Residential Contract of 400 homes

I won a contract with an sub-divison and it has 400 homes
I am required to clear the walks and drives. I was trying
to decide what would be the best way to clear the sidewalk
and what should I use.

Also for parking lots, how are you guys charging for salt?
Any info would be helpful.

Thanks,
Darrell
JLS Company

 

walks ---quad or maybe two would be good and salt is bidded by the job and budgeted by the ton

 

Walk behind mower with v plow for the front of the mower, to use along the street adjacent walks,one pass and they are done. A single stage snow blower for the walks to the house.On the plow, use a surface protecting edge of some sort.That will prevent any scrape marks on the concrete. For that type of application, an old tire cut into strips will work. Thank Chuck Smith for that idea.
On the salt we charge per ton on larger accounts, and per application on smaller ones.
Dino

 

Congratulations. A skidsteer w/blade should do nicely for the walks and could also be used with a bucket to move/remove piles. We bill salting @ "$XX.XX/application" and it is based on the amount used.

 

dino- if he put urethane edges on the quads or whatever he chooses to do the sidewalks with, he wouldn't have to worry about scuffing right? for the sidewalks, maybe looking into a gravely or a small machine (a wb like dino mentioned) that you could go from a broom for light snow, to a blade, to a snowblower for drifts and stuff. or look at eric elms setup, he has a jd tractor which is setup nice. he can expand more on it as he knows it best.


Bryan

 

I think a skid steer will be too big for most walks. I'm lazy, so would never find me pushing or walking behind a snow blow on a project of that size. I'm partial to a tractor w/ a blower attatchment, have one of your employees if you have one do the manual stuff.

FYI: I've got a couple of projets like this and I sold them on liquid CMAK (calcium magnesuim acetate). In fact, we're going to pre-treat (spray) all of the walks before, during and after the storm. No shoveling or blowing if we keep up on it. This product is more expensive, but will reduce your man hour time significantly, so the higher cost is a wash. You can sell it as environmentally safe, no chlorides or sodiums, its clear so no tracking and won't damage carpeting, etc. I know the Magic gods won't like me recommending this stuff, but other than the cost, Magic can't touch this stuff. Just by having the ability to offer a service like this to your clients will take your business to an even greater level, because your competition will still be pushing shovels and snow blowers.

 

You dont say how wide the walks are. When I had accounts downtown all the walks were 8' wide and I did them with the truck. But I think whatever you use a blower would be better than a plow for sidewalks, what happens after 2 or 3 storms in a row, you dont want to be spending time removing snow if you dont have to. At least in the city they came by at night and removed all the snow piles after the storm.

 

Thanks guys you all are helpful,I didnt mention the
width of the sidewalk is 60 inches.

P.S.
what price are you charging per ton of salt for
the parking lot jobs.

Darrell

 

If the walkways are 60" wide. Curtis makes a 62 (check their site for exact, but i am pretty sure it is 62")" wide plow for the John Deere Gator, they also build a salt spreader. I think if you angle the 62" wide blade, it would fit perfectly on the walkway. Curtis also builds a cab, with a heater, for more info search gator snow removel.

I think this set up would be idea for your account.

Geoff

 

Geoff,

I just searched all over the Deere website. I find it odd that they don't offer a plow themselves. I wonder why.
Obviously there is a market for it if Curtis makes one.

Darrell,

You didn't mention if you currently have any equipment you could get attachments for. I know you may want to get a new machine for this task, but sometimes you may already have a machine that could be adapted. For a 60" wide walk, a skid steer would be nice. The bonus of that, would be the various attachments you could get for it. It could do other things besides clearing the walks. You could mount a pusher box on it, or the bucket for stacking, a PA plow on it, a scraper box to back drag away from doors getting closer, easier than a truck, the possibilities are endless. The cost is the highest too of all the sidewalk machines you could choose from. Then again, it's possible you could use it year round in your business.

You also didn't say where you are, and how much snow you get. This would affect my decision on this. I mean if you get 3 snowfalls a year on average, of 6" or less, as opposed to 14 snowfalls of 3" or so, etc, etc.

I'd definitely want a sidewalk machine with an enclosure and heat for all those walks. A happy machine operator is a productive one!

~Chuck