attachment points and the blade would come off after that if I backed up. Since then I have fabricated every part of it to make sure it is strong and safe.

I used to wear Carharts, but they are not made for it. Went out and spent the money on a great pair of snowmobile bib coveralls and boots. I have a coat that I bought from a City supplier that is yellow with refelctive tape sown into it. Everything is nylon coated so the snow just falls off. 

It will handle up to 8" of snow depending on the type. Have a Kubota BX2200 with a 50" blower for anything more than that.

I love the cold. I love pushing snow and I love the money I make doing it. Would I rather be in a Holder with the cab, heat and radio going? Yea. But the speed can't be beat with a quad.


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

Let me add that I'm a professional sidewalk snow plower and no one should attempt to plow a sidewalk at speeds greater then the posted street speed limit.


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

Bump

What happened with this bid DHaight10?


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## DHaight10 (Oct 22, 2007)

The city still hasn't posted the winning bid, but it should be up any day now. The city requested that the bid be submitted in a $ / KM. I'm assuming the winning bid was somewhere between $20-$30 / KM. (1 km = 0.6 miles).
I've met with the guy who won the bid and he gave me a route that will work out to approximately 60km's. I'm guessing it will take about 6-8 hrs to complete if I can average 10-15km/hr. The actual driving distance between all the communities will probably add up to around 100-120 kms. The guy wanted me to give him a price per hour so after going over the entire route and mapping it out, estimating speed / time / distance / machine / insurance / on call 24/7 etc... I came to $75 / hour at a minimum. Any suggestions?


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## heather lawn spray (Mar 11, 2003)

framer1901;417254 said:


> He's up north, shouldn't it be loonies per mile not cents per mile?????


No it's loonies per _kilometre_


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