Key takeaways
- Most one- and two-car driveways measure under about 1,050 square feet, so they pay the $75 per-visit minimum.
- Put surfaces, buried fixtures and departure times on your stop notes, and stake the edges before the ground freezes.
- Past the 2-inch trigger, every property on the route is dispatched automatically, and you get a text when the route starts.
- Every visit ends done or skipped, with the time recorded; a skip carries a reason and a return visit.
On this page
How is your price set when you book?
By the area that gets cleared. Measure your driveway in square feet (how to measure your driveway) and multiply by the rate. Macomb Lawn & Snow Solutions charges $0.0715 per square foot per visit for residential snow removal, with a $75 minimum. The minimum binds under about 1,050 square feet, so most one- and two-car driveways pay exactly $75, while a 1,600-square-foot three-car drive with a turnaround is $114.40.
Per-visit is the default, and no contract is required. If you would rather have one fixed cost for the winter, seasonal agreements are priced from the same measured square footage.
A visit covers the full driveway surface, the front walk to the door and a path to the mailbox. The apron is back-dragged so snow is not left packed across the garage door.
What should go on your stop notes?
Stop notes are what the crew reads before it reaches your driveway. Add these when you book:
| Note | Example | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Surface | Pavers, stamped concrete, gravel | Each surface needs different care |
| Buried fixtures | Landscape lights, irrigation heads, a septic riser | Nobody can see them under snow |
| Departure time | A 6:15 a.m. shift, a dialysis appointment | Ask whether your spot on the route can meet it |
| Mobility needs | Someone who cannot shovel or walk on ice | The walk and steps matter as much as the driveway |
| Where snow can go | A side yard to avoid, a tight lot | Piles have to land somewhere on your property |
What should you do before the ground freezes?
Put in driveway markers in October or early November, before frozen soil makes it hard (driveway markers):
- Set stakes a few inches outside the pavement edge, about every 10 to 15 feet, closer on curves.
- Use stakes about four feet tall with reflectors, so they show above deep snow at night.
- Mark both corners of the apron and anything a blade could hit: lights, irrigation heads, a culvert, the mailbox post.
- Clear hoses, decorations and toys off the pavement.
The season is staffed from November 15 to April 15. Over the last 30 winters, the first 2-inch snow at Detroit Metro Airport usually came around December 12, but it came as early as November 9 in 2025.
What happens when it snows?
| When | What happens | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Snow passes 2 inches | Every property on the route is dispatched automatically | Nothing; no call needed |
| The route starts | You get a text | Move cars off the driveway if you can |
| The crew arrives | Driveway, walk and mailbox path cleared; apron back-dragged | Keep kids and pets inside |
| The stop is finished | It is marked done, with the time | Nothing |
| Something blocks it | It is marked skipped, with a reason and a return visit | Clear the blocker: a car on the apron, a locked gate |
Routes run in driving order, so nobody on a route can be promised the same time every storm.
How is each visit recorded, and what if one seems missed?
Every stop ends one of two ways on the route board: done, with the time recorded, or skipped, with a reason and a return visit. That record settles most questions before they become arguments.
If you think a visit was missed:
- Check the depth at your house. 1.8 inches on a 2-inch trigger is not a miss, and drifts can make a driveway look deeper than the snowfall.
- Check for a blocker. A parked car or a locked gate turns a visit into a skip with a return trip.
- Send one written message with your address, the time and a photo. It creates a timestamped record.
The full checklist is in what to do when your plow doesn’t show up.
What does a visit not cover?
- The road plow’s ridge, if it comes later. Michigan law, MCL 257.677a, bars depositing snow on a roadway, with a civil fine of up to $100, so the ridge a road plow leaves across the end of a driveway cannot be pushed back into the street. If the road plow passes after your visit, the ridge comes back, and nobody controls that timing (why the city plow blocks your driveway).
- Salt. Salting is a separate decision, quoted separately. Rock salt slows badly below about 20°F and effectively stops below about 15°F, so in deep cold the choice is calcium chloride or waiting.
- Decks, roofs and hauling snow away. None of them are part of a residential visit.
What happens at the end of the season?
- Late snow. Snow after April 15 is handled case by case, and it is not rare: 4 of the last 30 winters had a 2-inch snow at Detroit Metro after April 15.
- Pull the stakes once the snow is truly done, and before the first mowing.
- Walk the property when the ground thaws. Look for scalped turf along the edges, gravel in the lawn, rutted apron corners, chipped paver edges, a leaning mailbox or a broken light. Photograph what you find and report it, and wait for dry soil before repairing turf (fixing plow damage to a lawn).
- Update your notes for next winter: a new fixture, a new car, a new departure time.
Sources
- MCL 257.677a, Michigan Legislature — depositing snow on a roadway; civil fine of up to $100
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers: xmACIS2 — daily snowfall at Detroit Metro Airport, 1996-97 to 2025-26
Written by the Macomb Lawn & Snow Solutions team in Macomb Township, Michigan. We plow and salt homes and businesses across all 26 Macomb County communities, November 15 to April 15. Published October 5, 2026. About us · How we research these guides · How our dispatch works