FAQ
Snow removal FAQ, answered without the sales language
This snow removal FAQ answers 26 questions people actually ask before hiring a snow contractor in Ottawa: prices, the 5cm trigger, the city windrow, the 275cm coverage figure, and what happens when things go wrong — including the ones most companies would rather field on the phone than publish.
- Pricing answered with real numbers
- The trigger and the coverage cap, stated
- What happens when things go wrong
- No answer that needs a phone call to decode
PRICING
Snow removal FAQ: pricing and plans
Season passes start at $499 for a one-car driveway and run to $799 for a three-car one. One-time clearing runs $49 to $99 per visit. Both are before HST, and both are the same anywhere within 20 km of our Barrhaven base.
A season pass is cheaper once the winter brings more visits than the break-even, which is about 8 visits for a two-car driveway. To find your own figure, divide the season price by the one-time price for your driveway size. Above that number the pass costs less; below it, one-time clearing does.
Our prices are before tax. Every figure on this site is pre-HST, which is added at 13% on your invoice. For Aylmer and Hull addresses, GST and QST are added instead of HST. We present it that way because it is how the quotes you are comparing us against are presented.
No. The price in your agreement is fixed for the season it covers. The only thing that changes it is you changing the service — adding salting mid-winter, for example. How much it snows does not change it, including past the 275cm coverage figure.
No, your postal code does not change the price. Inside 20 km of our Barrhaven base there is one price list, with no zones and no travel charge. Your postal code only tells the calculator whether you are inside that line, and whether to add HST or, for Aylmer and Hull, GST and QST. Past the line it offers a callback instead of a price.
No, commercial properties are quoted one by one. Lots, loading areas and commercial walkways vary far too much for a driveway-size table to be honest about. Send the address and we will quote it properly.
THE SERVICE
What is included
The driveway to its full width and down to the pavement, the walkway and the steps to the door, and the windrow the city plow leaves across the driveway — all on the same visit. Salting is the only piece charged separately.
Yes, the windrow — the ridge of packed snow the city plow leaves across the end of your driveway — is in the base price on every plan. The City of Ottawa confirms that clearing it is the property owner’s responsibility, and it usually arrives after your driveway has been done — so on a season pass, if the plow comes back, we come back. City of Ottawa — winter maintenance
No, we clear the driveway, walkway and windrow only. Roof snow and off-site hauling are different jobs with different equipment and different insurance, and we would rather not offer them than offer them badly.
Salting is charged per application so it only happens when it helps. Salting a surface that does not need it is a cost with no benefit, and repeated over-salting damages concrete and the lawn edges it runs off into. Charging per application means it happens when it helps.
Priority dispatch changes two things: your trigger drops from 5cm to 2.5cm, and you move earlier in the route order. It costs more because it genuinely means more visits across a winter. Worth it for a steep driveway or a 5am shift; unnecessary for most.
STORMS
Storms and timing
The 5cm trigger means your property is dispatched automatically once 5cm of snow has accumulated. You do not call and you do not need to be home. The number is written into your agreement, so nobody is deciding after the fact whether a storm counted.
We go by Environment Canada’s Ottawa reporting, which is public and which you can check yourself. A trigger only settles arguments if both sides read the number from the same place. Environment Canada — Ottawa forecast
There is no fixed appointment time, because a storm does not keep one. Crews work overnight and into the early morning in route order, aiming to have driveways open before the commute.
During a long storm we clear once while it is still falling and return after it stops, rather than waiting for the end and leaving you stuck. That is one storm, not two charges, on a season pass.
On freezing rain we salt the walkway and steps, because ice does not respond to a plow. If your driveway is glazed rather than snow-covered, we will tell you plainly what we can and cannot fix.
We keep clearing at no additional charge. The 275cm figure is a coverage commitment stated up front, not a cut-off — and it is the single most useful clause to check on any snow contract you are offered.
WHEN THINGS GO WRONG
Problems and what happens next
We clear what we can reach and leave the rest. Tell us and we return at no charge once the vehicle has moved. A blocked visit is never counted as a completed clear — it is the most common problem and the easiest to avoid.
Call us and we come back to fix it. The callback is free and does not count against anything. A driveway you had to finish yourself was not cleared, and we would rather know than not.
If something is damaged, we tell you rather than waiting to be asked, and our commercial general liability cover is there for exactly that. Snow hides edging, downspouts and low walls. Ask to see that certificate before you sign — with us and with anyone else.
A bigger storm takes longer, so the last driveways on a route are cleared later. A thirty-centimetre night takes longer than a five-centimetre one, and the last property on a route feels it. Season passes hold their order. What we will not do is promise every driveway by the same hour regardless of how much fell.
SIGNING UP
Signing up and cancelling
Coverage runs October 15 to April 15. Sign-up opens in September and routes close before the first storm, because a route holds a fixed number of properties and cannot be stretched once winter starts.
Yes, but only if the route still has room, which frequently it does not. One-time bookings are usually still possible; a season pass in January depends entirely on capacity.
No. The calculator gives you a range immediately, and we confirm the property from satellite imagery or a drive past before anything is signed. Nobody stands in your driveway with a clipboard.
Yes. Before the first storm, cancelling is straightforward. Afterwards the route has been built around your property, so it depends where in the winter you are. Ask before you sign rather than after — and ask the same of anyone else you are considering.
We cover every postal code within 20 km of our Barrhaven base, Aylmer and Hull on the Quebec side included. Ten areas have their own pages: Ottawa, Kanata, Barrhaven, Nepean, Stittsville, Manotick, Westboro, Centretown, the Glebe and south Gloucester. Orléans, Carp, Kemptville, the farther parts of Gatineau and anywhere else past 20 km get a callback instead of a price. Enter your postal code in the calculator and it will tell you directly rather than making you call to find out.
STILL STUCK
Not answered here?
If this snow removal FAQ did not cover it, ask us directly. The phone reaches a person and the email gets read every business day. If your question is about price, the calculator will beat both of them by several minutes.
KEEP READING
Where to go next
Each of these covers one of the topics above in full rather than in summary.