Snow Plowing, Salting & Ice Control in Durham, NC
Snow Removal In Durham, NC
Hunter Excavating is a veteran-owned company based right here in Durham, and we clear snow and ice for homeowners, businesses, and property managers across the Triangle. We run heavy equipment year round for grading and excavation work, so when a storm comes through we are not out looking for a plow to rent. We handle plowing, salting, sidewalk clearing, and pre-storm prep. Owner Kendrick Hunter and our crew hold a 5.0-star rating across more than 160 Google reviews, and winter work gets the same treatment as everything else we do. We show up, we do the job, and we clean up behind us. We serve Durham and the nearby towns, including Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, and Mebane.
Winter Around Here Is An Ice Problem
Durham does not get buried the way Buffalo does. What we get is trickier. Two inches falls on a Sunday, half of it melts by mid-afternoon, and then the temperature drops and your parking lot turns into a sheet of ice overnight. Ice storms do more damage in central North Carolina than snow ever does.
The other issue is that almost nobody here is set up for it. The city plows main roads and that is about where it stops. Side streets, business lots, apartment complexes, and private driveways are on their own. If you run a business, an iced-over sidewalk is your liability, and "it hardly ever snows here" is not much of a defense after someone falls. That is why we put a plan in place before the forecast turns, not the morning of.
Snow Plowing In Durham, NC
We plow commercial lots, apartment and HOA properties, private roads, and residential driveways. Our skid steers and loaders are the same machines we use for grading, and they handle a gravel driveway or a tight lot without tearing up the surface underneath.
Where the snow goes matters more than most people realize. Pile it at the low end of a lot and you get meltwater running across the drive lane, which freezes overnight and puts you right back where you started. Pile it in front of a storm drain and you have a flooded lot when it thaws. We look at how your property drains before the first push, which is straightforward for us since drainage is a big part of what Hunter Excavating does the rest of the year.
For long gravel driveways, which there are plenty of out toward Hillsborough and the county line, we set the blade so it moves snow without dragging your gravel into the yard.
Salting And Ice Control
Plowing gets the snow off. Salt is what keeps the surface from freezing back over, and around here that second part is usually the bigger job.
We apply salt to parking lots, drive lanes, walkways, entrances, and loading areas. Ideally we treat the surface before the storm arrives, because a pre-treated lot never bonds the ice to the pavement in the first place and takes a lot less work to clear. If we could not get out ahead of it, we salt after plowing instead.
One thing worth knowing: standard rock salt stops working well once the pavement drops below roughly 15 to 20 degrees. When the forecast runs that cold we switch to a treated product that keeps working at lower temperatures. We will tell you what your property needs rather than dumping the same material on every job.
Sidewalk And Walkway Clearing
Most winter injury claims do not happen in the parking lot. They happen on the ten feet of sidewalk between the car and the front door.
Plows cannot reach those spots, so we send a hand crew with shovels, blowers, and spreaders. We clear building entrances, sidewalks, steps, handicap ramps, fire exits, dumpster pads, and the paths between buildings on multi-building properties. Steps and ramps get salted heavily because that is where people slip.
If you manage a retail center, a medical office, a church, or an apartment community, this is the part you want handled first thing in the morning, before anyone shows up. Tell us what time your doors open and we will work backward from that.
Pre-Storm Preparation
The work that makes a storm easy happens weeks before the storm.
Before winter sets in, we walk your property with you and mark the things a plow operator cannot see once there is snow on the ground: curb edges, drain covers, sprinkler heads, speed bumps, parking blocks, and anything low that a blade could catch. We stake them out.
We also map where snow gets stacked so it is out of the way of traffic, parking, fire lanes, and drains, and we check that your existing drainage can actually handle the melt. If a catch basin is clogged with leaves in November, you will find out the hard way in January. We would rather clear it now.
Then we lay out the plan on paper. What trigger depth starts a plow, who we call, which areas get salted first, and what happens if the storm lands on a Sunday night. When the forecast finally turns, nobody is figuring it out over the phone.
Residential And Commercial Snow Removal
We work for both, and the jobs look different.
Homeowners usually want the driveway and the walk to the front door cleared so they can get to work and the mail carrier can get to the box. Steep driveways and long gravel drives are the ones people call about most, because those are the ones a shovel will not fix.
Commercial and property management clients need more: the lot open before employees arrive, entrances and sidewalks safe, and documentation of when the work was done. We can set up a seasonal agreement so your property is on the route automatically every time a storm hits, or handle it per storm if you would rather pay as you go.
Why People In Durham Call Us
We are a small, veteran-owned outfit. When you call, you are dealing with Kendrick and the crew who actually run the machines, not a call center in another state that signed up half the county and cannot get to any of it.
We own our equipment and we maintain it ourselves, which matters in winter when every rental yard within fifty miles is already picked clean. We are licensed and insured. We show up when we say we will. That 5.0 rating across 160-plus Google reviews came from doing the ordinary things consistently, and we would like to keep it.
Call (336) 988-7585 or request a free quote. We will come look at the property, walk through what it needs, and give you a real number with no pressure to sign anything.
Areas We Serve
We are based at 1904 Front St, Durham, NC 27705, and we cover Durham and the surrounding Triangle, including Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Mebane, Morrisville, and Research Triangle Park. In Durham we work throughout Downtown, Hope Valley, Southpoint, Duke Forest, Brightleaf, Woodcroft, Treyburn, and the surrounding county. If you are not sure whether you are in our range, call and ask. Usually you are.
Snow Removal Questions We Hear A Lot
How Much Does Snow Removal In Durham, NC Cost?
It comes down to the size of the surface, how it is laid out, and whether you want a seasonal agreement or per-storm service. A residential driveway is a quick visit. A retail lot with sidewalks, multiple entrances, and a fire lane takes a crew and a few hours. We quote on site, so call (336) 988-7585 and we will take a look and give you a number.
Do You Offer Seasonal Contracts Or Just Per-Storm Service?
Both. A seasonal agreement puts you on the route automatically so you are not calling us at 5 a.m. with everyone else. Per-storm works fine for homeowners and properties that only need help once or twice a winter. We will tell you honestly which one makes more sense for you.
How Soon After A Storm Will You Get To My Property?
That depends on how much fell, how many properties are on the route, and whether roads are passable. Seasonal contract clients get priority. When we take on your property we will tell you where you sit in the order, so you are not guessing.
Do You Salt Before A Storm Or Only After?
Both, and before is better. Pre-treating keeps ice from bonding to the pavement, which makes the whole job faster and the surface safer. When the forecast gives us enough warning, we would rather get out ahead of it.
Will Your Plow Damage My Gravel Driveway?
Not if it is set right. We plow gravel drives regularly and we run the blade high enough to move snow without scraping stone into the grass. We build gravel driveways the rest of the year, so we are not going to tear one up over the winter.
What If We Get Freezing Rain Instead Of Snow?
Call us anyway. Ice storms are common in this part of North Carolina, and there is often nothing to plow but plenty to treat. Salting and ice control are a separate service, and for a lot of Durham properties they matter more than plowing.
Do You Handle Storm Cleanup Too?
Yes. Ice takes down limbs and whole trees around here, and we already do tree removal and storm cleanup. If a storm leaves you with both a blocked driveway and a pine across the yard, one crew can handle it.
Are You Licensed And Insured?
Yes. Ask that of anyone you let operate equipment on your property. If an uninsured contractor damages your lot or gets hurt on site, that tends to become your problem.
