Ash, salt + sand how? (Old Town: house, living, floor)

[westeasterly]

I expected to make my move in late May or June so I'd have some months to get smart about winter living before it snows in earnest. Not going to happen now: bought a great house in the midcoast area and will move in at the very end of March. The gravel driveway, four maybe five car lengths long, is a gentle slope down to the garage. It will get plowed and I will come into possession of of a snowblower (the subject of a future post).

So for the alternating layers of ash and salt/sand, how does this work exactly? Do I keep a bucket filled with ash from the wood-burning stove? Should I wear ash-colored clothing for this? ::joking:: Does salt and sand come premixed? Buckets versus spreaders? Looks like some towns have a community source of free sand/salt but I'm not finding that yet in mine.

The first of many such questions to come.

[flyonpa]

Gravel you want to Plow, Not blow... You do not go down do gravel. You set the plow/blower to be about 1" above it.

Over time Ruts in the gravel will form, you need to either refill them with more gravel, and raise the level of your driveway over time. or get a "Grader to move the gravel from the sides back into the ruts", then compact it.

Salt is only good at melting down to about 28f below that it,
1. Melts thru and water re-freezes as it goes down leaving a bunch of little circles.
2. Sits on top.

Sand/Ash are good for below 28f to provide traction as needed on top of the snow/ice.
Bucket is the "Normal" distribution method. Since most spreader get there spreading spin from the traction of one of the wheels, that you won't get on snow/ice.

Some town allow you to get a few 5Gal buckets sand/salt premix one or the other, at a time from the public works department.

If you have ash, it can be used as a substitute for sand, but use it on the "Far" end of the driveway near the street so it does not get tracked into the house.

Normally everyone take off there boots/shoes in the garage/mud room, and changes to slipper of some kind before going into the house in the winter.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Ash does not directly help traction. Damp wood ash is actually quite slippery. The benefit of wood ash spread on snow or ice is that it absorbs heat which melts the ice and snow. White snow reflects heat. Black or dark grey ash absorbs heat. Simple as that.

[westeasterly]

Originally Posted by flyonpa

If you have ash, it can be used as a substitute for sand, but use it on the "Far" end of the driveway near the street so it does not get tracked into the house.

I like the way you think. There is a mudroom but prevention is even better.

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

Ash does not directly help traction. Damp wood ash is actually quite slippery. The benefit of wood ash spread on snow or ice is that it absorbs heat which melts the ice and snow. White snow reflects heat. Black or dark grey ash absorbs heat. Simple as that.

Makes sense. Do I have the layers in the wrong order? Sounds like Salt/sand first, then ash, yes?

[Submariner]

I had to start using salt this winter. There is a sand/gravel/concrete yard near-by that offers road salt for $3 a bucket.

We save our woodstove ash for making lye.

[gf2020]

What makes you think you will need to use ash, salt or sand at all?

[maineborzoi]

In our town, we can get sand and salt mixed together. We use this very little and mostly on walk way on the driveway to the garage.
Having dogs, I avoid salt in general- and ash would make make one heck of a mess on any floor or rug.
We do use sand and get two 50 pound bags of regular sand. This is good for walk ways, traction, safe for the dogs, and as areas start to melt, helps the ground dry off quicker as well.

Our driveway is paved so I only put down that salt and sand mix on a day that I know it will get above freezing. I grab a big coffee can of it out of our 5 ga. bucket, and toss it around on the driveway like one was " feeding chickens"...

[westeasterly]

Originally Posted by Submariner

I had to start using salt this winter.

Why did you have to start using salt? I think you might have posted about this once but I don't remember.

Originally Posted by gf2020

What makes you think you will need to use ash, salt or sand at all?

The sellers' agent told me this is what they do currently, when I asked. I'm not thrilled about the ash or the salt. I'm also not thrilled about busting through the garage door.

Originally Posted by maineborzoi

Having dogs, I avoid salt in general- and ash would make make one heck of a mess on any floor or rug. We do use sand and get two 50 pound bags of regular sand...

I'll plan on that, thanks. I also have a dog, @maineborzoi, and she is small enough to get scooped up when there is salt or melting chemicals on the sidewalks in WA. I once tried putting small boots on her. What was I thinking.... the snow pulled them all off on the first trip out. BTW, your posts have been especially helpful to me these last few years as I've been planning my move, thanks for that.

[maineborzoi]

Originally Posted by westeasterly

Why did you have to start using salt? I think you might have posted about this once but I don't remember.



The sellers' agent told me this is what they do currently, when I asked. I'm not thrilled about the ash or the salt. I'm also not thrilled about busting through the garage door.



I'll plan on that, thanks. I also have a dog, @maineborzoi, and she is small enough to get scooped up when there is salt or melting chemicals on the sidewalks in WA. I once tried putting small boots on her. What was I thinking.... the snow pulled them all off on the first trip out. BTW, your posts have been especially helpful to me these last few years as I've been planning my move, thanks for that.

We use salt very little and only on days it would make a difference. Salt can actually do a lot of damage- kill grass, damage plants, and yes- even crack asphalt. Sand is my favorite thing to use, and easy to 'vac" up inside, while actually helping the soil outside. ( and of course- safer for the dogs. )

Thank you for your kind words as well ! This is now our third winter here, and our first winter we went ahead and got oil just recently. We are basically using it only at night on cold nights. Any temp from 20's on up, and this house can hold its heat over night. Of course- oil heat is only good if one has power, and though outages are rare, they do happen.
Others helped me when we first moved here, and typical of what we have found Mainers to be- warm, friendly, helpful and sincere, we have found the same here on city data as well in general.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by westeasterly

Why did you have to start using salt? I think you might have posted about this once but I don't remember.

Here where we live, there is no true need for salt. Our road is fine without salt.

I played with salt a few times, around our carport, but it did little benefit and was an extra expense.

This past November we bought a couple buildings in downtown Old Town. The city runs machines that basically carry away the bulk snow from the sidewalks. But they leave a hard-packed layer of snow/ice in their wake. The city then sends notices to property owners that the owners are responsible to clear their sidewalks of ice, or else they will be fined.

To conform to life in the city, I have had to start consuming salt.

Aubuchon carries salt in 5-gallon buckets going from $23 to $29 a bucket [depending on brand name].

My sand / gravel guy [Folsom] sells salt for $3 a 5-gallon bucket [but you have to provide your own bucket, and you have to shovel it yourself].

He also has clean sand for 50-cents a bucket. I use a lot of his sand for mixing my potting soil.