Snow plowing keeps your driveway open when Vermont winter settles in for the long haul. Diggin Life plows for homes and small businesses around Pownal, Bennington, and the tri-state corner nearby. Winter here starts in November and often hangs on into April. Nor'easters push in heavy wet snow, then lake effect clippers stack a few inches on top. A steep rural drive can go from clear to stuck overnight. We clear it so you can get out in the morning and back in after dark.
Most of our work is driveways at houses and small commercial lots. On a first visit we look at where the snow can go. Banks build up over a long winter. The first piles have to sit clear of sight lines and the propane tank. We mark the edges of the drive before the first storm. Stakes keep the plow off your lawn and off the culvert ends. If you have a turnaround or a spot the oil truck needs, tell us. We plow it that way each time. Ice is the other half of the job. We carry sand for the steep pitch at the top of a drive.
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Before the first snow we come look at the drive. We stake the edges so the plow stays on gravel and off the grass. We note the culvert ends and where the septic cover sits. Snow has to go somewhere, and by February those banks are tall. Piles that block the view at the road become a problem by mid winter. We put them downhill or on the wide side, away from the door you use most. Where the piles go in December decides how the drive works in March.
During a storm we work a set route. Your drive gets plowed in the same order each time, which keeps the season predictable. On a long storm we may come through more than once so the depth stays manageable. We push the banks back while there is still room. Wet snow near freezing is heavy, and a deep push can drag gravel. On those days we take a shallower bite and make an extra pass. That keeps the gravel where it belongs and the drive open.
Most drives around here are long, pitched gravel. Gravel means the blade rides a little high, or stone ends up in the lawn come spring. Shoulders are soft, and a drive that runs along a bank has a drop on one side. Ledge and rock sit close to the surface here. Drives often have a lip or a hump the plow has to learn. We take the first storm slower on a new drive. After that we know where the high spots are.
A drive that was built right plows cleaner. A good crown and a packed base give the blade a surface to ride. A drive with soft spots and no crown holds water, and that water freezes into ruts by January. We plow plenty of drives that have seen better years. If yours is rutted or washing out, ask about it in the fall. Gravel drive work is warm weather work. Through the winter our job is to keep what you have open.
Around here the ice matters as much as the snow. A sunny February day melts the top of the drive, and it refreezes by four in the afternoon. A north facing pitch may not see sun for weeks. We carry sand for those spots. Sand gives tires something to grab on a slope. Salt loses its bite when the temperature drops into the teens. We put sand where you need grip, on the steep pitch and the walk to the door.
We set up plowing two ways. Some customers pay per storm, and we bill for each visit. Others sign on for the season at a set price. That covers every storm from the first snow to the last. The right choice depends on how much you want your winter cost to move with the weather. We take a limited number of drives so the route holds up through a long storm cycle. That is why new customers get set up in the fall. Call (802) 681-6842 and we will get your drive on the list.
Free, no-obligation estimates across the VT · NY · MA tri-state corner.
(802) 681-6842From the first look at the site to the last pass of finish grade, here is exactly how it goes.
We come out and read the ground: the slope, the water, the access, and whether ledge is likely. What you want done, what is worth doing, and what the job really takes. Nothing gets quoted blind over the phone.
You get a free estimate with a real number and a real window. It covers what is included, and it holds unless the ground changes the scope. If rock shows up mid dig, you hear about it that day.
The machine shows up when we said it would, and the person running it is the person you talked to. The work follows the plan: the permit design on a septic job, the grade plan on a pad, the pitch on a drain.
Backfill goes in compacted, grades pitch away from the house, and topsoil comes back where it belongs. We look at the finished work with you, and done means you say it is done.
Common questions about snow plowing across the VT · NY · MA tri-state corner. Yours not here? Call and ask us directly.
We install new septic systems and full replacements across the tri-state corner. Tank, drain field, pipe and final grade, all built to the licensed design on your permit.
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Septic system repair for older rural systems around Bennington and the tri-state corner. We find why it backed up, then repair the tank, the line, or the field.
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We clear overgrown lots and acreage so the land can be used again. Brush, saplings, stumps, and old fence line come out. What is left is ready for a build site or pasture.
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Forestry mulching grinds standing brush and small trees into a layer of mulch. One machine does the cutting and the cleanup. The ground stays covered and the wood stays on your land.
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We handle grading and site preparation across the tri-state corner. That means building pads, foundation digs, driveway subgrade, and regrading a yard so water runs away from the house.
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French drains, curtain drains, yard drains and culverts that move snowmelt and storm runoff away from the house. We dig below frost depth and pitch every line so it keeps working.
View DetailsOne company handles your job from the first call to the finished grade. The estimate, the schedule and the digging all come from the same shop, so you always know who to call.
Clearing, the septic system, the pad, the drainage and the driveway can run as one job with one schedule. For timber frames and pools, longtime partner builders join the same plan.
Every estimate comes from looking at the actual ground. Ledge, slope, water and access set the real cost of dirt work here, so we look first and the number holds.
Ledge near the surface, frost four feet down, mud season every April. Work here has to be planned for what the ground does in March, and ours is.
A septic system that needs to go in, a lot to clear, a wet yard, or a driveway that will not survive another spring? Call or send the form. We look at the site with you and price the job from what is actually in the ground.
Tell us about your project and we will get right back to you.
