Most snow contracts read fine in September. The questions below are the ones that matter at 4 a.m. in February.
Every winter I get the same call. It comes in January, usually from a property manager, sometimes from a homeowner, and it always starts the same way: “Our guy didn’t show.”
Sometimes he genuinely didn’t show. More often he did exactly what the contract said, and the contract said less than the owner thought it did. The trigger depth was three inches and the storm dropped two and a half, then froze. Or the plow came through once and the drifting kept going for six more hours. Or the lot got cleared and nobody touched the walkways, because walkways were a separate line item nobody read.
So here is the direct answer to the question in the headline. Before you sign a snow removal contract in western Connecticut, get written answers to six things: the trigger depth, the response window, whether walkways and steps are included or billed separately, where the snow gets piled, what de-icing material gets used and at what temperature, and who is on the other end of the phone during a storm. If a contractor won’t put those six in writing, the price on the front page doesn’t mean much.
I’ve been clearing snow in Litchfield and Fairfield Counties for close to thirty years. What follows is what I’d tell you if you called me in September and asked what to watch for.
Key Takeaways
- Trigger depth is the single most important number in your contract, and one to two inches is standard for high-traffic properties.
- Connecticut’s ongoing storm doctrine gives you a reasonable window after a storm ends, but it does not protect you from ice that was already there.
- Under Connecticut law you can hire out the work, but you cannot hire out your legal responsibility for the property.
- Rock salt stops doing much below roughly 15 degrees of pavement temperature, which is a normal January night here.
- The cheapest contract is usually the one with the highest trigger depth and the fewest inclusions, and you find out which parts were excluded in the middle of a storm.
Why Do Snow Removal Contracts Go Wrong?
The problem is almost never bad intentions. It’s that snow removal is sold in September and delivered in February, and the two conversations sound nothing alike.
In September, a snow contract is a price. You’re comparing three numbers on three pieces of paper, the leaves are still on the trees, and the difference between a two-inch trigger and a three-inch trigger feels academic. It’s an inch. How much can an inch matter?
In February, that contract is a set of promises about a specific bad night. And the difference between two and three inches is the difference between a plowed driveway and a two-and-a-half-inch pack of snow that got driven over, refroze into ruts overnight, and now needs a machine and a chemical to break loose instead of a plow blade.
I’ve walked properties in March where you could still read the tire tracks in the ice. That’s not a contractor being lazy. That’s a contract that was written to hit a price point.
The other thing that goes wrong is scope creep in reverse. A commercial contract covers the lot. Does it cover the sidewalk to the front door? The employee entrance around back? The steps? The handicapped ramp? Every one of those is a place where somebody walks, and every one of them is a separate decision somebody made when the contract was drafted. Usually, nobody explained that the decision was being made.
What Does Connecticut Law Actually Require of You?
This is the part most property owners have never been told, and it changes how you should read every contract you’re handed.
Connecticut recognizes what’s called the ongoing storm doctrine, established in Kraus v. Newton (211 Conn. 191) back in 1989. In plain terms: you’re not expected to clear snow while it’s actively falling. Your duty to remove snow and ice begins after the storm ends, plus a reasonable period after that. Attorneys at Lewis Brisbois summarize the Connecticut rule as allowing property owners to wait a reasonable time after a storm concludes before clearing walkways and steps.
That sounds like good news. Two things narrow it considerably.
First, the doctrine doesn’t cover ice that was already there. Connecticut courts have been clear that the ongoing storm defense doesn’t apply when the hazard came from preexisting snow or ice rather than the current storm. It also doesn’t cover ice created by defects in the building itself — a leaking gutter, a downspout emptying across a walkway, a low spot in the pavement that holds water. If your drainage is dumping water onto a path where it refreezes, that’s a maintenance problem, and the storm doesn’t excuse it.
Second, and this is the one that matters most: Connecticut treats a property owner’s duty to keep the premises reasonably safe as nondelegable. Legal analysis from Chartwell Law puts it directly — a party may contract out the performance of a nondelegable duty, but may not contract out the ultimate legal responsibility. Connecticut courts have held that a property owner cannot seek apportionment against a snow contractor for a nondelegable duty.
Read that twice if you manage commercial property. You can hire the best snow contractor in the county. You are still the one holding the responsibility. That’s not an argument against hiring a contractor. It’s an argument for hiring one whose contract actually describes the work you need done, because their performance is your exposure.
Why Do Snow Removal Contracts Go Wrong?
The problem is almost never bad intentions. It’s that snow removal is sold in September and delivered in February, and the two conversations sound nothing alike.
In September, a snow contract is a price. You’re comparing three numbers on three pieces of paper, the leaves are still on the trees, and the difference between a two-inch trigger and a three-inch trigger feels academic. It’s an inch. How much can an inch matter?
In February, that contract is a set of promises about a specific bad night. And the difference between two and three inches is the difference between a plowed driveway and a two-and-a-half-inch pack of snow that got driven over, refroze into ruts overnight, and now needs a machine and a chemical to break loose instead of a plow blade.
I’ve walked properties in March where you could still read the tire tracks in the ice. That’s not a contractor being lazy. That’s a contract that was written to hit a price point.
The other thing that goes wrong is scope creep in reverse. A commercial contract covers the lot. Does it cover the sidewalk to the front door? The employee entrance around back? The steps? The handicapped ramp? Every one of those is a place where somebody walks, and every one of them is a separate decision somebody made when the contract was drafted. Usually nobody explained that the decision was being made.
What Does Connecticut Law Actually Require of You?
This is the part most property owners have never been told, and it changes how you should read every contract you’re handed.
Connecticut recognizes what’s called the ongoing storm doctrine, established in Kraus v. Newton (211 Conn. 191) back in 1989. In plain terms: you’re not expected to clear snow while it’s actively falling. Your duty to remove snow and ice begins after the storm ends, plus a reasonable period after that. Attorneys at Lewis Brisbois summarize the Connecticut rule as allowing property owners to wait a reasonable time after a storm concludes before clearing walkways and steps.
That sounds like good news. Two things narrow it considerably.
First, the doctrine doesn’t cover ice that was already there. Connecticut courts have been clear that the ongoing storm defense doesn’t apply when the hazard came from preexisting snow or ice rather than the current storm. It also doesn’t cover ice created by defects in the building itself — a leaking gutter, a downspout emptying across a walkway, a low spot in the pavement that holds water. If your drainage is dumping water onto a path where it refreezes, that’s a maintenance problem, and the storm doesn’t excuse it.
Second, and this is the one that matters most: Connecticut treats a property owner’s duty to keep the premises reasonably safe as nondelegable. Legal analysis from Chartwell Law puts it directly — a party may contract out the performance of a nondelegable duty, but may not contract out the ultimate legal responsibility. Connecticut courts have held that a property owner cannot seek apportionment against a snow contractor for a nondelegable duty.
Read that twice if you manage commercial property. You can hire the best snow contractor in the county. You are still the one holding the responsibility. That’s not an argument against hiring a contractor. It’s an argument for hiring one whose contract actually describes the work you need done, because their performance is your exposure.
The Six Questions
1. What is the trigger depth, and does it differ by surface?
Trigger depth is the accumulation that has to fall before anyone shows up. Industry guidance from commercial snow contractors puts the common range at one to three inches, with one to two inches typical for high-traffic properties and higher triggers used on lower-traffic industrial sites to control cost.
A higher trigger is cheaper. It’s cheaper because it’s less work. That’s a legitimate trade for a back lot nobody walks through. It’s a bad trade for a front entrance.
The better question is whether your contract allows different triggers for different areas of the same property. A two-inch trigger on the parking lot with a zero-tolerance or one-inch policy on entrances and walkways costs more than a flat three-inch trigger and reflects how people actually use the property. Ask for it in writing.
2. What’s the response window, and what happens during a long storm?
“We’ll be there” isn’t a commitment. Get a number of hours from the end of accumulation, or from the point the trigger is met.
Then ask the harder version: what happens during a twelve-hour storm? A property that gets six inches over a full day doesn’t get plowed once. It gets plowed two or three times as accumulation continues, and each of those passes may be a separate billable event under a per-push contract. If you’re budgeting a per-push agreement on a per-storm basis, you’re budgeting wrong.
3. Are walkways, steps, and entrances included, or billed separately?
Ask this one flatly. Lots and drives get plowed with a truck. Walkways and steps get cleared by a person with a shovel and a spreader, which is slower, more expensive, and where nearly all the slip-and-fall exposure lives.
Some contracts include them. Many quietly don’t. Since your duty to keep the property safe is the nondelegable one described above, a contract that clears your lot beautifully and leaves your front steps untouched has solved the wrong problem.
4. Where does the snow go?
This sounds minor until March. Snow piled at the top of a grade melts during the day, runs across the surface below, and refreezes at night. You’ve just manufactured the exact preexisting-ice condition the ongoing storm doctrine doesn’t protect you from.
Snow piled against a retaining wall exerts real pressure. Snow piled on turf and beds kills what’s under it and compacts the soil, which is why so many properties come out of winter with dead strips along every drive edge. Snow piled over a catch basin or a drainage swale blocks the melt from going anywhere at all.
Decide the storage locations in September, on a walk-through, with the person who will be operating the machine. Mark them. This is a fifteen-minute conversation in the fall that saves a spring repair bill.
5. What de-icing material gets used, and what’s the temperature plan?
Rock salt is sodium chloride. It’s cheap, it’s everywhere, and it has a hard practical limit. Guidance compiled in the Minnesota Stormwater Manual puts the lowest practical melting temperature for dry rock salt at a 15-degree pavement temperature. Peters Chemical Company puts rock salt’s effective range at about the same point and notes calcium chloride works down to roughly -25°F.
Western Connecticut has plenty of January nights where pavement sits below 15 degrees. If your contract just says “salt as needed,” you have no plan for those nights. Somebody will spread more rock salt, it won’t melt anything, and you’ll pay for the material.
Material choice also matters to everything around the pavement. Chloride de-icers are hard on concrete, hard on masonry, hard on plantings, and hard on dogs’ feet. If you’ve put money into a bluestone walk or a stone entry, the de-icer used on it for the next fifteen winters is a real decision, not a detail. Ask what gets used near hardscape and near beds, and ask whether the contractor pre-treats before a storm or only reacts after one. Pre-treatment uses less material and prevents the ice bond from forming in the first place.
6. Who answers the phone at 4 a.m.?
At Ashwood, that’s me. I’m not saying that as a selling point so much as a description of how the business runs — I’m on the jobs, and I’m on the phone during storms.
The question matters because storms don’t follow contracts. Something unexpected happens on maybe one property in ten during a bad event: a car parked where the plow needs to turn, a downed limb across a drive, a tenant who needs access two hours earlier than planned. Whether that gets solved depends entirely on whether there’s a decision-maker reachable, or a dispatcher taking a message for the morning.
Ask for a name and a cell number. Ask what the escalation looks like at 2 a.m. If the honest answer is a call center, that’s fine, but you should know it before you need it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good trigger depth for a snow removal contract?
One to two inches is standard for properties with regular foot traffic, and many contracts allow different triggers for different zones. Higher triggers of three inches or more cost less but leave packed snow that refreezes. Set lower triggers on entrances and walkways where people walk, and higher ones on low-traffic areas.
Is a per-push or a seasonal snow removal contract better?
Per-push means you pay each time crews come out, which is cheaper in mild winters but hard to budget. Seasonal is a fixed price for the whole season regardless of snowfall, which costs more in a light winter and protects you in a heavy one. Seasonal suits properties that need guaranteed service.
Am I still liable if I hire a snow removal contractor?
Yes. Under Connecticut law, a property owner’s duty to keep premises reasonably safe is nondelegable. You can contract out performance of the work, but not the ultimate legal responsibility. This is why the specific terms of your contract matter — the contractor’s performance is your exposure.
How long do I have to clear snow after a storm in Connecticut?
Connecticut’s ongoing storm doctrine allows a reasonable time after a storm ends before your duty to clear arises. State law does not specify exact hours; courts assess reasonableness based on storm severity, property size, and resources. Municipal ordinances may impose shorter, specific deadlines for sidewalks.
Why doesn’t salt work in very cold weather?
Rock salt has a lowest practical melting point around a 15-degree pavement temperature. Below that there isn’t enough liquid water present for it to dissolve into and work. Calcium chloride remains effective to much lower temperatures, which is why a good contract specifies materials by temperature range.
Before the Leaves Are Down
The reason I write this in September rather than December is simple: in September you have leverage and time, and in December you have neither. Contractors have open capacity now. You can walk the property in daylight without boots. You can fix the gutter that’s been icing the front walk for three winters. You can ask for a zone-based trigger schedule and get it, because nobody’s crews are committed yet.
By the first week of December, most of that is gone. You’ll be choosing among whoever still has room, signing whatever they hand you, and hoping the winter is mild.
Run the Bad Night Test on whatever contract is in front of you. Ten minutes, one imaginary February storm, six questions. If the paperwork answers all of it, sign it and stop worrying. If it doesn’t, you’ve just found the problem while it’s still a phone call.
Snow doesn’t negotiate. Your contract is the only thing that does.
Keep Learning
- Snow & Ice Removal Services — How our commercial and residential snow service is structured, including what happens after every visit.
- Our Proven Process — How we scope, walk, and price a property before any work begins.
- Snow Management Gallery — Properties we clear through western CT winters.
- Drainage Solutions Gallery — The fall drainage work that prevents winter ice hazards.
- Service Area — The Connecticut and New York towns we cover.