Per-Visit & On-Call Clearing · Cambridge
Per-Visit and On-Call Snow Clearing in Cambridge
Per-visit clearing is right for people who expect to call twice a winter. If you are calling every time, it is the slower and dearer way to buy the same thing.
Plenty of Cambridge households have no use for a seasonal contract. The flat subdivisions on the east side and the newer streets in north Hespeler are full of single and double drives that a snowblower handles in fifteen minutes, and the owner only wants a truck for the storm that buries the car, the fortnight in the sun, or a winter spent recovering from surgery. That is what on-call service is for.
The arrangement
- Book by phone or form, ahead of the storm where possible, which puts the address on that day's list.
- The drive, walk and steps are done to the scope agreed on the call, with ice control if asked for.
- Contract properties come first. They were booked in the autumn and the route was built around them, so an on-call address is reached after the route is finished. On an ordinary snowfall that is a short wait; on the storm of the year it may be the following day.
- The price is quoted per visit before the truck leaves, based on the size of the drive, its grade and how much has fallen.
Covering an absence
If the dates are known, the house can be placed on the route for just that window at a set price and cleared for every snowfall in it, sidewalk included so the 36-hour rule is met with nobody home. Owners with a house on the market over the winter use the same arrangement.
Windrow-only calls
A common request is the windrow alone: you cleared the drive, and the City plow or the court contractor came through a day or two later and left a compacted bank across the apron. Residential streets in Cambridge are plowed at typically 8 cm or more after the priority routes, so the windrow can arrive well after the storm. Call when it is there. It is a quick visit and priced as one.
Sloped drives
Per-visit on a steep drive is done properly or not at all: the full drive cleared and the foot ice-controlled. A quick pass that leaves a thin layer on a grade is more dangerous than leaving the snow, and we will not do it.
Knowing when it has stopped making sense
On-call is the dearer way to buy snow clearing and the slower one, and that is a fair trade for two visits a winter. By the third call before the end of January the arithmetic has turned, and the sensible move is to convert to a seasonal contract for the balance of the winter.
Frequently asked questions
How fast can you come for a one-off?
For a modest snowfall, often the day the call comes in. During a declared snow event, after the seasonal route has been completed, which may mean the next day. We do not name an hour, because in a storm there is no honest hour to name.
Is there a minimum charge?
There is. A truck and operator are making a dedicated trip for one address, and the minimum reflects that. The cost page gives planning ranges for on-call work.
Can you do just the windrow?
Yes. It is a common call and a quick visit. Call once the City plow has actually been through, since on many Cambridge residential streets that is a day or more after the snow stops.
Serving Cambridge and surrounding areas. Contact us for a no-obligation quote specific to your property.