I still remember last year’s biggest snowstorm. It was a doozie. The snowfall made it impossible to see where the yard stopped and the driveway – or even the street – began. It seemed that the whole world was buried under a downy blanket of snow. It was beautiful – and intimidating. I had to go to work.
Knowing I’d be spending much of the morning clearing the driveway and walks before going to work, I got up early and fried some eggs and bacon. I sat down and began seasoning my eggs. I was gently tapping the salt shaker when my wife barged into the kitchen, franticly mumbling something about her “stupid” alarm clock.
“Have you salted the driveway?” she asked, pulling her blazer up over her shoulders.
Wait, what? It took a moment for my early-morning brain to stretch beyond the simple thought of a tasty breakfast. I’m salting my eggs. Why would I want to salt the driveway? I’m not THAT hungry.
I looked up at her as my upper lip stretched into an Elvis-esque sneer. “Say wahhh?” I winced.
“Have you shoveled the driveway and salted? You know how slick it gets.”
“Oh, uh yeah. I mean, no. No, not yet. I was just gonna eat first,” I gestured to my plate.
My wife eyed the omelet like it was my old girlfriend.
“Well, I have to go in early today, so I hope I can get down the hill alright.”
In other words, breakfast can wait. Time to trade my fork for the snow shovel. (Thank goodness for microwave ovens.)
Our driveway is on an incline, so if the car starts sliding, it will slide right into the road. If a car happens to be passing at the time, well, let’s just say there’s no ‘merging’ lane.
After working up a considerable sweat – and appetite – I was able to safely see my wife off to work. I wouldn’t be far behind, but first, I’d warm up some bacon and eggs.
Most mornings aren’t quite this hectic, but we’d grown accustomed to altering our schedules in order to deal with the weather. But if a surprise storm hit, or we didn’t get up early enough to deal with the snow, well, it seems that we’d spend the entire day trying to catch up.
Given the layout of our driveway, and how it spills out onto the road below, I can’t think of a better solution than that of installing a radiant heated driveway. Truth is, some neighbors of mine have a heated driveway. Every morning after a storm, I drive past their house and I envy their clear – dry – driveway. Apparently, they also have radiant heat installed under their front steps and porch. It sure stands out in the neighborhood. I’m sure that Jared enjoys watching everyone else shovel and plow their driveways. Yeah, while everyone else is salting and shoveling their driveway, he’s probably salting his eggs and shoveling them into his mouth.
After talking with Jared about his heated driveway, I was convinced that my wife and I needed to install one. In addition to being fully automated, heated driveways are also maintenance free. The efficiency, and everything else about these systems sounded too good to pass up. And given our driveway incline, it seemed like an obvious solution to an obvious problem.
I also learned that heated driveways can be customized to meet whatever needs we have. Whether it’s for layout needs or budget constraints, these systems can be tailored explicitly to match the precise needs of each customer.
Initially, I wasn’t sure how to best heat the driveway, but Warmzone gave us some great money-saving options. My wife and I were excited to find an option that still made the driveway safe during the winter, but also resulted in a lower installation cost as well as a lower operating cost. We chose to install heated tire tracks.
The heated tire tracks extended along the length of the driveway. (Each heating mat heated an area 24-inches wide. The mats feature pre-spaced heat cable that is easily rolled out during the installation.) Near the end of the driveway, near the road, we heated most of the area.
Having an asphalt driveway made it pretty easy for us to retrofit our existing driveway with radiant heat. The ClearZone heating mats were laid out over the area to be heated, and then secured to the asphalt. Then a new layer of asphalt was applied.
Warmzone provided all the technical support and training we needed. If there was ever a question, the electrician could immediately call Warmzone and get the issue resolved. The free installation training was especially beneficial. This was one of the best home upgrades we’ve done. Since installing the heated driveway, my wife and I have enjoyed eating our breakfasts together. I no longer get a raised eyebrow when I’m enjoying my bacon and eggs. And as for the salt, well, it just stays on the eggs.
