Every snow price we quote starts with one number: how many cars fit on your driveway. Get that number right and the rest of the quote takes about a minute. Get it wrong and you are comparing the wrong prices, which is how people end up thinking snow clearing costs more than it does.
Size is the only thing that moves the base price. Not how much snow falls, not whether it is January or March. So here is how to work yours out without a tape measure, and what each size costs in Kitchener and Waterloo.
The fastest method: park it in your head
Forget metres for a second. Stand at the road and ask yourself how many cars could sit on that driveway at once without anybody blocking anybody else in. That answer is your size.
- 1 car. One car wide, one car long. Room for a single vehicle and a person to walk past it.
- 1.5 car. One car wide but noticeably long, or a single width with enough shoulder for a bit of extra parking. Common on older central Kitchener homes with a narrow run down the side of the house to a rear garage.
- 2 car. Two cars side by side. The standard double for most of the region.
- 2.5 car. A double with a bump-out, a widened apron at the road, or extra depth in front of a double garage.
- 3 car. Two side by side plus one behind, or a genuine triple width.
- 3.5 car. A triple that runs long, or a double with a long approach off the road.
- 4 car. Four cars, no shuffling. Usually a wide triple with depth, or a long rural style run.
- Bigger than 4 car. The same half-car steps keep going, priced up to 10 car.
If you are stuck between two sizes, tell us both and we will confirm it when we look at your address. We would rather size it right the first time than surprise you in December. Our driveway size guide has real photos next to each size if you want a visual check.
If you want the actual numbers
A single parking space is about 2.7 metres wide and 5.5 metres long, which is roughly 9 feet by 18 feet. Pace out your driveway instead of digging out the tape. An adult stride is close enough to three quarters of a metre, so count your steps and multiply.
| What you measure | Roughly | Size we call it |
|---|---|---|
| About 3 m wide, 6 m long | one space | 1 car |
| About 3 m wide, 9 to 11 m long | one and a half spaces | 1.5 car |
| About 5.5 to 6 m wide, 6 m long | two spaces | 2 car |
| About 6 m wide with extra depth | two and a bit | 2.5 car |
| A double at the road, about 6 m wide and 6 m long, with a single width run behind it | three spaces | 3 car |
| Wide and long, three plus a shoulder | three and a half | 3.5 car |
| About 6 m wide, 11 to 12 m long, or 8 m plus wide with full depth | four spaces | 4 car |
Two things people forget when they pace it out. Count the apron, the flared bit where the driveway meets the road, because that is the part the city plow fills in with the heavy wet stuff. And count the length right up to the garage door, not to where you normally stop the car.
What each size costs
Per visit, we clear after every snowfall of 5 cm or more, usually within 12 hours of the snow stopping. Every visit includes the driveway, the front path to your door, the city sidewalk across the front of your home, and standard rock salt on the driveway. All prices below are pre-HST.
| Driveway size | Per visit | Whole season, unlimited (Winter Plan Standard) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 car | $53.99 | $769.36 |
| 1.5 car | $64.99 | $926.11 |
| 2 car | $69.99 | $997.36 |
| 2.5 car | $75.99 | $1,082.86 |
| 3 car | $85.99 | $1,225.36 |
| 3.5 car | $96.99 | $1,382.11 |
| 4 car | $107.99 | $1,538.86 |
Bigger driveways, 4.5 to 10 car, run $118.99 to $237.99 per visit. The Winter Plan Standard season price above tops out at 4 car; for a bigger driveway, a Winter plan still covers you for the season, priced by size, or call or text 226-336-2077.
All prices plus HST. The season column means unlimited clearings at the 5 cm trigger, November 1 to April 15, plus unlimited ice control after freezing rain or light snow. A bad winter costs you the same as a mild one, which is the whole point of it. Full detail is on the snow removal page, and every price we charge for anything sits on the pricing page.
The season maths is simple enough to do standing up. A two car driveway at $69.99 per visit pays for the $997.36 Winter Plan Standard season at just over 14 clearings, because every season price is 14.25 times the per-visit price (15 visits’ worth, at 5% off). How many 5 cm snowfalls a KW winter brings is an estimate, and it is yours to make, not ours to assert. Think back to last winter, count the mornings you actually cleared the driveway properly, and compare that number to 14 or 15.
Join the Winter Plan Standard and pay the season up front and you’re set for the whole winter, one price, no per-storm surprises. Ask about the right size for your driveway when you book, on 226-336-2077.
What changes the price on top of size
These are per visit prices. Size sets the base, and these are the only things that move it. You pick them, so no add-on appears on your bill that you did not choose.
- Side or back path clearing. $5 plus HST for a short path up to about 25 feet, $10 plus HST for a longer one or multiple paths. Worth it if your side door is the one everybody actually uses.
- Treated salt upgrade. $10 plus HST. Standard rock salt stops working properly once it gets really cold. Treated salt keeps going in colder temperatures and after freezing rain.
- Pet-safe salt upgrade. $10 plus HST. Easier on paws, concrete and the garden beds along the edge.
- Faster clearing, within 8 hours. $15 plus HST.
First-on-the-route priority isn’t sold as a per-visit add-on. It’s bundled into our Winter Priority plan along with faster clearing and your choice of salt, and Priority spots are limited each winter.
On a Winter Plan, add-ons are quoted with your plan.
What does not change the per visit price: the depth of the snowfall, the time of day, or a weekend. We do not surge. On a Winter Plan the number of storms never changes what you pay. On per visit, each clearing is its own charge at your driveway size.
A note on the city plow
The worst part of winter here is not the storm. It is the ridge of packed snow the city plow leaves across the end of your driveway an hour after you finished shovelling. If the plow has come through before us, that ridge goes with the rest of the drive, which is why the apron counts when you size yours. If it comes through after we leave, a return clearing is included on a Winter Plan because the plan is unlimited, and on per visit it is another visit at your driveway size price.
Driveway size questions we get asked
My driveway is wide at the road and narrow at the garage. Which size am I?
Go by the parking test, not the widest point. If two cars cannot sit side by side for most of the run, it is a 1.5 car, not a 2.
Does the garage floor count?
No. We clear up to the garage door, never inside it.
I have a double driveway but only one car. Do I pay for a double?
Yes, because the price follows the surface we clear, not the vehicles on it.
What if I picked the wrong size when I signed up?
We confirm the size on the first visit and put any change in writing before it goes on a bill. No quiet adjustments later.
Do you cover my street?
Kitchener and Waterloo, with Mannheim at the edge, so ask about that one. We do not serve Cambridge. The map is on the service area page.
Get your driveway sized
Call or text 226-336-2077 with your address, or send it through the quote form, and we will tell you the size and the price in writing before anyone books anything. Everything about how we clear is on the snow removal page, city by city for Kitchener and Waterloo, and more answers sit on the FAQ. The 5 cm trigger, weather delays, payment terms and HST are written out on the policies page.
Straight prices, and we tell you the size we think it is before you pay for anything.
