Icy footpaths and estates

ge_ch

I decided to leave the car at home today and walk into town(from second sea road) and was amazed how the footpath on the whole way was covered in ice.
I think if everybody would do as much as clear the fresh snow infront of the house before it freezes or is tramped down, or even just throw a bit of salt, it would be very helpful.
We cant expect sligo coco to do everything, they have enough to do gritting the roads so we should all pull together and do our bits. plus half an hour spent outside with shovel and broom keeps us healthy aswell and prevents accidents.

starbelgrade

Have you actually tried clearing your footpath in the last week? I did - our mains water pipe had frozen over, so I'd to locate the stopcock in order to defrost it & get the water running into the house... It was no easy task I tell you - yr talking about 5mm or more of solid ice.. not easily removed by a shovel - some bits I had to take a hammer to. It took a few hours to clear half the path.

The path's now clear, but if I didn't have to clear it, I would have had more pressing things to take care of, like getting the heating back on, going to work, doing the shopping, cook some food, have a shower (at last!) & oh yes, having a bit of time to relax or enjoy myself.

Tip = If yr walking on ice, put some thick socks on over yr shoes to get some grip (on the ice that is, not on your perspective of it).

darealtulip

13 euro for a bag of 25 kg salt down here! My mother (not only my maw but every one) in Rotterdam gets it free from the council. But then we might be a bit more used to this type of weather.

Cork4ever

ge_ch wrote: »

I decided to leave the car at home today and walk into town(from second sea road) and was amazed how the footpath on the whole way was covered in ice.
I think if everybody would do as much as clear the fresh snow infront of the house before it freezes or is tramped down, or even just throw a bit of salt, it would be very helpful.
We cant expect sligo coco to do everything, they have enough to do gritting the roads so we should all pull together and do our bits. plus half an hour spent outside with shovel and broom keeps us healthy aswell and prevents accidents.

At last some common sense from Someone, i couldn't agree more with ya, In Canada if you don't clear the area outside your house/business you will get a summons....

magnumlady

I heard years ago (might not be true at all) that if you cleared your pathway and someone slipped you would be responsible.

darealtulip

magnumlady wrote: »

I heard years ago (might not be true at all) that if you cleared your pathway and someone slipped you would be responsible.

It's an urban myth which you hear a lot around england. Not that I'm that wise myself just heard it on the BBC news yesterday.

ge_ch

starbelgrade wrote: »

Have you actually tried clearing your footpath in the last week? I did - our mains water pipe had frozen over, so I'd to locate the stopcock in order to defrost it & get the water running into the house... It was no easy task I tell you - yr talking about 5mm or more of solid ice.. not easily removed by a shovel - some bits I had to take a hammer to. It took a few hours to clear half the path.

The path's now clear, but if I didn't have to clear it, I would have had more pressing things to take care of, like getting the heating back on, going to work, doing the shopping, cook some food, have a shower (at last!) & oh yes, having a bit of time to relax or enjoy myself.


Tip = If yr walking on ice, put some thick socks on over yr shoes to get some grip (on the ice that is, not on your perspective of it).

yes i did clear it as soon as it snowed down and before everybody tramped it down. i did not wait until it became an ice block because its too late by then, and nearly impossible like you pointed out.
i think lots of people assume throwing salt is enough. its true it helps preventing from ice to a certain point, but if you dont clear the soggy wet snow away, all that will freeze again over night and make things even worse.
im sorry to hear about your water pipe, lots of my friends have no water either and they had no electricity at christmas day.

i have to do all the housework myself and work full time half an hour away from town so i dont have all day to sit around for myself, but because i spent half an hour the first day of snow and a few minutes and a bit of salt the days after outside, i saved myself and my neighbours a lot of hassle.
if its done right at the start it wont be much time consuming after.
i hear so many people moaning that they cant leave the estates, and we spend so much time with gardening every summer and nobody is complaining about that, so why is it such a big deal to clear the snow from the front of the house?

thanks for the tip. i was vell prepared with good boots and managed ok(with a few slips here and there). i grew up in europe near the alpes, well used to it.

just wanted to make a point how we could make things a lot easier with a bit of effort before something bad(ie.broken bones, car accidents) happens.

ge_ch

darealtulip wrote: »

13 euro for a bag of 25 kg salt down here! My mother (not only my maw but every one) in Rotterdam gets it free from the council. But then we might be a bit more used to this type of weather.

well its not every year this happens. wonder is that the effect of global warming?
i believe it wold be worth for the irish governement to work out some plan in case it happens more often now. first the floods, now the snow and freezing temperatures...

if you are stuck for salt you can use ashes or cat litter. bit messy but helps

gqma0

Our estate is really bad and nothing and ice is piling up on the road with people defrosting their car windows with buckets of water.

Can beach sand be used to grit the grounds ? I'd assume so but someone said it won't work. Please, confirm

Cheers.

ge_ch

it wont melt the ice or prevent from freezing but it will help in the way of giving you more grip for walking or driving on the ice.

the only thing that can clear all that ice now is warm weather or a hammer, its too late to do much about it

magnumlady

gqma0 wrote: »

Our estate is really bad and nothing and ice is piling up on the road with people defrosting their car windows with buckets of water.

Can beach sand be used to grit the grounds ? I'd assume so but someone said it won't work. Please, confirm

Cheers.

I heard a councillor on Mid West radio saying they should be able to use beach sand so I presume it works.

When I lived in the UK there were big containers at the end of every street with grit in them. When it got icy people could take what they needed for their paths.

Neonjack

A guy asked a question on Matt Cooper yesterday about this. Many people pay management companies for the upkeep of common areas in estates and apartment blocks these days. Are these companies responsible for gritting the roads and footpaths in the estate? I didn't get to hear any answer to the question and wondered if anyone knows what the story is?

darealtulip

ge_ch wrote: »

well its not every year this happens.

OK fair point!

lubie76

Neonjack wrote: »

A guy asked a question on Matt Cooper yesterday about this. Many people pay management companies for the upkeep of common areas in estates and apartment blocks these days. Are these companies responsible for gritting the roads and footpaths in the estate? I didn't get to hear any answer to the question and wondered if anyone knows what the story is?

We pay a hefty management fee to a company who arrived up the morning after that discussion on the Last Word. The next thing a tractor arrived in the estate with some kind of contraption on the front of it which only worsened the problem by compacting the fresh snow into ice on all the roads.
Good to see our hard earned money is being put to good use :rolleyes:

gqma0

Got a reply from my county council.

"The removal of sand from a beach is not something we would encourage but in the circumstances we would not object to your taking some sand from the beach for gritting purposes, provided you do not cause any damage or interference with sand dunes."

tedshredsonfire

gqma0 wrote: »

Got a reply from my county council.

"The removal of sand from a beach is not something we would encourage but in the circumstances we would not object to your taking some sand from the beach for gritting purposes, provided you do not cause any damage or interference with sand dunes."

Its under the foreshore act we really are not to take anything away from the foreshore. Imagine the state of the beaches if everyone went down there for their sand so I'd say they would be turning a blind eye to it as long as people don't take the piss.

blues2

lubie76 wrote: »

We pay a hefty management fee to a company who arrived up the morning after that discussion on the Last Word. The next thing a tractor arrived in the estate with some kind of contraption on the front of it which only worsened the problem by compacting the fresh snow into ice on all the roads.
Good to see our hard earned money is being put to good use :rolleyes:

This indicates that the management company are responsible for clearing the estate public areas. Would they be responsible if you slipped and injured yourself? Would this come from the public liability insurance they have?

Son Of A Vidic

My In-laws are in a private estate in Sligo, roads and paths there are lethal. I've told them not to give another penny to the Gob$hites in the Residents association, who should be organising gritting/salting etc. I advise the same to any of you in the same situation.

tedshredsonfire

medicman2009 wrote: »

My In-laws are in a private estate in Sligo, roads and paths there are lethal. I've told them not to give another penny to the Gob$hites in the Residents association, who should be organising gritting/salting etc. I advise the same to any of you in the same situation.

Medic if its a private esate with a mangement co running it then fair enough if its a residents comittee then jesus cut them some slack they are volunteers trying to better their community if you really feel they are gob****es then jon them and steer the direction of the residnets committee. At least they are trying.

sold

ge_ch wrote: »

I think if everybody would do as much as clear the fresh snow infront of the house before it freezes or is tramped down, or even just throw a bit of salt, it would be very helpful.

In America you can be sued if someone falls on Ice infront of your house. You are totally right, all its takes is a quick 10 min brush/shovel to get rid of ICE/Snow infront of your house.

Son Of A Vidic

tedshredsonfire wrote: »

Medic if its a private esate with a mangement co running it then fair enough if its a residents comittee then jesus cut them some slack they are volunteers trying to better their community if you really feel they are gob****es then jon them and steer the direction of the residnets committee. At least they are trying.

Eh, I don't live there the In-laws do, so I won't be joining the Muppet brigade! The Residents association members passionately 'stalk' the area during the summer for grass cutting fees and flower beds. No sign of them now when you have elderly residents being put in extreme danger with lethal roads and footpaths. If they were trying I wouldn't be posting this

starbelgrade

sold wrote: »

all its takes is a quick 10 min brush/shovel to get rid of ICE/Snow infront of your house.

B*llox.. it took me a few hours to clear part of our path to find the mains water stopcock when it froze over. We weren't home over the Christmas & the snow had frozen solid - I'd to use a hammer to get some of it up.

ge_ch

starbelgrade wrote: »

B*llox.. it took me a few hours to clear part of our path to find the mains water stopcock when it froze over. We weren't home over the Christmas & the snow had frozen solid - I'd to use a hammer to get some of it up.

like i already said it took me 10 min every time the snow was fresh and my footpath was clear ever since
i helped some of my neighbours last friday to clear their footpaths, and that took us an hour because it was solid ice from everybody walking over it
if its done early enough it saves you a lot of trouble later

Xiney

to get rid of thick ice, the best thing to have in your arsenal is a heavy (think old) spade.

Just smash the point vertically into the ice about 3-5cm from your leading edge and clear away the broken bits. Don't bother attacking from the side like you're shovelling. Futile.



It is a lot easier if you just clear away the snow as soon as it lands of course.


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starbelgrade

My footpath is now clear of ice... zero effort required!