measuring snow

what method do you use to measur snowfall totals,eyeball,ruler,tv,radio,offical weather station?.back in dec.i plowed what i thought was 2.5-3.5&quot; all of my acc. are 3+&quot;. one of the app.com. ? it and did not payfor that plowing,i called a local collage weather center they said 1.5&quot;no other acc.? it. now i mesure snow on deck,driveway,parking lot next to house and skip that acc.if questionabe<p>----------<br>Todd <br>

 

I don't know what to tell you, about the 3&quot; measurement. I plow 90% of my accounts on a price per year basis. So if i plow at 2.5 or even 1.5 i don't get any complaints. Only i do use the 3&quot; minium on residental accounts, if i show up at 2.5 its good for them. Only you should be able to tell the difference between plowing 1.5&quot; and 3.5&quot;. If you are charging by the push, you don't want to jump the gun, sometimes at the start of the season, 1.5&quot; looks like 3&quot;.<p>Geoff<br>

 

Another reason why Im switching my accounts over to a seasonal snowfall basis-no more dickering around with how much snow-esp when there can be a 2-3 inch variance between accounts depending on drifting, location on top of a hill or in the valley etc.<p>Bill

 

next year i need to get them an yearly contracts or a setup like what chuck has 1-3=$ 3.25-8=$ ect. bill,are you going to go on total inches for the year or flat fee <p>----------<br>Todd <p>

 

Well my commercial accts are by the season Nov to April one price includes all except loader work whether we get one inch or a hundred. The owner was tired of keeping track of how much snow to reconcile with my billing so this way he doesnt care how much we had as long as the lot is done when he gets in.<p>The residentials will be the same way next year, or maybe at least a minimum number of pushes minimum. as it is my residents are one price up to a foot, add 50% every six inches over that but remember my residences are mostly 75 foot single car driveways and 50 feet sidewalk frontage so a matter of an inch or two doesnt really matter, besides I pick and choose my residential customers, they are all gravy jobs. Very hard to find someone around here to do drives so I can pretty much get what I want with no complaints, people are afraid to pi$$ off the plowman cuz if you get dropped you are most likely stuck unless you shovel it yourself.<p>People around here have too much money or else they just dont want to work. Unemployment is at 1.9% last month so the guys that do the snow and lawns for a living are spread pretty thin.<p>Bill

 

i wish people around here had to much money!! st.lawrence co. is the poorest in NY and also highest rate of unemployment!!<p>----------<br>Todd <br>

 

I actually measure each account with a ruler. I charge by the inch, but I also want accurate records. Just because Newark where the weather station is, at the airport, got rain, doesn't mean we got rain here. There is another airport 5 miles in the other direction as well. Our weather is different than theirs as well. We are on a mountain. 1000 ft above sea level. That's enough for a difference of 8 - 10 degrees in temperature.<br>I have houses that often drift. Guess what? I charge extra. More snow, takes long, harder to move, I charge more.<br>I had a church with 2 stairwells, about 10 foot wide, and 6 feet deep. When we got blowing snow, they would fill up, trapping blowing snow. I adjust my price accordingly. IT didn't happen every time it snowed, but a lot. When we had the 30&quot; blizzard here in 1996, those stairwells filled up level to the top, from blowing snow. If you didn't know they were there, you'd fall right in. I naturally charged extra for this.<br>Some of my accounts are on the &quot;first watchung mountain&quot; and other's are on &quot;the second watchung mountain&quot;. Snow rates vary between the two.<p>~Chuck<p>----------<br>Chuck's Chevy Truck Pages - Snowplowing Central<br>http://members.aol.com/csmith669/plowcentral.html

 

We measure snowfall with a ruler. (Or &quot;scale&quot; for all the architects in here.)<p>3 Things:<br>1.) The amount of snow that falls and the accumulation in not necessarily the same thing. The National Weather Service (and consequently the news/weather staions) report the amount of snowFALL. Not taking into consideration melting which reduces accumulations or drifting which increases it.<p>2.) With respect to charging by the inch, bear in mind different areas get different snow: I mean, we have an average of 20-22 plowing events per season, but seldom, if ever get over a 8&quot; storm. When we do get 8&quot; it's fluffy lake-effect type. No Noreasters for us.<p>3.) What about snow density? I would rather plow 8&quot; of fluffy snow than 3&quot; of heavy, wet stuff.<br>

 

Right Lazer, no Noreasters here. We get the Norwesters (as I call them) here on the west side of the pond they call Lake Michigan. I measure the snow with a 25 ft. tape measure (just in case it's really deep) and I keep it in the truck. I start at 2 inches here, but if there is only 1.5 and it's all done, I do them and have never had a complaint since one about 15 years ago. I work in a small area and the word got out then, if I have a complaint, I drop them. I had one say after she got the bill that I only plowed 2 times during a blizzard and I had done it 3 times. This couple has a new lawn service and snow removal service every year. I have had no complaints since I got rid of them.

 

I,ve found that most commercial accounts like a yearly rate that way they can budget for the up-coming year. Residential accounts are headed that way for the same reason but, but seem to be more concerned with total cost, and don't want to pay an average. They want to pay less when it snows less and complain<br>when it snow more. Anyways if you get a fair price on a seasonal basis where YOU can make <br>money and have a regular income to satisfy the banks do it!<br>Bill