Stock Pileing Sand....

[JDGreenGrass]

Bah Humbug! Just move south and when someone mentions ice outside of the context of a drink order or a fishing trip, put on a heavy coat and lock yourself inside for 10 hours.

Nope, not this guy.

Me love winter and me hate summer.!!

 

[Gordon Gould]

I live at the end of a one mile woods road which is quite hilly. I can't plow it down to gravel because of the roughness and protruding rocks so I make a snow road which becomes an ice road several times each winter. Sometimes ice like a bottle.
I never feel the need for sand. We have never had a problem getting in or out. I run studded snows on the wife's CRV and my 4X Tacoma. Use chains on the plow truck and tractor. You do have to learn how to drive on it though and I have no dangerous places. The worst that can happen is end up in the snow bank. However, we don't get many visitors in winter which is fine.

 

[Ford tractor]

Bah Humbug! Just move south and when someone mentions ice outside of the context of a drink order or a fishing trip, put on a heavy coat and lock yourself inside for 10 hours.

I can't speak for you, but it's far easier for me to deal with the cold. I can put a log on the fire, grab a blanket and snuggle under it with a special someone, wear a set of long underwear, a scarf, a warm hat, gloves, etc. It's easy to go out at daybreak and spend the day outside at -20F working hard. When it's over 90 degrees or 90% humidity, I can't do anything but pant like a dog and sweat like a pig. Thankfully, we don't get many days like that. And trust me, when it's hot like that, snuggling with a special someone is WAY down on the list, so I'm glad we don't have many days like that!

 

[MikeInEburg]

Like an earlier poster mentioned - I'd use fine gravel instead of sand. Less likely to freeze solid. Less likely to be tracked into the house. Digs into ice better.
Mike

 

[Cat_Driver]

Thinking outside the "box" depending on how much you want to spread use salt.
They also gave some salt spreaders.

BEFCO - Products - Fertilizer spreaders - Baby-Hop

BEFCO - Products - Fertilizer spreaders - Hop

When I used to snow plow commercially as a perk I used to give salt to my customers. I don't know what it cost now a days but with a spreader on those bad days it should do the trick.

Lastly you could run sand and or salt through these spreaders, and maybe even a mix.

Anyway, just a thought.

 

[Gods Country]

I'll be trying to stockpile some myself this winter.
I purchased 1 1/4 tons of gravel/sand mix (called anti skid around here) that a local gravel pit manufactures for Penndot. I live on the north facing side of the mt. and don't see direct sun around the house from about Sept till May. It gets icy and stays icy for months.

Currently I have it stored in an old bed liner and truck cap combo with a tarp for good measure. It's about 400 yards from the house where we get sun during the winter so hopefully it will stay useable. I purchased it over a month with good ventilation hoping it would dry enough to keep from readily freezing. If it works out I'll probably make something more permanent next year.

For the tricky spots on my lane I have a few 55 gal drums with ash from the wood stove strategically placed, but I want to use the sand for 50 yards or so around the house, so we don't track all that crap into the house.

Wish me luck.

 

[rekees4300]

I am thinking about haveing some sand on hand for the winter months here in central Maine.

Question....If there is no salt in the sand, will it freeze.?? Which brings me to this question....I wonder if I can get sand with salt.??.....

It would be used for the storms that bring that crappy snow, rain, ice mix that kills the elbow when you go down un-expectedly.

I am sure there is an answer from someone.

Thanks.

I stack a pile of gravel next to the lane and cover with a tarp. Put rocks on top to prevent tarp from blowing away. You have to keep it dry or the pile turns into a giant ice cube. When lane becomes icy just peel back the tarp and start shoveling. This year I decided to harvest some sand from a creek that runs through my property. Bought 100 sandbags ($33) from Amazon. Now have 17 bags full of sand stored in the shed to be used as needed. Bags are made of woven polypropylene that doesn't leak.

Amazon.com: Polypropylene Sand Bag 14" X 26" with tie string (100 bags): Home Improvement

 

[HenRut]

I don't know, guys. I'm in rural Central Mass. and it gets pretty cold here... maybe not as cold as northern Maine or Vermont, but cold enough at 1,000 feet to have a 48" frost level. Our little town uses a salt/sand mix on the roads and provides a nice pile of it free for its townsfolk. This pile, at the town yard, is uncovered and exposed to whatever the sky drops on it and it's never froze in at least the three years I've been mining it. No heat. No tarp. Exposed. Maybe there's a special ratio to salt to sand, but freezing solid has never been a problem.

 

[dodge man]

I had a pile of sand at one time, and I don't remember it ever frezzing. Maybe when it gets really cold it would, but I can't remember. It seems like if its really cold, I don't have to worry about freezing rain, just the snow.

 

[Bill Hoffman]

I get a trailer load of sand and dump rock salt or other
de-icer on top of the pile. The salt will leach down through
the pile. Never had it freeze to the point it was unusable.

We're in NE Connecticut. Not a whole lot of snow, but it
does get pretty cold.

Bill