Heated driveway spares post-blizzard workout
On a warm summer's day, when work on home improvement projects typically take place, $8,000 might seem an exorbitant amount to pay for a heated driveway.
But on Monday morning, Buffalo Grove resident Rob Sherman was looking like the industrious ant among fun-loving grasshoppers.
Sherman lives in the only single-family home in Buffalo Grove with a heated driveway, so after Sunday's snowstorm he was kicking back while many of his neighbors were digging out.
"I put it in two years ago," Sherman said. "All the teenagers come by to watch Mr. Sherman's driveway melt."
In stark contrast to the cars and chair sitting on it, there wasn't a flake of snow Monday morning on the 16- by 35-foot stretch of brick driveway.
The sidewalk and apron of the driveway aren't heated, as he wasn't allowed to tamper with the public right-of-way where the water main lies. Sherman hires a trio of teenagers from nearby to shovel that part.
Sherman believes he's been spared the removal of literally tons of snow over the last two years.
"I would have preferred to do the apron, but it's very understandable," Sherman said of wanting to extend the heated portion of his drive all the way to the street. "I don't own the public parkway."
Being 61 years old, Sherman said he's read a lot of news stories about people his age having heart attacks while shoveling snow.
And so his longtime wish for a heated driveway was at the forefront of his mind when it came time to redo his.
Part of the project cost included converting his property from a 100 amp to 200 amp electric system.
The work was done by Nick Mociran, owner of Nix Electric in Chicago, in conjunction with a landscaper.
Though the technology has been around for quite a while, such projects remain relatively rare among all the work Nix Electric does.
"We don't get a lot of orders because they're very costly," Mociran said.
The electric coils under the surface are activated when a sensor detects falling snow. The electricity stays on for a few hours after the last snow has fallen, to ensure the surface stays clear.
While Mociran believes the system would work under concrete as well, brick is preferred for its effectiveness.
Buffalo Grove Building Commissioner Brian Sheehan confirmed that Sherman's is the only permit for driveway work at a single-family house in the village that included the electric coils.
"It's not a thing a lot of builders were offering when the houses were built," Sheehan said.
In Buffalo Grove, the permit for driveway reconstruction cost only $25 when Sherman's driveway was installed, but went up to $50 last year.
The Indian Trails Library in nearby Wheeling has a heated front walkway, keeping it free of snow during Sunday's blizzard, Library Director Brian Shepard said.
Usually the convenience receives very little mention, but on Sunday it led some patrons to believe the blizzard-closed building was really open, Shepard said.
Though it's cost-prohibitive to extend the heating system beneath the sidewalk the runs along the side of the building, the intention was to keep a clear path from the parking lot curb to the front door and automated book drop.
Having joined the Indian Trails Library in 2013, Shepard said he wasn't sure exactly how long it's been in place, but said his previous workplace - the Arlington Heights Memorial Library - has a similar amenity.