Help Steve Dave Build A House (NOW HELP HIM TAKE CARE OF IT)

[Stevesie60]

My only suggestion:  buy one now instead of when you have 6 inches of snow on your driveway.  Probably can find a deal this time of year.

steve dave isn't interested in deals. That's what Dave Ramsey would do.

[steve dave]

Oh I'm buying one now. But I'm also paying with a CC.

[Skipper44]

guys, I'm going to need a snowblower. I have a three car driveway but it's not really long. also have just a normal non-corner lot amount of sidewalk. post suggestions ITT

consider how far and what direction you have to move the snow.  Most of the cheap single stage ($400ish) are not going blow snow very far into any kind of wind and no snow blower can throw chowder into the wind when it really cold out.  I curse my crappy Craftsman single stage anytime we get over 2 inches because I can only move the snow to the West due my neighbor's drive way being right next to mine. What direction do the cold fronts generally come from that create snow storms here in America's heartland?  Thats right, the W or NW

If you are going to be in this house for a long time, just get a brand name 2 stage and be done with it.  Also, the 2 stage will be able to clear the 2 foot tall drift the plow truck left covering the end your driveway much faster.

[Boom Roasted]

You love in Omaha. You NEED a two stage with a pretty big blade. Electric wouldn't make a dent in it. Husquavarna or cub cadet

[Dr Rick Daris]

sounds like pretty solid advice from skipper and br here. what will sd do? factor all of this advice into his decision or go classic sd rogue on all of us?

[steve dave]

thanks dudes. I'll get a two stage. do they make them with the rubber blade things so I don't have a small amount of snow left on the pavement? sdbro said that was the big downside to a two stage over a one stage but also suggested a 2 stage anyway.

[pissclams]

i already covered this but
single stage blowers are stupid and meant for old balls people.  snow which requires a blower, requires a two stage blower.

also they're not going to chew up your driveway, seems weird to worry about that.  you control how far off the driveway the blade is, similar to the blade on your lawnmower and grass.

[The Tonya Harding of Twitter Users Creep]

get a heated driveway

[AppleJack]

I decided on a new standard 4'6" fence. Mushed the wife for a privacy fence.

[pissclams]

get a heated driveway

this is actually a great suggestion but kind of cost prohibitive.

honestly you should really just get a reliable snow removal guy and pay him to make sure your crap is given priority and that you're not waiting a day after it snows for him to show up.

i'd guess  you would need him 4 times a year, much cheaper and easier than using a snow blower and storing the thing

[Fedor]

get a heated driveway

this is actually a great suggestion but kind of cost prohibitive.

honestly you should really just get a reliable snow removal guy and pay him to make sure your crap is given priority and that you're not waiting a day after it snows for him to show up.

i'd guess  you would need him 4 times a year, much cheaper and easier than using a snow blower and storing the thing

Yes, agreed.  This whole thing just flies in the face of SD's Platonic gentlemanly uselessness shtick.

[Spracne]

get a heated driveway

this is actually a great suggestion but kind of cost prohibitive.

honestly you should really just get a reliable snow removal guy and pay him to make sure your crap is given priority and that you're not waiting a day after it snows for him to show up.

i'd guess  you would need him 4 times a year, much cheaper and easier than using a snow blower and storing the thing

...Platonic gentlemanly uselessness..

Nice phrase, coach.

[Fedor]

get a heated driveway

this is actually a great suggestion but kind of cost prohibitive.

honestly you should really just get a reliable snow removal guy and pay him to make sure your crap is given priority and that you're not waiting a day after it snows for him to show up.

i'd guess  you would need him 4 times a year, much cheaper and easier than using a snow blower and storing the thing

...Platonic gentlemanly uselessness..

Nice phrase, coach.

[CNS]

I have one with the rubber on the blades and it cleans everything off the drive.  I have used it in 11" snow and it does just fine.  I mean, certainly get something bigger if you want to, but I couldn't imagine spending 30min using the snow blower, only to then get the shovel out and scrape off the bottom 1/2" of crap over the entire drive, which is always the worst icy/refrozen crap there is when shoveling. 

[raquetcat]

What is up with SD doing all this work himself now, are you trying to impress sd jr with your work ethic or what? As a former Omahaian that has personally removed snow from his Omaha driveway, I can tell you you want a monster 2 stage, get a really tall one that can handle 12-18" in one pass, you don't want to be going over your driveway twice. Also some headlights on the front would be nice, cause it gets dark early in the winter. Do they have any with heated handles? If so get that one

[CNS]

What is up with SD doing all this work himself now, are you trying to impress sd jr with your work ethic or what? As a former Omahaian that has personally removed snow from his Omaha driveway, I can tell you you want a monster 2 stage, get a really tall one that can handle 12-18" in one pass, you don't want to be going over your driveway twice. Also some headlights on the front would be nice, cause it gets dark early in the winter. Do they have any with heated handles? If so get that one

SD, you should move to Hawaii and set up a work from home scenario.  Omaha sounds awful.

[slobber]

My in-laws had a heated driveway.

Now they are dead!



Gonna win 'em all!

[Benja]

Honestly, I did some research and heated driveways are going on my list of most elite things ever. I need one of these someday.

Really though, we can message board on our phones in the middle of nowhere, but people are still shoveling snow like goddamn cavemen? GTFOOH

[ChiComCat]

Heated drive ways are worth it up in the mountains or some place really cold.  Probably not worth the money in Omaha or Manhattan

[06wildcat]

Heated drive ways are worth it up in the mountains or some place really cold.  Probably not worth the money in Omaha or Manhattan

Seems like it would be worth it if you're a one up'r

[CNS]

I honestly don't know anything about the systems sold to do this, but if you turn them off/on in the winter, you are just making sure that you will have to replace your driveway much faster than you would if you bought a snow blower.  Maximizing your freeze/thaw cycles on concrete is the fastest way to make that concrete crack, spall, look like crap, and eventually fail much faster than it should.

[steve dave]

CNS, tell me what exactly to buy because I trust the crap out of you

[steve dave]

Also everyone else in this thread has been very helpful

[06wildcat]

I honestly don't know anything about the systems sold to do this, but if you turn them off/on in the winter, you are just making sure that you will have to replace your driveway much faster than you would if you bought a snow blower.  Maximizing your freeze/thaw cycles on concrete is the fastest way to make that concrete crack, spall, look like crap, and eventually fail much faster than it should.

A simple thermostat could be used to hold the slab slightly above freezing eliminating any freeze-thaw cycle.

[star seed 7]

I honestly don't know anything about the systems sold to do this, but if you turn them off/on in the winter, you are just making sure that you will have to replace your driveway much faster than you would if you bought a snow blower.  Maximizing your freeze/thaw cycles on concrete is the fastest way to make that concrete crack, spall, look like crap, and eventually fail much faster than it should.

A simple thermostat could be used to hold the slab slightly above freezing eliminating any freeze-thaw cycle.

That's a lot of money for a full winter