cost to have driveway plowed?

We had a big sleet/ice storm this weekend and haven't left our house since Friday morning (it's been a loooooong weekend!). Anyhow, it's over now but temps will be below freezing for the near future. We have a very long, steep, downhill driveway and are pretty sure there is no way we can get our cars out right now. Tomorrow is no big deal but starting Tuesday we have things we need to do and I am due with this baby any day now so we really do need to be able to leave the house (plus we are running out of food options here!).
We will be calling around but has anyone ever hired a service to clear out their driveway? How much does it usually run? I think our driveway is around 120 feet long, a bit windy and downhill. DH is not too handy with these things- we are Floridians and currently do not own a snow shovel!

Hey there. I don't have any info on the cost b/c as you know this weather is a bit unusual around here. What a time to be approaching your due date though, eh? To be honest I don't even know who you could call, but maybe you've already got that figured out. Most of the places (even businesses) that I see getting areas plowed are using either tractors or some sort of construction equipment with a blade attached to the front. Anyway, I know this was completely no help; sorry about that. Good luck to you. And wishes for a safe and speedy delivery to you too!

The cost largely depends on where you are. The cheapest alternative is to have some neighbourhood kids do it.

Otherwise, a lot of lawn guys do snowplowing in the off season (that's who does ours). I live in NJ and we pay $40 for the driveway, and another $10 if we want our walks done by hand. They also include salt for the price. I've gotten ridiculous quotes for as high as $60, so be careful. Any chance you can contact the previous owners to see if they used anybody?

This might be a good time to introduce yourself to the neighbour with a snow blower ;) :P Seriously, though, if your DH just approaches any neighbour he sees doing their own driveway, I'm sure they'll at the very least lend him a shovel. I've found that people are most neighbourly in these sort of situations (new neighbour, pregnant wife, etc.)

Good luck and be careful on that ice!

-m

You can't go wrong calling some landscaping services. The first person we used to plow we saw driving around with a plow and wrote his number down. He wasn't great but got the job done for a few snowstorms. The guy we use for landscaping is also now our plow guy. Our gravel driveway is about as long as yours but straight. We paid $35 last year. We live in a rural area that usually gets a lot of snow. I'm not sure how much he's charging this year because we haven't had any snow yet (which is crazy because I'm in New England!). If it's a really big storm and he has to swing by more than once, we have to pay more but I can't remember how much it is.

Good Luck-
Kim
ds&dd 5/03

I agree with the pp, call some landscapers from the phone book if you can't find a neighbor to help out. If you can, get a few estimates. We have our drive plowed for $55, that doesn't include salt. We had people tell us anywhere from $45, but then the guy never showed, to $90. Our guy comes every 6 inches, so if it is a really bad storm we pay $55 for the first trip and then $45 for each trip after that during the same storm. We live in CT so since it has been a snow free season, we have saved a lot of money this winter!

Mary
dd#1 2/01
dd#2 12/03

Plowing services here (near Marisa) for my long driveway charge $100 for one time, or $425 for a season.


Mary

We called a few places, but they are all booked or seem to charge an exorbitant amount (like, $400!). Anyhow, it's okay because DH was able to get my van up to the street and so he went to super walmart and got us some food! And now that the car is up there we can at least leave if we need to. He couldn't get his car up there (he has a little sporty type car, I have a new minivan). But, he is going to go back out this afternoon and get some salt or sand or whatever to see if that can help.
We have a blower but it's not snow, it's more like solid-frozen sleet/ice so you can't push it out of the way if that makes sense. Thanks ladies!

I agree, it depends on where you live. Here it's $40 as well, but just for a quick scoop, no sidewalk, nothing pretty. That's when our lawn guy does it. If you just call someone for a one-time plow, it's more like $50, most want a contract. If you're lucky, someone will be driving around and you can flag them down and ask their rates, or they've even come to my door when I was in Chicago.