The spring walkthrough: finding and fixing plow damage on commercial and HOA sites

When should the walkthrough happen?

After the last plowable snow, once the piles have melted and the ground is firm enough to walk without leaving tracks. In Macomb County that is usually April. Our own season is staffed through April 15, and the walk works best soon after a contractor's season closes. Plan two passes:

1. A quick look as the piles melt, before sweeping, mowing or spring cleanup hides the evidence.
2. The formal walk with the contractor, before the contract's deadline for reporting damage passes.

What should you look for?

The usual fix is a starting point. The right repair depends on the damage.

How do you run the walk?

1. Pull the pre-season photos and the site map from the contract file.
2. Walk together: the property manager or a board member, and the contractor's manager.
3. Photograph each item twice, once wide and once close, and mark it on the map.
4. Sort each item: plow damage, salt damage, normal wear, or damage that was there in the fall.
5. Write a punch list: item, location, cause, who fixes it and by what date.
6. Both sides sign the list. Re-walk after the repairs.

Then repair in priority order:

1. Safety hazards now: leaning light poles and signs, displaced drain grates, broken curbs and parking blocks at walkways.
2. Damage that grows: asphalt gouges and scraped edges that let water in, irrigation leaks, cracked footings.
3. Cosmetic and seasonal work: sod, beds and restriping, scheduled for warm weather.

Who pays for plow damage?

Start with the contract's damage clause: how damage must be reported, by when and in what form, and whether the contractor repairs it or pays for repair. Miss that window and recovery gets harder.

Damage a contractor causes to the property is what its general liability insurance is for, so confirm the certificate was current all season and names your entity. See snow contractor insurance. Small items may simply be fixed by the contractor; larger ones may go through the insurer. When a contractor says the damage was already there, the fall photos answer the question.

Salt burn is a separate argument, because the salt was spread for ice control the property asked for. If you want turf repair from salt covered, write it into next season's contract.

At an HOA, set one reporting deadline for residents, collect reports through management, and walk the common areas and reported spots together. For a single lawn, the repair steps are in repairing plow damage to a lawn.

What about salt, grit and drains?

Salt-damaged turf shows up as a straw-colored band along walks and curbs, and shrubs near the pavement show dieback. MSU Extension notes that spring rain helps flush salt from the soil, and that watering helps when spring is dry. See salt-damaged grass and plants.

Sweep winter grit and sand from curb lines, islands and drive lanes before spring rain carries it into the catch basins, then check the grates and basins themselves.

What if a repair means digging?

Resetting sign posts, bollards, fence posts and light-pole bases means digging. Michigan law requires a dig notice to MISS DIG 811 at least 72 hours, and no more than 14 calendar days, before excavation (MCL 460.725). Utilities mark only the lines they own. Site lighting circuits, irrigation and other private lines on a commercial property are the owner's to locate, for example through a private locating service, which MISS DIG can connect you with when you file the ticket. That service is not free.

How does the walk set up next season?

The walkthrough is the best input for next fall:

• Add stakes wherever something got hit.
• Move stacking zones that killed turf, buried drains or melted across walks.
• Update the site map with every fixture found the hard way.
• Retake the pre-season photos after repairs.

See where to put snow in a parking lot and the snow removal RFP template.