Creating a Winter Driveway Maintenance Plan: Template for Waterloo Region Homeowners

A winter plan works best when it is written down before the first storm, on one page, with the blanks filled in. This template walks you through six decisions for a Waterloo Region driveway: what to clear, who does it, when, where the snow goes, what goes on the ice and who covers when you cannot.

Share feedback

Name every area, then decide who clears it

Start with a rough sketch of the property. Then write down each area by name: the driveway, the apron, the front walk, the steps and landing, the path to the side door, the approach to the mailbox, the bin pad and the strip where the street plow leaves its ridge. An area that is not named is an area nobody clears.

Fill in one row per area. A mixed plan is common, such as a contractor for the driveway and you for the steps.

One way the page could read

Here is an illustration of a completed page for an ordinary suburban home. Yours will differ.

• Driveway and ridge: a contractor, on the visit that follows the street plow.
• Front walk, steps and landing: the homeowner, with a shovel and a scraper, before leaving for work.
• Path to the side door: a teenager on weekends, with sand kept in a bucket by the door.
• Trigger: the contractor's written trigger for the driveway, and a shovel pass on the steps after any snowfall.
• Ice control: sand on the steps, and a thin dusting of a cold-rated product on the walk before dark after a mild afternoon.
• Backup: a neighbour with a key to the shed, the contractor's number and a note on the fridge.

Set a trigger and a finish time

Write two lines: clear when the snow reaches ___ cm or ice forms, and finish by ___ a.m. Choose your own numbers, using three rules.

• Low enough that snow does not pack into ice under boots and tires.
• Low enough on steps and walks, since that is where people fall, and the driveway can wait a little longer.
• A finish time that matches the first person out the door.

If a contractor clears for you, each contract sets its own trigger. Get it in writing and copy it onto your page.

Plan where the snow goes, and where the meltwater leaves

• Mark storage spots on your sketch with an X, on lawn or beds and not on the road.
• Circle what must stay clear: furnace and dryer vents, the gas meter, a hydrant, the mailbox and the sight line at the driveway mouth.
• Note where each downspout empties, and where meltwater will run when the banks soften. Plan a channel to the lawn so it does not cross the walk.
• Set stakes along the edges and any raised covers before the ground freezes.

Choose ice control and a backup

If you would rather hand the driveway to a contractor, D&D Home Services offers snow removal from $80 per visit at typical Kitchener-Waterloo homes, with seasonal contracts on request and a free written quote. The snow removal contract guide lists what to read before you sign.

Set three review points

1. After the first real storm. Note what did not work, such as a pile in the wrong place or an icy step, and change the page.
2. Mid-winter. Recheck stakes, meltwater channels and downspout outlets, and refill the salt or sand.
3. In spring. Record any damage next to your fall photos, and decide whether to keep, change or drop each arrangement.

Print the page, and put a copy on the fridge and in your phone. Everyone who helps should have the same one. If a contractor clears for you, send them the sketch with the storage spots and the no-go areas marked, since that turns your plan into their instructions.

Devon Moore, Operations Lead Co-Founder & Operations Lead, D&D Home Services

Devon Moore is the co-founder and Operations Lead at D&D Home Services, with hands-on experience cleaning hundreds of homes across Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, and Guelph.