Most companies go into the winter without a plan. They sometimes call just when it starts storming and then are surprised when it’s either very expensive or worse no one is available. This is why it’s important to get in touch with a snow removal contractor and lay out a plan and budget for the winter.
Of course, sometimes those plans change because the winter ends up being twice as long or non-existent. Being flexible is a must during your plan.
Let’s talk about what you can do to make your snow removal budget sturdy.
Assess Your Storm Plan
The first part that you should assess is your property layout. What are your high traffic areas that are going to be the most work? What are going to be the areas that you don’t need perfection in and you can save money?
These are two very important questions because the latter will help you adjust your budget back and forth according to the weather predictions and how much snow there is.
What Materials are Necessary and Costly
Believe it or not one of the most costly materials that can throw you over is salt. Salt becomes a limited supply in the winter and can get quite expensive over time. Because snow companies have been saying that demand is much higher due to shortages, so is price.
Throwing excess salt carelessly around your property can add up. This goes back to the plan of knowing which areas need to be covered. Salt should be reserved for high traffic areas like in front of the entryway and on sidewalks.
What Are Your Cost Saving Options?
Understanding what areas you can budget to create a safety net in case of a bad storm is a great idea. For instance, is there a salt alternative that you can use that is less expensive? Not all contractors may say they have it but what is stopping you from getting something on your own and providing it?
You may be able to design your plan differently to use less salt. It doesn’t necessarily mean using an alternative but maybe there is a safer and better approach to the winter with snow removal.
Do Make Plans
Budgets in the winter can go wrong in two ways as we mentioned. You can lose your budget very quickly by throwing all your money into the first storm by taking a lot of areas that don’t necessarily need extreme dedication. You can also end up investing too much too soon and have no winter!
This is why you want to talk to your contractor about how to best budget the winter and how you can work together to guarantee services to the snow plow removal without throwing money out the door.
