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residential driveway markers

12K views 24 replies 18 participants last post by  TremblaySNOW  
#1 ·
Does anyone put up little markers on the driveways for reference when plowing?
I remember last year thinking how hard it could be sometimes to know exactly where the driveway is under all that snow, so i was wondering if anyone uses markers or something? if so, can you pleeeeeease give me some pointers on that. thanks
 
#2 ·
On our residential drives we will mark them if it is requested by the homeowner or if the configuration of the drive and landscaping make it neccessary to avoid damage. If the drive it straight to door- we may put two at the street to "hit the hole" when we get bigger snows. Also, we use the sticks you can get at Home Depot for $1.99. They have a reflective top and stand up to a little abuse. The biggest problem you will have with these is keeping kids from using them as swords to fight with the neighbor kids!! Good Luck.
 
#5 ·
I like them......but I have one customer who hates them, luckily I've been going to his house for the past 17yrs during the summers so I am very familiar with his driveway :D
 
#7 ·
cjasonbr;673502 said:
unless they were falling from the sky...... this is the wrong forum.
You were probably the hall monitor in grade school huh?

As far as driveway markers go, OF COURSE, pretty much everyone uses them! Otherwish you will be reseeding all kinds of areas in the Spring. You can get them all over the place.... Home Depot, Menards, Lowes, EBay, JThomas... the list goes on and on. Use wood stakes if you want cheap ones, or get the plastic reflective ones for a more professional look. Put them near the end of the drive and have at it.
 
#9 ·
JDiepstra;673526 said:
You were probably the hall monitor in grade school huh?

As far as driveway markers go, OF COURSE, pretty much everyone uses them! Otherwish you will be reseeding all kinds of areas in the Spring. You can get them all over the place.... Home Depot, Menards, Lowes, EBay, JThomas... the list goes on and on. Use wood stakes if you want cheap ones, or get the plastic reflective ones for a more professional look. Put them near the end of the drive and have at it.
right, so you just use 2 for the end of the drive pretty much?
I cant see paying $5 for a pair of markers for each and every single damn driveway i have, theres gotta be some cheaper ones. I'm pinching pennys to get this plow and a new set of tires.....
 
#10 ·
BRENTMAN;673724 said:
right, so you just use 2 for the end of the drive pretty much?
I cant see paying $5 for a pair of markers for each and every single damn driveway i have, theres gotta be some cheaper ones. I'm pinching pennys to get this plow and a new set of tires.....
On a straight driveway 2 is all I need. I use more on circular or u shape or other odd shapes.

You can get wood stakes for say 8 bucks about 24 stakes that are about 3 feet tall from Mynards (Menards), Home Depot, Lowes... I think they call them gradeing stakes. That works out to about 33 cents each. If you can find 4 foot stakes you could probably cut them in half and save even more money!
 
#12 ·
BRENTMAN;673750 said:
thats prob what i'll do....gotta be careful with those wood stakes though i heard.....cant be running into them now lol
I usually put mine about 4" off the driveway to give myself some room to work. Just keep in mind you have to keep your plow 4" off the stake or you will be fixing up lawns!
 
#13 ·
JDiepstra;673734 said:
On a straight driveway 2 is all I need. I use more on circular or u shape or other odd shapes.

You can get wood stakes for say 8 bucks about 24 stakes that are about 3 feet tall from Mynards (Menards), Home Depot, Lowes... I think they call them gradeing stakes. That works out to about 33 cents each. If you can find 4 foot stakes you could probably cut them in half and save even more money!
So menards sells 24 stakes for around 8 bucks? I might be making a road trip if that is true. I just priced some at home depot, 3ft tall 12/pk for 6.37.
 
#14 ·
We mark every one of our driveways. average of 8-12 stakes per drive, but we have some that have ~36 stakes. We buy them and mark them ourselves to prevent damage. we charge to put them in and take them out. If they don't agree to it, we don't plow their driveway.

if you want cheap plain fiberglass orange stakes, buy them from angelos, they're around $.50/ea or less depending on quantity you buy.

If you want nice ones that have reflectors & caps buy them from discountsnowstakes.com Great price on them and nice to deal with.
 
#15 · (Edited)
My neighbor has a huge table saw in the basement. I buy 5 2by 5s of what ever and we slice them than make stakes paint them your good. all hey do is run them over any way. Then in the spring come back pick them up.Recycle. But that is true off set them. But i use 2 at the end of the drive from angelos. Big orange ones 50cent .
 
#16 ·
I use old survey stakes from jobsites that we work on in the summer. They are always lying around getting ran over so I pick them up every so often. All I do is spray some reflective paint on them and they are good to go. Besides the superintendents don't mind cause that is one less thing they have to pick up or worry about going thru someones tire.
 
#17 ·
[ If you can find 4 foot stakes you could probably cut them in half and save even more money![/QUOTE]

Two foot stakes aren't tall enough by half. Once you get close to them they disappear below the fender and reappear next spring where ever you pushed them to. You also need something tall enough that it won't be completely buried after the first two or three storms.

I had a customer who insisted on staking his own drive with two foot rebar. I was lucky and never drove one through a tire or my gas tank. He has gone to a nursing home now, and his property manager put in four foot reflective topped fiberglass ones this year.
 
#20 ·
PLOWBIZ121;854439 said:
Wow, :crying: :nono::nono:I never understood the whole rebar thing. It just seems like it would cause a ton of damage and is it even cost effective? They have nice reflective fiberglass stakes at www.discountsnowstakes.com. Their cheap too for what your getting.:yow!:
Amen to that-lost a tire in the middle of a storm last season doing a drive that one of my customers insisted on staking himself with rebar
For residential I use the fiberglass reflective stakes;for my commercial accounts I use wood painted with reflective paint and tape at the top
 
#24 ·
TremblaySNOW;870220 said:
use 1/2" rebar its pretty cheap 25ft $6.00 and then we cut them with are cut off saw (quick cut)
cheap until you blow a tire out or you have a lawsuit on you when someone impales themselves on your stake