Noodad’s Snowblower Etiquette

Posted on 12 14, 2007 under Mantivities by Noodad | Comments

3690_preview.jpgYesterday the Boston area got hit with our first snow storm of the year. In my area, we got 10 to 12 inches. As much as it is nice to get your kids (home from a school closing) to do the grunt work of shoveling all that snow, the bottom line is a snowblower is quicker, better, and let’s face it, a heck of a lot more fun. There is nothing like throwing snow 30 feet in the air!

Snowblowing for me is an excuse to show off my machinery in the middle of the night. It’s like the time you backed out your new riding mower for the first cut of the season. But a snowblower is not like pulling a sports car out of the garage. You start off with a loud bang and a steady hum of the engine for all the neighbors to hear. And while you have a large window of acceptable grass length, when it comes to snow, you have to get in and out of your driveway. Last night I was snowblowing from 8:00 – 10:00 P.M. because I didn’t want it to freeze overnight.Given the timing, noise factor, and the fact that it is snow, there is some snowblower etiquette that you should be aware of:

TIMING

Obviously, you need to do what you need to do, but in my experience, snowblowing late in the evening is more acceptable than early in the morning. Regardless of that rationale, if your neighbor has his going, consider that an invitation to join in.

HELPING OUT

If you have a neighbor that does not have a snowblower this can get tricky. I know it sounds sexist but sometimes it depends on what the gender is of your neighbor. If it’s a guy, and he is shoveling, ask him if you can lend a hand. If it’s a chick and she is shoveling, insist that you help out. If they are old people, just go and do it. None of this applies if you have seen them snowblown or plowed during the current season. Odds are that if they got plowed last week, they have a service.

WHERE TO BLOW

This is very important. When blowing or throwing snow from your own driveway or walkway, always shoot it onto your property. Not on the street. Not on the neighbor’s bushes.

THE BROKEN DOWN SNOWBLOWER

Let’s say you see your neighbor struggling to get his snowblower started. What do you do? In my experiences, the last thing you do is swoop in and save the day. Approach the subject by just asking, “Hey, hows it going?” Don’t say, “Hey, does that POS snowblower of yours ever work?”

LETTING KIDS DO IT

My kids aren’t close to this age yet but I have already made up my mind: I won’t let my kids use the snowblower until they are in high school. The machine is way too heavy and dangerous on a slippery surface.What do you think noodads? Anything to add or disagree with?

One final thing: if you are in the market for a kick ass snowblower, check out the one I have, the Husqvarna 1330SBE. It pwns.

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Viewing 4 Comments

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    I love the idea of a snowblower but I've resisted so far. I can't justify the garage space for something I'd only use a few times a year. I'm also not that skilled when it comes to machinery, engines, etc. I know it sounds trite, but I also enjoy the exercise. I was out last night from 6:30-8:00 and got to spend some time chatting with a neighbor I hadn't spoken to in a while when I needed to take a breather.

    That being said, I don't refuse any help from neighbors when they offer to use their snowblower to clear my driveway. I offer gas money, they refuse, and we send over some cookies or beer instead.

    I think snowblower owners also have a lot of social pressure on them, too. I mean, if you have a ride-on mower your neighbors don't expect you to mow their lawn because they only have a push mower; but I think some neighbors might feel a little jaded if you don't offer to help them with the white stuff--especially that heavy snowplowed stuff at the end of the driveway.

    Snowblower owners must realize that there's power beyond the machine's engine. You can bank serious goodwill from your neighbors as the neighborhood 'snow angel', especially if you like getting out there with the machine. Your neighbors will not forget it.
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    This may be the law for families like yours who live out in the wilderness, but for us city slickers, it's throw as throw can. Sure, it is important to be respectful of your neighbors, but if their backyard is the only viable option for clearing our your driveway, then throw your snow there. As long as the snow is not impeding their progress or risking a flood in their basement when it melts, put your snow there.

    When I owned a 2 family in Belmont, MA, I had a long, narrow driveway with no yard. Literarlly I had NO yard. My driveway was split with the neighbors by a metal fence and my house was pretty long and took up most of the driveway. I had to start at the back, blow what little snow I could behind the small space behind my garage and some over the fence into the neighbor's back yard. Then I would proceed to blow snow from the back of the driveway to the front and onto the treelawn, where I would pile it in massive drifts. This would have taken forever if not for my trusty late 70s Ariens 8hp.

    My neighbor never used the back half of his driveway, only the front. So I would snow blow the bottom of his driveway and his sidewalk, including the walkway so that he and his tennants could get out. I would blow some of my snow into the back half of his driveway as he never even showed an inkling of need to plow that out. In the 2 years that I lived there, we never even spoke about the snow. I just did my thing and he did his. One winter there was literally 18 inches in a 24 hour period. I plowed out half the neighborhood that day.

    I think your rules for snow throwing can apply when you have purple mountains majesty, fruited plains and miles of green grazing land on your property like you do, but come to my house after a 12 inch dumping and see how that works for you.

    This is similar to my snowblower except mine is 10 years older and 8 horses. http://www.geocities.com/theseventhfirst/ariens...
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    nice
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    Thanks for the FYI! Question...my neighbor insists on blowing his snow ON to the side of my house, which includes coating the windows and filling the basement window wells. Is this not a violation of snowblower etiquette? Instead of apologizing when politely asked to stop doing it, he asked "why?" What a jerk!
 

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