Best way to remove 2 inches of ice from driveway?

Question

Went on a business trip (that is my excuse and I am sticking with it), came back and found 2 inches of ice (not snow) in drive way. Temparatures are 15-20 F (-5 to -10 C). Tried to break it with shovel and scoop it from below but too hard, I even thought of using a chisel and work on it until the summer (that is how big is the glacier in the driveway). There is a mailbox just outside and a lot of people pass by it. I am affraid someone will fall.

Answer 1

Salt..........lots of it............

Answer 2

You can purchase rock salt for just this occasion. Do it and break up the ice as you hear it cracking to remove it form the walking portion of your driveway and sidewalk. You will have people writing to tell you how bad the salt is for your concrete but it is not nearly as bad as being sued when someone falls in your driveway and at 20 degrees it shouldn't take more then a day to break it up in the worse areas.

Answer 3

Well, the quickest way is to attach a long garden hose to your nearest kitchen or bathroom sink and turn on the hot water. Just let it run and melt the top layer of ice. This will make the ice thinner and then you should be able to break up the rest with a shovel.

Tip: Do it NOW before someone slips and falls and sues you.

Answer 4

Easy answer: Call a company in your area that does snow removal.

Hard answer: If ice is brittle, chisel off a corner, get a flat shovel and wedge it underneath, start breaking off chunks from the bottom. (it is time consuming and back breaking but I have had to do this a few times.)

Answer 5

spread out some rock Salt and let it stand for awhile then come back later after the ice has stopped popping from the rock salt and get a square shovel to start breaking the ice down by chopping it away. That should help getting it going. Then repeat until you get the ice gone.

Answer 6

go to the local pool supply store and get some calcium clhoride
flakes (it's main purpose in life is to raise the calcium levels in cement pools, but it also is the best de-icer at more than half the price they sell at the hardware stores) enough to cover the area several times, use a spreader or simply spread by protected hands and wear a particle respirator (cheap dust mask, hey, i don't want to get sued or something). you know it's working because it will make popping noises.

Answer 7

We had that once. We got out the hammer, sledge hammer and ax and started wacking away! You can get big enough chunks to just toss to the "grass" area. My kids and I all had fun doing this. It's a great stress reliever.