Quote:
Originally Posted by SailinAway
I (homeowner) don't understand how a driveway is supposed to be plowed. When the plow truck drives back and forth over my driveway several times, it leaves a hard crust of ice that I then have to chip and scrape away, one painful square inch at a time. Is this normal? After the storm a couple of weeks ago it took me 3 hours with the ice breaker to remove the ice caused by the plow. It would have taken me ONE hour to shovel the whole driveway myself because it was 4" of light snow.
My fear is that if I just leave the ice caused by the plow, it will get worse with each storm and build up over the winter. Of course the other issue is damage to the lawn.
QUESTION: What exactly should I expect from plowing?
In my experience snowblowing is a lot neater but I can't find anyone with a snowblower. Not strong enough/young enough to handle a snowblower myself.
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I used to plow residential commercially and no, that is not “normal” so to speak.
Some factors that would contribute to a layer of snow being left behind are:
1. Your driveway being driven on before the plow comes.
This packs the snow and a plow will ride up over the packed down areas.
2. The plow guy has his plow “shoes” (if he uses them) too low, causing a layer that doesn’t get scraped.
3. The plow’s cutting edge is worn making it harder for him to scrape down to pavement. (If your drive is paved) if it’s gravel, he may not want to push your gravel off the driveway.
4. Late plowing (after snow/slush/rain) etc has rendered the snow to be like concrete. (Difficult to plow in any case)
5. Ill fitting or attached plow. (Sometimes a plow will not make full contact when at full angle)
Plowing commercially is a difficult job to say the least as Mother Nature throws conditions at us that are beyond our control. In a perfect situation, the driveway should be fully scraped...that's what I would strive for but in some cases, could not achieve.