A seasonal contract or one storm at a time.
Ask for the city license first.
Grosse Pointe Woods and Grosse Pointe Shores license the people they let plow for hire. In the Woods your address goes on the contractor’s list at city hall. Start there, then compare prices.
A referral service for homeowners in the five Grosse Pointes. An automated assistant answers; calls are recorded.
Typical cost: a seasonal contract $200 – $600 with a cap on visits; one visit $30 – $70 — national ranges (HomeGuide, December 2024)
- Cost to call
- Nothing
- Answered by
- Automated assistant
- Hours
- Any hour
The two ways to buy
Same driveway, two kinds of agreement.
Seasonal contract
One price for the winter, with a cap on visits and a trigger depth.
If your city plows sidewalks above a depth, ask whether the contract covers the walk below it. That is the part left to you.
$200 – $600 a season (HomeGuide, December 2024).
Per push
You pay per visit: little in a light winter, more in a heavy one. Nothing is agreed before the storm.
Per storm pricing often grows with depth: the same chart puts the first 6 inches at $30 – $100, then about $30 for each further 6 inches.
$30 – $70 a visit (HomeGuide, December 2024).
What to ask a plow operator in the Grosse Pointes
Ten questions, answered in writing.
- In the Woods: do you hold this year’s city snow removal license? It expires July 1 each year, each truck carries a city windshield sticker, and the contractor must report a new customer to the clerk within 72 hours (the Woods’ rule · the clerk’s form).
- In the Shores: do you hold the annual license? It needs a $5,000 bond and a yellow safety light on the truck; the city’s fee page lists $100 plus $25 for each extra vehicle (the Shores’ rule · the fees).
- In the Farms: are you permitted by the city? Its snow page says contractors must be (the Farms’ page).
- Where does the snow go? Not into the street in any of the five (the City’s rule · the Farms’ rule · the Woods’ rule · the Shores’ rule).
- What depth brings the truck, and does that beat my city’s deadline? The Park’s is 12 hours (the Park’s rule).
- Is the walk included below the depth the city plows it?
- Is salt included? The same chart prices it separately, $20 – $65 an application (HomeGuide).
- How many visits, and what past the cap?
- Can I see proof of insurance? Michigan itself licenses no snow removal (the state’s license).
- How do I cancel, and is any of the season refunded?
Questions
When should I sign a seasonal contract?
- Before the first storm. At Detroit Metro Airport, the nearest station with a long record, most of the season’s 45 inches falls from December through February (the weather service’s normals).
Will I be charged for the visit?
- Calling us costs nothing. Some contractors charge to come out and look at the job. Ask before they come, and get the price in writing.