Strange drive clearing behaviour

[Arch]

Sorry for the schadenfreude, Arch, but

No apology needed, we all thought it was funny, even Mum.

The replacement she got never turned out a really satisfactory loaf, they were always very heavy - edible, but very dense. She gave up in the end.

 

[Arch]

I think I will keep the very young ones indoors. Garden fleece - is that a special fabric? I have an old fleece which got a large quantity of candle wax split on it (don't ask ). It is quite a large fleece, so if I cut up the damaged bit, will that do for insulation, presumabley round the pot, rather than over the top of the plant.

It is sunny, but vey cold, with about five inches of snow. There is a field of wheat at the bottom of my garden, perhaps you would be more at home there?

Garden fleece is much lighter than fleecy clothing, it's more like the wadding you use in quilting, a sort of nylon cotton wool in sheets.

 

[Speicher]

Arch, do you think we should invite Norm into the Tea Thread, I am sure we could find him some biskits.

 

[Arch]

Arch, do you think we should invite Norm into the Tea Thread, I am sure we could find him some biskits.

I'm sure he'd be welcome, especially if he brings some cake.

 

[Norm]

I can't think of cake without this sketch coming to mind. (follow that with Eddie Izzard's Death Star Canteen)

 

[Norm]

Sorry, back onto garden fleece, it's pretty thin stuff, it allows moisture and light through but generally keeps out wind and frost. Although a roll of fleece is generally under a pound a meter, you can also use bubblewrap or newspapers to get the same effect.

 

[al78]

TBH - myself and two neighbours cleared the road yesterday (we live in a cul-de-sac at the top of a hill) as once the stuff get's compressed, it turns to ice, and no-one can get up. Clearing it was pretty quick, and this morning we had another 2 inches, and this was easily cleared with home-made snow shovels (broom handle and a big piece of MDF) then we were lucky to get the grit bin topped up, so a sprinkle has made the road passable.

We've cleared maybe 300 yards. Some of the neighbours are chuffin lazy though.....

Cleared the drive and some of the road at my dads place and started to clear the pavement but found that the cleared patch was worse to walk on than the snow, so decided to stop. Not sure how to get rid of the very thin layer of ice left that I can't get up with the shovel.

 

[HobbesChoice]

I was walking back from Cheddar City Centre, and one of the guys we passed was clearing his car and drive completely of snow. I gave a cheery hello, and mentioned that the roads around the village were dreadful. "Oh I know, theres no way I'm driving anywhere today" he says. Why clear the drive and car then

I cleared my driveway and all the snow off my car yesterday. But I did it because of the overnight freeze we were expecting and I didn't want a massive chunk of ice consuming my drive and car. Honestly! I'm glad I did it though after seeing how thick the ice was on some cars that hadn't cleared.

 

[John the Monkey]

Cleared the drive and some of the road at my dads place and started to clear the pavement but found that the cleared patch was worse to walk on than the snow, so decided to stop. Not sure how to get rid of the very thin layer of ice left that I can't get up with the shovel.

You coud salt it, or break it up with the shovel blade & then sweep it with a stiff brush.

 

[Lardyboy]

Decided to drive up to my parents lunch time as they haven't been out of the house for a couple of days and might be a bit "stir crazy".

They live on a hill, on a private road with access from the terraces in front. My father has been out clearing his road which is 50m long as far as the terrace road. This is completely iced up, and the residents have made no effort what so ever to clear it. What makes it worse is that you have to drive up another terrace before you reach this one and that is clear of ice except for the 180 degree uphill corner which gives you access that has got three inches of ice on it. I gave up trying to drive over it, parked the car lower down and walked up.

I really can't understand why people wont do something so simple as clearing the road/pavement outside their own houses.

 

[snakehips]

........ and started to clear the pavement but found that the cleared patch was worse to walk on than the snow

Same here.
I am the only person in the street who has done it.
Children walking along the street now see how slippery my bit is and go back for anther go , taking a run at it to enhance the enjoyment.

Snake

My Library

 

[al78]

I really can't understand why people wont do something so simple as clearing the road/pavement outside their own houses.

Maybe some of them are not physically capable of doing so. People have died of heart attacks caused by shovelling snow.

What do you do about the stretches of pavement with no houses alongside?

If you clear the pavement but leave some ice behind and someone falls, can they sue you (the snow around here isn't slippy at the moment)?

I did manage to get some of the road outside the house clear earlier today but unfortunately it seems to be freezing over again now.

 

[Arch]

I really can't understand why people wont do something so simple as clearing the road/pavement outside their own houses.

Lots of reasons - infirmity, lazyness, fear of making it worse and getting sued, possibly not even having a shovel - no garden? Why would you have a spade? Bear in mind that some younger homeowners may never have had to deal with more than a dusting of snow in the time they've been householders, and may have been the sort of kids at home who didn't take much interest in what their parents did - assuming their parents did anything. It just might not occur to some people to do anything - and if they make a cock-eyed attempt and leave the pavement even slippier, I'd rather they didn't try.

 

[marinyork]

What do you do about the stretches of pavement with no houses alongside?

You leave it. Unless it's very easy to clear and of great use.

If you clear the pavement but leave some ice behind and someone falls, can they sue you (the snow around here isn't slippy at the moment)?

It depends what sort of ice you mean. If you went a bit mad gritting with no clearing and the ice melted and then reformed, was trampled on and then became polished you get your spade and you smash it. This is actually a very effective strategy if you get the timing right. Unfortunately this is exactly what professionals who are paid to clear don't do!

I did manage to get some of the road outside the house clear earlier today but unfortunately it seems to be freezing over again now.

It will freeze over a bit. Contrary to popular myth grit doesn't stop everything freezing over, it just makes it less worse. What you do is try and clear areas that'll get a pounding from peds/cars and or will hit direct sunlight sometime in the day and this isn't a problem. As long as what you've cleared is a thin film of snow/ice and it's mostly black it'll melt pretty rapidly in the morning. These areas absorb more heat and melt surrounding areas faster where upon they are smashed/cleared/gritted as appropriately. t speeds up the melt by quite a factor. It's also a good strategy digging a mini channel to the drain.

 

[Plax]

My retired neighbours all tend to clear their front steps and driveways. I clear my step but don't always bother with the driveway, but I have on occassion cleared the pavement and road in front of it as it makes it easier to drive up the road then.
They don't grit our road and it's a hill so unless you pre-empt the snow and park at the top of the road you get snowed in. I've had 2 days of not being able to use my drive as the road has been inaccessable to cars (I was lucky and was in Mr Plax's when it started snowing so was spared the hassle of getting snowed in). It is still bad but it has started to clear at the bottom of the hill so people can get up and down it better now, but I have noticed people that parked on the road either halfway up or at the top tend to get a bit stuck trying to move off.