Winter Work

[Mbella]

What do you guys do to stay busy during the winter months?

Snow removal is about 25% of our business, so when it snows, we are busy. However, when it doesn't snow and the weather is below freezing, we don't have much to do.

This year, I hooked up with an interrior landscaping company and we will be assisting them with their holiday decorations/lighting.

The problem is, we are busy with hardscaping!!!:dizzy::dizzy:

[CaptainsLS]

It snows a decent amount here. Enough to keep us busy, but I like the time off. I increased our snow operation by 200% for this season I hope I'm not stretching our capabilities :scared::ballchain:

[Mbella]

Captain, what is the average snowfall for that area?

[CaptainsLS]

I think around 100", I don’t remember

[Mbella]

I think around 100", I don’t remember

100"??? Holy cow, we get like 23" and that is more than enough.

[CaptainsLS]

You know I think I just had a brain fart. On average I think we get around 50". winter 03-04 we got hammered and had 98" or more

[Mbella]

You know I think I just had a brain fart. On average I think we get around 50". winter 03-04 we got hammered and had 98" or more

That's still a pretty good average! Do you mainly get snow storms, or a mix of snow and ice?

[CaptainsLS]

Its all over the board. We are right on the ocean. The sanders are out more than the plows, but snowfall is decent.

[kris]

We got out of the snow years ago. For some of our main field guys ...Our trucks and trailers need to be inspected and certified each year, I got our shop licensed to do so a couple years ago so all work is done in house ..We are expanding our yard again and building another shop ..plus time off.
This year I am keeping 6 guys to do our winter work.

[cgland]

kris - Where in Canada are you?

Chris

[kris]

Western Canada, Alberta. Edmonton and surrounding area is our Market.

[Ground effects NH]

What do you guys do to stay busy during the winter months?

Snow removal is about 25% of our business, so when it snows, we are busy. However, when it doesn't snow and the weather is below freezing, we don't have much to do.

This year, I hooked up with an interrior landscaping company and we will be assisting them with their holiday decorations/lighting.

The problem is, we are busy with hardscaping!!!:dizzy::dizzy:

We also do the snow removal / salting, But I am looking for some winter work Hardscape- Masonry between storms. Also get my ICPI cert

[mckeeland]

i used to do construction, but not this year. last winter i had a job re-pointing a brick basement that was gonna be finished, that was a lot of grinding. i hope this year we can stay busy with hardscaping as along as we can. got a new house, new wife, and new equipment this year i gotta pay for. no time off for me this winter, at least not two months like usual.

i am hoping this is where my service magic leads will come in handy. i signed up fro a bunch of oddball jobs, job site clean up, house clean outs, handy many services, haul trash to the dump anything to keep busy this year and maybe a couple bucks in my pocket.

[zedosix]

What I do in the winter.

[mckeeland]

hey, did you steal my truck? i didnt even know Yamaha made skis, nice.

[mrusk]

We are just going to keep pushing right through the winter. I figure we might loose a week here and there, but i belive we should be able to keep working pretty steddy if we take the neccessary procautions.

[zedosix]

hey, did you steal my truck? i didnt even know Yamaha made skis, nice.

They've been in the business of snowmobiling since 1968. This one is a 4 stroke 150hp. Same motor as their R1 bike. The exhaust sound is something to hear.

[mckeeland]

i bet it does, that exhaust looks bad azz. i had to do a double take with your truck, i even have the same lettering on the supercab window now. mine is a sport though with the black bumpers.

[MuirView Design]

i used to do construction, but not this year. last winter i had a job re-pointing a brick basement that was gonna be finished, that was a lot of grinding. i hope this year we can stay busy with hardscaping as along as we can. got a new house, new wife, and new equipment this year i gotta pay for. no time off for me this winter, at least not two months like usual.

i am hoping this is where my service magic leads will come in handy. i signed up fro a bunch of oddball jobs, job site clean up, house clean outs, handy many services, haul trash to the dump anything to keep busy this year and maybe a couple bucks in my pocket.


That's a good idea. Have you gotten any leads yet? If the weather would stay mild I could work through the winter, but it's always a toss up. I bought a plow and truck, but don't have any accounts yet because I've been too busy with hardscaping. This time of year is rough, between the frozen mornings, the rain and the early sunsets, it's hard to get projects done fast enough to make real money. Personally, I'm worried sick about this winter. Oil prices through the roof, new baby, not enough in the savings, etc. etc. I was able to line up some drywall and spackling in late Dec. early January and maybe some tile work as well. Hopefully, I can find more stuff like that if the ground is frozen.

[CaptainsLS]

Oil prices through the roof, new baby, not enough in the savings, etc. etc

Adam, you sound like me. How bout a second job for winter work? Sears, Home Depot, Best Buy.....

[mckeeland]

That's a good idea. Have you gotten any leads yet? If the weather would stay mild I could work through the winter, but it's always a toss up. I bought a plow and truck, but don't have any accounts yet because I've been too busy with hardscaping. This time of year is rough, between the frozen mornings, the rain and the early sunsets, it's hard to get projects done fast enough to make real money. Personally, I'm worried sick about this winter. Oil prices through the roof, new baby, not enough in the savings, etc. etc. I was able to line up some drywall and spackling in late Dec. early January and maybe some tile work as well. Hopefully, I can find more stuff like that if the ground is frozen.

i got a couple of leads so far. the best one was a $10k. we had to remove all of the trash and debris from this flip house and clear the back yard. then take down an old shed. great job, probable the most profitable this year.

[STLPONDS]

[QUOTE=zedosix;1111]What I do in the winter.[/QUOte

I was just watching a show called "Pinks" and they were drag racing Ski's at the track. Of all places it was in Texas. lol! I've never seen dry racing like that with a Ski.

When business is slow I make my brother money doing his subfloors for tile work. I really wish it would stay warm so I could keep my own thing going. lol!

[lawnkid]

We'll be plowing and salting all winter here. Currently looking for some landclearing or tree planting jobs that can be done over winter as well. Not experienced enough yet in the hardscapes to know what to do in freezing temperatures so I'll stick to some pretty basic stuff. Maybe even some carpentry.

[kootoomootoo]

Daytrade....maybe a home show.

[Colonial]

Snow Removal and some hardscape work. Got a few people who want us to try and push through for the winter so there stuff is ready to go first in the Spring. I would love to give up the snow, too much bs and crappy hours but money is decent.

[GSVA]

Snowboard in the Rockies, or Surf in Costa Rica

[Mbella]

Snowboard in the Rockies, or Surf in Costa Rica

How much does that pay??:noidea:

[CaptainsLS]

Earlier in this thread we talked about snowfall amounts. My area just broke the old record for snowfall in December at 28". I wish I wasn’t so close to the ocean, I've only seen 20" or so for my accounts. How has snow work been for you?

[cgland]

So far, we have had no accumulation to speak of. Mostly dustings w/ ice and freezing rain. I think we have gone out to salt like 10-12 times. I'll take them ALL Winter $$$$$$$

Chris

[Ground effects NH]

Earlier in this thread we talked about snowfall amounts. My area just broke the old record for snowfall in December at 28". I wish I wasn’t so close to the ocean, I've only seen 20" or so for my accounts. How has snow work been for you?

We have been out straight, Concord NH has a new record 44.5" for Dec. I am North of concord and my records at the house "unofficial" is around 48.75" Calling for another 6-10" today into tonight. If we are not plowing it's been sanding/ salting. As far as roof shoveling you can name your price. If we can even get too them. $Caching$ :bounce: Oh and I think we have made around $500 this past week, people with broken snowblowers, and tired of shoveling :wave:

[GSVA]

It doesn't.

[Mbella]

It doesn't.


Damn! Sounded like fun.

[Mike 33]

I enjoy my winter off and can usually enjoy living off of my cash flow i put aside from the hot days from last summer. However next week we are going back to work building a wall we didnt get to from last fall. I have 30 commercial snow accounts and we have done well so far on 2 storms in dec. But next week calls for wall weather. I try to bank my snow $ to get ahead such as being able to pay cash for new bobcat when i trade.
mike

[JZap]

Last year we created a subdivision for GC work. We had a couple customers ask us for references for basement finishing. We did 2 basements last winter and it took off so quickly, we created a GC division which is completely separate from our Nursery. The owners are the same for both our nursery and Building solutions. Our workers for the Nursery are putting in hardscaping and lighting as we speak... perhaps other areas are colder than ours, but we've had some mild weather and have no reason to stop installs at this point. We had to take a few weeks off when it was freezing, but we already were past excavation and base at that point and we waited for the warmer weeks. When it is freezing our Nursery workers clean GC jobsites, move material for the carpenters and mud drywall.

[Meanix]

I started tearing out my fireplace today. Going to install wood-stove, on a flagstone landing and hardwood floors throughout. Nice to work at home.