# average number of plows per season for property



## outsideimage (Jul 20, 2011)

I'm moving into commercial snow removal and grounds maintenance (mowing) and was wondering how many times on average do you plow during the season? Also for commercial is it normal to charge per plow or a monthly fee?

Thanks for all the help!


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Ever plow commercially before? You plow when it snows.Could be 1 to 100 plows per season.


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## snowbrothers101 (Jul 27, 2009)

Seriously? That could be the dumbest question ever. Um, twice!


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## outsideimage (Jul 20, 2011)

There has to be an average of some sorts. Sure some winters are worse than others but they average in snowfall. How else would you estimate seasonal costs for salt? I doubt you've gone winters with under 5 and over 100 per property.

Acording to the NOAA central ohio's average annual snow fall is 27.7 Inches 
http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/snowfall.html


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## outsideimage (Jul 20, 2011)

Average days with snowfall in Central Ohio is 29.5. with 27.7 total inches. So on average I'm assuming 25-30 would be a good number for me. Considering my area has usually light snow storms with the occasional huge storm I doubt it'll ever be below 10 or more than 50.


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## wizardsr (Aug 8, 2006)

So, why did you ask, if you were going to answer your own question?


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## outsideimage (Jul 20, 2011)

I was hoping to get everyones thoughts on how many they do in their area to see if its what I was thinking. I didn't think people would think its a dumb question considering we all could possibly lose tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars if we don't estimate close.


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## csi.northcoast (Aug 7, 2010)

i am in the cleveland area and average # of pushes could depend on what part of the city you are in... we may have 60 inches in on area and 110 in the other


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## Luther (Oct 31, 2007)

outsideimage;1293224 said:


> I'm moving into commercial snow removal and grounds maintenance (mowing) and was wondering how many times on average do you plow during the season? Also for commercial is it normal to charge per plow or a monthly fee?
> 
> Thanks for all the help!


You are opening yourself up for criticisms as your questions are very rookie and vague. Plenty of experienced pro's here that will help if approached right....plenty of nimrods to weed through too.

What is motivating you to suddenly get into the snow and ice management field, and ground maintenance field?

Research will be time and energy well spent if you're serious. There is a big search button at the top of the page that will help.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Here's a dirty trick to use if you want to.

Do you know anyone who owns a commercial property that you can use as a test. Call another snow company and ask them to quote a price for plowing and see what they come up with and see what they are basing their price on.

yes,it's dirty!


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## swtiih (Nov 30, 2008)

grandview;1293278 said:


> Here's a dirty trick to use if you want to.
> 
> Do you know anyone who owns a commercial property that you can use as a test. Call another snow company and ask them to quote a price for plowing and see what they come up with and see what they are basing their price on.
> 
> yes,it's dirty!


Or just ask the person who owns that commercial property what they pay


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

swtiih;1293286 said:


> Or just ask the person who owns that commercial property what they pay


You don't want him to feel obligated to go with you,if you come up with a lower price and sometimes they will still lie to you.


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## Mick76 (Aug 2, 2009)

TCLA;1293271 said:


> plenty of nimrods to weed through too.
> 
> .


No doubt about that!.........:laughing:


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Mick76;1293315 said:


> No doubt about that!.........:laughing:


I haven't seen any


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## outsideimage (Jul 20, 2011)

TCLA;1293271 said:


> What is motivating you to suddenly get into the snow and ice management field, and ground maintenance field?
> 
> Research will be time and energy well spent if you're serious. There is a big search button at the top of the page that will help.


My buddy has been doing residential for years and doesn't understand the business side of everything and I do so we decided to partner up and move more towards commercial contracts, mainly with grounds maintenance but obviously need work in the winter. I'm wanting to estimate our snow removal fees so we can wrap this into an annual maintenance for our clients. I'm planning on starting with apartments and condos, then office buildings, then retail.

It seems like it's normal to charge per occurance but I've been assuming most companies would like a solid figure considering they'll have to budget for this and we can absorb the costs of a bad winter and reap the benefits of a good winter.


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## vegaman04 (Dec 12, 2007)

Seasonal is a gamble for both parties, either your customer wins or you do. They own a business and should have to account for costs to maintain property like this, just like you have to maintain your equipment and never know when that transmission or hydraulic pump is going to leave you hanging. IMO per push if fair to everyone.


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## Luther (Oct 31, 2007)

outsideimage;1293417 said:


> It seems like it's normal to charge per occurance but *I've been assuming* most companies would like a solid figure considering they'll have to budget for this and we can absorb the costs of a bad winter and reap the benefits of a good winter.


I wouldn't assume so. Sometimes you never know what they want.....got to follow the rfp, rfq, or whatever. Some will want hourly pricing, some per push pricing, others per event pricing, others seasonal pricing with salt and chems al'acarte....while some want all inclusive pricing.

It's good to give them options, but only after you give them what they want first.

Good luck to you!


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

TCLA;1293432 said:


> I wouldn't assume so. Sometimes you never know what they want.....got to follow the rfp, rfq, or whatever. Some will want hourly pricing, some per push pricing, others per event pricing, others seasonal pricing with salt and chems al'acarte....while some want all inclusive pricing.
> 
> It's good to give them options, but only after you give them what they want first.
> 
> Good luck to you!


Right. Ask them first. They may even be under a multi year contract right now with someone else.


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## CGM Inc. (Dec 15, 2008)

outsideimage;1293417 said:


> It seems like it's normal to charge per occurance but I've been assuming most companies would like a solid figure considering they'll have to budget for this and we can absorb the costs of a bad winter and reap the benefits of a good winter.


 you have to look at the 3-5 year average for plowing and ice control.
There is large fluctuation from one area to another even so you are just a few miles away.

You also want to consider what service you want to provide to limit your liability!

Our contracts are all inclusive or fixed price for plowing and ice control extra. Works pretty good for us since you limit the risk on extreme weather patterns both ways.


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## Tubby's Snow Plowing (Dec 13, 2009)

I just do residential. We get a lot of snow. Few hundred inches a year average. Average for the past 6 years I lived up here has been 15 events per month for 5 months, so 75 events per season. I base my pricing off of that frequency at an average 6 inch snowfall per event. That covers the big storms and small dustings to average around 300 inches of snow per season, which is about right.


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## lawnlandscape (Oct 8, 2009)

Completely depends on the trigger and how often they want it cleared for the larger storms


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## Chris112lee (Nov 2, 2010)

outsideimage;1293234 said:


> Average days with snowfall in Central Ohio is 29.5. with 27.7 total inches. So on average I'm assuming 25-30 would be a good number for me. Considering my area has usually light snow storms with the occasional huge storm I doubt it'll ever be below 10 or more than 50.


With these numbers you are probably looking around 20, of course you are assuming a 1" trigger depth. If your properties want a 2" trigger, that would change things significantly.


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