What steps do you take to prevent damage to my property?
We take a three pronged approach to avoiding damage.
- Training
First, we train all of our operators at the beginning on the season on how to properly navigate driveways and remove snow safely and effectively.
2. Equipment
We have purchased all new scraping edges and blowers that allow our operators to get closer to your house and/or garage without damaging it.
3. Markers
For areas that have potential for damage (e.g. Protruding steps, retaining walls, gardens, etc) we install additional markers and make notes in the property files for our operators.
What can I do to help prevent damages?
At Worry Free we do everything we can to alleviate the stress and strain of snow removal for our customers. However, there are several things to do as a customer to help improve service and avoid damage:
- Lower any water valves that may be on the driveway and protrude above the surface
- Let us know if you have anything that juts into the driveway (flower beds, retaining walls, interlock walkways) so we can have additional markers placed around those areas: https://forms.gle/9G1oN7ETgx88bBiUA
- Trim overhanging branches to allow our 10.5 foot high tractors to pass (or request that we do it at the start of the season)
- Remove all objects from the snow clearing area including downspouts, flower pots, basketball nets, garbage receptacles, extension cords etc.
- Remove vehicles prior to snowfall if possible or at least move close to house and side
How do I lower my water valve?
Contact the City of Ottawa at (613) 580-2400. You will need to request that they send a service technician over to lower the pipe and cap to the level of the asphalt. If the cap is not flush with the level of the driveway it may get picked off by the snowblower and blown onto the lawn. To avoid this issue please make sure that the City takes care of this in advance of the first snow.