Driveway Markers

[RobS]

Hmmm, I wonder if this will be as volatile a discussion as R1 vs. R4, or Blue vs. Orange, or, or, or...

OK, here's the thing. I was looking at some of the snow pictures posted and I didn't see much in the way of driveway markers. Apparently, not everyone uses them. Around here they're as common as plowed over mailboxes in the winter /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif

The commercial guys seem to use simple strapping wood sticks. The old standby is the round reflector on a metal or plastic stake and I prefer the fiberglass rod with reflective tape at the top.

At our old, subdivision house I put them at each corner of the concrete driveway and I was all set. Now we have much more driveway and it's gravel. I put out what markers I had but in our first snow found that it wasn't enough. We've got some bends to the drive and I don't want people to slip off the gravel and make ruts in the soft, muddy shoulders.

I put my markers right at the edge of the gravel but now am thinking of moving them a foot off. That will give me more room for plowing without hitting them. Does that make sense?

So, what does everyone else do about driveway markers, if anything?

/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[snowman]

I use rebar - buy 10' sections at Home Depot and cut them in half. Drive them about a foot into the ground.

I spray painted them orange and also tied surveying tape on the top.

I space them about 20 feet from each other on each side, staggering them so that there is always one marker about every 10-15 feet. I put them about a foot away from the driveway to give me room.

They're not only for being able to figure out where the driveway is when driving in the car, but I need them when using the front mount blower because the flying show blocks out my view so I need the markers as a guide when snowblowing.

I tried using wood stakes the first year, but they split too much, and were too hard to put into the ground due to all of the rocks I have. They never stayed in good. The rebar works excellent.

Can kind of see them in the attached.

 

[Mrwurm]

Yes, driveway markers!! I need some. Even though I have my own tractor, my retired neighbor cannot resist plowing my snow before I get a chance to do it myself. He routinely takes out long strips of sod that I have to replace in the spring. Maybe I should get him a G.P.S. for christmas /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[RobS]

Looks great Snowman, though I like the looks of your PAVED driveway much better /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[RobS]

<font color=blue>Maybe I should get him a G.P.S. for christmas </font color=blue>

Hey, now there's a solution I hadn't considered. I could layout the driveway in GPS, put a servo drive on the tractor steering wheel...

Smack... back to reality /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[snowman]

Yeah - a paved driveway is great. I can tell you without question that it reduced the stress factor of snow removal by about 90% compared to a rock/gravel driveway.

A few nights ago, a long bolt that I use to hold up the rops for my night spotlight fell out; discovered it gone when I was done snowblowing. I knew it was somewhere in the driveway.

Sure enough, the next night, CLUNK goes the blower and shearpin on the blower fan auger.

Haven't bothered to mess around in the dark and cold replacing it. Have been just using my rear blade and it works great by itself. I can fly down the driveway with the pavement; couldn't do that on gravel.

You can kind of see the blade scrapemarks on that driveway picture I put up. Other than the scrapemarks, the blade with no shoes does no damage whatsoever.

By the way - the "blowing show" in my original post should be "blowing snow".

 

[cpicton1]

<font color=blue>I can fly down the driveway</font color=blue>

If you are draging your blade at a fast pace and it does catch a hold of something then something has got to give. Your driveway looks pretty new in your picture. I would be getting that blower repaired. I hope the new shearpin makes your blower as good as new. The markers look good. Good luck. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[snowman]

"fly" may be the wrong term; basically I can just go much quicker than if I was running the blower. "Flying" on the tractor isn't all that fast anyway!

I am actually quite careful with it, because if I break it, it's back to the old shovel.

I will get the blower back running; it only happened a few nights ago and, since it's always dark and cold nowadays when I'm home, I figured I could do it this Saturday. The augor hole is packed with snow, so I have to dig all that out too, which is another reason I'm delaying it.

 

[cpicton1]

<font color=blue>it's back to the old shovel</font color=blue>

Yea, I know what you mean. It sure was easier to be careless when I was a juvenile and didn't have to pay for my mistakes, financially that is. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

"Fly" might be the right word...that's not a driveway, it's a runway!!! <G>

I'd love to have ours paved, but am concerned with the legal ramifications as it's an "undeeded right-of-way", not owned by us or the neighbor that shares it. It will never get used for the land behind us as there is other access, but...