Mid-November to mid-April
Your driveway is cleared before you need to leave.
Unlimited visits on Gold and Platinum. No per-storm charge, no cap, and no phone call needed from you. After overnight snow our target is 7 AM.
- Unlimited visits on Gold and Platinum
- No per-storm charge
- Gold from $189 a month plus HST
What Silver gets in winter · Compare all three memberships
Green in summer. Clear in winter.
We're not plowing your driveway. We're still there after every storm.
Silver isn't a snow membership. You told us you've got the driveway. But your membership runs twelve months, so we're there twelve months. After every storm we run, we come back in the daytime and take the windrow off the end of your driveway: the ridge the city plow leaves behind, the heaviest, iciest part of the whole job. You shovel your driveway. We take the part that makes people give up.
You shovel the driveway. We take the windrow the city leaves at the end of it, after every storm, all winter.
Silver: Lawn Care & Winter Backup
What Silver gets after every storm
We're not plowing your driveway. We're still there after every storm.
The windrow pass
What we take. The municipal windrow cleared off the driveway apron, full width, to the surface. Nothing else on the driveway. The member clears their own driveway.
When. A daytime pass, on the same day Northline runs the member snow route, after the municipal plow has been through. Cleared by 5 PM.
Every storm. Every storm for which the member snow route runs. Same trigger, same day. If the municipal plow comes through after our pass, the windrow is taken on the next pass.
The windrow pass is not driveway clearing. The member clears the driveway; Northline clears the ridge the municipal plow leaves across the end of it.
Four banked clears a season
What it is. A full clear (driveway, walkway and front steps), exactly as a Gold member's, but on request and four times a season.
What it is for. The storms that beat you. Away, ill, Christmas morning, the 30 cm one.
When. Served after the member route is complete, never during it. Same day if requested before the route rolls; otherwise the next available pass.
Unused visits do not carry over to the following season.
What Silver does not get
No driveway plowing. No 7 AM target. No walkway or steps except on a banked clear. No salting. No entrance widening. Those are Gold's, and they are what Gold is sold on.
No driveway plowing. Gold plows the driveway, unlimited visits, every storm.
No 7 AM target. The windrow pass is a daytime pass, cleared by 5 PM; the 7 AM target after overnight snow is Gold's.
No walkway or steps except on a banked clear. Gold clears the walkway full width and the front steps every storm.
No salting. Salt is on request at Gold and unlimited and automatic at Platinum.
No entrance widening. The driveway entrance is widened all winter at Gold.
How it works
What happens when it snows
You don't call us. We're watching the same forecast you are, and the route is already planned before the first flake lands.
What's included in every seasonal contract: Gold and Platinum
Unlimited visits
We clear when accumulation reaches 5 cm, and we come as many times as a storm requires. There's no per-storm charge and no annual cap.
A brutal winter and a mild one cost you exactly the same. That risk sits with us: it's what 'seasonal' means.
Everything cleared, not just the driveway
Driveway curb-to-garage at full width, walkways to at least 90 cm, and the front steps cleared right down to the surface.
We also widen the entrance so you can turn in without hitting a bank, and we never leave a windrow across the mouth of a driveway we just cleared.
Proof of every visit
Every property is photographed and logged with a timestamp before we leave it.
If there's ever a question about whether we came, or a slip-and-fall claim at your property, that record is what settles it.
The 7 AM target, and what sits behind it
For snow that ends overnight, our target is to have Gold and Platinum driveways cleared by 7 AM. Platinum members are targeted 30 minutes earlier at 6:30. Commercial and medical-access properties are cleared first, overnight, because they have hard opening times.
That target is only achievable because of how we build routes: street by street, in tight clusters, rather than taking scattered accounts across the region. If your street already has Northline customers on it, you'll usually be among the first cleared.
Silver runs on a different clock and we never blur the two. The windrow pass is a second, daytime pass on the same day the member route runs, after the municipal plow has been through, and it is cleared by 5 PM. It is not a 7 AM target and it never touches the overnight route.
Big storms
What we do when it snows for eighteen hours
This is the part most people have never had explained, and it's why your driveway might look half-finished at 8 AM.
Why we don't just wait for the snow to stop
A Durham storm can run for eighteen hours. If we cleared each property perfectly in one visit, the last houses on the route wouldn't see us until the afternoon, and everyone on that route would be trapped in the meantime.
So in a long storm we clear you twice. The first pass cuts a clear lane out to the road and does your walkway and steps properly, so you can leave on time even though snow is still falling and the lane will partly fill back in. Then we work the whole route, and once the snow ends we come back for the full clear: full width to the pavement, windrow removed at the road, piles shaped and tidied, and a second round of salt down on the walkways and steps.
If it looks half-done at 8 AM in heavy snow, that's deliberate and we're already on our way back. We'll email you when the first pass is complete so you're never wondering.
Every storm
The order we work in
It's the same sequence every time, and it's driven by liability and access rather than convenience.
Driveway first
Cleared curb-to-garage at full width, down to the pavement where it's safe to do so. We back-drag the apron at the garage so we're never piling snow against your door.
Then walkways
Full width, at least 90 cm, cleared to the surface, not a shovel-width path down the middle.
Then steps
Cleared completely and salted. Steps are the slip-and-fall zone and they get the most attention, not the least.
Then salt and log
Ice control where it's needed, then the property is photographed and logged with the time, the product used and the conditions.
Ice control
Salting done properly
Light and even beats heavy
Over-salting is the common mistake and it does real harm. It pits concrete, kills the turf along your driveway edges, is hard on pets' paws, and costs more for a worse result.
Coverage matters more than volume. A standard residential driveway needs roughly a coffee cup's worth, spread evenly, not a shovelful in the middle.
Below minus 10 °C, salt stops working
Ordinary rock salt loses most of its effectiveness below about minus 10 °C, and does almost nothing by minus 15 °C. Putting down more of it doesn't help.
On the coldest days we switch to a low-temperature blended product instead. Every application is logged with the time, location and product, which is your protection if there's ever a slip-and-fall question.
What you get
Snow service by membership
We're not plowing your driveway. We're still there after every storm.
| Silver | Gold | Platinum | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driveway | member clears it | plowed, unlimited | plowed, unlimited |
| The windrow | scheduled daytime pass, every storm, by 5 PM | free on the next scheduled pass; $45 dedicated | dedicated trips included |
| Walkway and steps | only on a banked clear | every storm, full width | every storm, full width |
| Timing | by 5 PM, daytime | before 7 AM: our target after overnight snow | before 7 AM target, first on route |
| Full clears | 4 a season, on request | unlimited | unlimited |
| Salt | none | on request | unlimited, automatic |
| Entrance widened | No | ✓ | ✓ |
| Snow markers in and out | ✓ Driveway markers, December | ✓ | ✓ |
| Per-storm charges | None | None | None |
| Monthly price, before tax | $129 | $189 | $279 |
| Monthly payment with 13% HST | $145.77 | $213.57 | $315.27 |
All prices are before tax; 13% HST is added and the with-HST figure is what comes out of your account. The separation is real and threefold: what (windrow vs whole property), when (daytime vs before 7 AM target), how much (4 on request vs unlimited). If you want the driveway itself cleared, moving to Gold takes a two-minute phone call: the upgrade is $60 a month, or $720 over the year, against $775 to buy a seasonal snow contract on its own.
Snow questions
Common questions
Do I need to call you when it snows?
No. We come automatically after every storm that reaches the 5 cm trigger. There's nothing to book and no number to ring: that's the entire point of a seasonal contract.
What if it only snows a couple of centimetres?
Below 5 cm we don't push, because plowing a light dusting does more harm to your driveway surface than good. A salting pass may still be warranted, and Platinum members get that automatically.
How many times will you come in a season?
It depends entirely on the winter: a typical Durham season runs 20 to 30 clearable events. It doesn't change what you pay. Some winters you'll get far more than you paid for, and that's the deal.
Where does the snow go?
We plan the piles at the start of the season with March in mind, not just the first storm. Snow never goes onto the road: that's illegal in most municipalities. If there's a spot you'd rather we didn't stack, tell us in November while the piles are still small.
What about the windrow the city plow leaves at the end of my driveway?
On Gold and Platinum we clear it on the same visit, wherever the city plow has already been, and we deliberately leave it to last, because clearing it first just means the plow buries it again on their next pass. If the plow comes back after we have finished with you, we clear it on your next scheduled pass at no charge. A dedicated trip made solely for the windrow is $45, and it is included at Platinum.
On Silver the windrow is the whole offer. You shovel the driveway. We take the windrow the city leaves at the end of it, after every storm, all winter. It is a daytime pass, on the same day Northline runs the member snow route, after the municipal plow has been through. Cleared by 5 PM. If the municipal plow comes through after our pass, the windrow is taken on the next pass.
I'm on Silver. What happens at my property in winter?
We're not plowing your driveway. We're still there after every storm. Silver isn't a snow membership. You told us you've got the driveway. But your membership runs twelve months, so we're there twelve months. After every storm we run, we come back in the daytime and take the windrow off the end of your driveway: the ridge the city plow leaves behind, the heaviest, iciest part of the whole job. You shovel your driveway. We take the part that makes people give up.
The windrow pass: the ridge the city plow leaves at the end of your drive, off by 5 PM, every storm. Four banked clears a season: a full clear (driveway, walkway and steps), on request, four times a season; served after the member route is complete, never during it. Same day if requested before the route rolls; otherwise the next available pass. Unused visits do not carry over to the following season.
No driveway plowing. No 7 AM target. No walkway or steps except on a banked clear. No salting. No entrance widening. Those are Gold's, and they are what Gold is sold on.
What if you damage my lawn or driveway?
We photograph it, tell you the same day, and fix it. Plow damage to a lawn edge happens occasionally in a bad winter: the difference is whether you hear it from us or discover it yourself in April. You'll hear it from us.
Can I get snow only, without the lawn service?
Yes. Seasonal driveway-only clearing runs $500 to $850 plus HST for the winter depending on your driveway. But do the math first: Gold is $189/month plus HST and includes the same snow clearing plus walkways, steps, salt free on any visit we are already making, and the entire lawn season. If you're already paying someone for the lawn, Gold usually costs less than the two bills combined.
When does the season start and end?
November 15 to April 15. That is the contract window, and it is the right one for Durham: a season that starts December 1 misses the storms that catch people out, and one that ends March 31 misses April wet snow, which is the heaviest of the year. Outside those dates we can still come, but it is quoted separately (Agreement §5).
Get a fixed monthly price for your property
Send me the address and I'll send you a real number the same day, Monday to Saturday. I price what is actually on the property, and if a membership is not good value for yours I'll say so.
Green in summer. Clear in winter.