TERMS, CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS – The contract is for the 2023-2024 winter season commencing on November 1, 2023 and terminating on April 1, 2024. 

The contractor will provide the customer with snow blowing services as an independent contractor in accordance with the following terms, conditions and limitations: 

The Contractor will be responsible for removing from the hirer’s driveway any snowfall that has an accumulation of more than 5cm (2 inches). Any snowfall that is less than 5cm (2 inches) is the responsibility of the customer. 

Service Expectations:

Snow blowing will not start until 5cm of snow has accumulated on the ground. If we receive 5cm to 10cm of snow during the evening or late at night and the City of Ottawa plows are scheduled to go out early the following morning, we reserve the right to wait to complete one pass until after they have completed clearing your street. 

The Contractor will clean the driveway at all hours of the day and night. Unfortunately, it is not possible to guarantee an exact time when we will be there as we can never tell when the snow will begin. 

The contractor will have the driveway cleaned 7 days a week including Christmas and New Years. The contractor will return for city plow-ins and final clean-up from each snow fall. 

Snow removal will be carried out in the form of snow blowing from the designated area, and relocated onto the homeowner’s property. It is the homeowner’s responsibility to manage the height of the snow pile. Snow will only be relocated to the property it is being cleared from. 

Note that removing snowfall of more than 5cm does not mean that the hirer’s driveway will be completely free of ice and snow after each visit. The purpose of the service is to provide access to get in and out of the customer’s driveway. The full-size tractors and blowers used for snow removal are very heavy and can cause some snow and ice to bond to driveways. If the customer wants their driveway to be completely free of ice and snow throughout the winter, this will require some hand shoveling as well as salt or ice melt applications. Contact us for pricing – which includes delivery – of Postcard Perfect Ice Melt.

In the event that vehicles are parked in the driveway the contractor will only remove snow from the accessible areas opening onto the street and only return to clean up where the car was parked if a complete second pass is planned. We will not dispatch tractors for moved cars once the snow event has finished and tractors have been sent back to our yard. 

The Contractor will do their best to get as close as possible to both your garage door as well as the driveway markers, but some snow will be left behind. We expect tractor operators to get within 24” of your garage door and 6” of driveway markers. The remaining snow will need to be removed by the homeowner.

The contractor will supply and install a minimum of 2 blue markers on each side of the driveway. If the markers are damaged by the customer or the contractor, it is the responsibility of the customer to fix the marker or notify the contractor for repair or replacement.  

Potential Overages and Fuel Surcharges:

This contract covers a total accumulation of 300cm of snow. This total is calculated using Environment Canada’s records from the Ottawa International Airport. If the seasonal snowfall exceeds 300cms the customer agrees to pay a surcharge which will be calculated by comparing the amount of extra snow received and the original contracted price. Divide your pre-tax contract total by 300 to get your surcharge price per cm. See chart below for reference.

The Contractor reserves the right to implement a fuel surcharge at any time throughout the season if the price of diesel exceeds $2.35/L in Ottawa as reported by Natural Resources Canada. This figure represents a roughly 30% increase above the posted price as of August 14, 2023. The surcharge will be calculated by taking your per cm overage price and multiplying it by the amount of accumulation in a given storm and then multiplying this figure by 0.25 (For example, if your per cm overage price is $1.75 and we receive 20 cm of snow, the fuel surcharge for that storm would be $8.75).

Moveable Objects and Obstructions:

The customer understands that it is his or her responsibility to not leave any movable objects such as garbage cans, extensions cords, downspouts, basketball nets, flower pots, toys, etc. in the area where the snow blowing service is to be performed. The customer should not assume that the tractor operator will be able to see a movable object as they often working in dark and snowy conditions.

The customer is responsible for cutting back or removing all limbs from trees and shrubs (up to 12 feet off the ground) that are overhanging the area to be cleared. This is to ensure that there is enough clearance for our tractors to access the area without causing damage to our equipment. 

The Contractor will do their best to notify customers of potential obstructions or movable objects while installing markers, but the Contractor will not be held responsible for damaging movable objects.   

Water main caps in the driveway that are elevated need to be hammered down so they are flush with the flat surface. This is the customer’s responsibility or The City of Ottawa can be contacted @ 613-580-2400. If damages occur, they must be reported within 14 days of the snow incident.

Driveway Surfaces:

The contractor shall not be held responsible for any damages arising from scraping, scratching or rusting of the driveways. This includes asphalt, concrete, smooth interlock as well as slate/textured interlock.

It is the customer’s responsibility to inform the contractor if they have a slate/textured interlock driveway so we can add a note for our tractor operators. Since this stone has a slightly uneven surface, there is a higher chance that the blower will leave some scratches. 

The Contractor will skip all gravel driveways until a base layer of compacted snow has formed. They will also skip gravel driveways if temperatures warm up at any part of the season and the ground becomes too soft. The Contractor will do everything in their power to avoid blowing gravel onto the customer’s lawn, but we cannot guarantee this.

Walkway Shoveling:

If the customer is receiving walkway shoveling, it will be completed once within 12 hours of the snowfall being completed. This service does not include snow removal caused by drifting/blowing snow, roof cleaning or ice build-up from freezing rain. Walkway shoveling customer are highly encouraged to use salt or ice melt throughout the season. Contact us for pricing – which includes delivery – of Postcard Perfect Ice Melt.

Administration:

There will be a $25.00 administrative fee charged to the customer on all cheques returned for any reason. A $50.00 administrative fee will be applied to all cancelled contracts after they have been processed by our office. 

We work in a respectful environment and treat everyone we speak with across all communication platforms in a respectful manner and we expect the same courtesy extended to all of our staff. The Contractor reserves the right to cancel the Hirer’s contract at anytime due to verbal or written insults, crude language or behavior.

The contractor is fully insured for public liability and property damage insurance. All employees of Postcard Perfect Ltd. are covered under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.