Alternatives To Salt

Common rock salt is the cheapest way to melt ice and snow on your property. Unfortunately it is not great for the environment. It can be hard on plants, concrete and our pets. It also makes it way down out city's sewers to cause problems in our waterways. Its a major cause of pollution to our rivers and streams and ultimately flows out to Lake Ontario.

Rock salt is normally quite course an is sold by the bag for walkways and by the tonne for parking lots. The city of Toronto primarily uses salt for the streets in this form and also by presalting with a liquid brine before a snowfall.

An alternative that we use for clients who want ice control with out as many downsides is magnesium chloride pellets. Its much less toxic then salt and has been compared to baking soda in its level of toxicity. MAG ice melting pellets contain a third less amount of chlorides then either calcium chloride or salt. This translates into less harmful chlorides going into our waterways.

MAG is very easy to handle and will not burn or irritate skin or pets paws. It works at a lower temperature then salt and does not leave an oily residue like calcium chloride that can track into your home or business. Its also causes less damage to concrete.

Calcium Chloride is a powerful ice melter that works at a very low temperature. It is not considered an alternative to salt from an environmental perspective but because of its very low melting temperature it would be effective during a deep freeze when salt would not work.

Calcium Chloride is not as friendly to the persons spreading the product as it is slightly irritating to skin and care must be taken not to breath in the dust.

Our preferred product from a performance and environmental impact is by far the Mag ice melter. Keep in mind however that even this product should not be used with out care as it still contains chlorides (not as much as salt) which do have a negative impact. Also its shipped all the way from the Dead Sea. Its important to use just enough to make your property safe and not over apply.

 To obtain a ice melter that is non corrosive and even less toxic then the ones shown here would be sodium acetate. Its used at airports because its non corrosive and biodegradable. Acetates contain no chlorides. These are much more expensive however.

Visit our website: http://www.eavestrough.ca/services_snow.php



Blizzard Power Plow Shock Absorber

A blog post that is geared more to the people that work in our industry.

A common complaint with the Blizard Power Plow is the speed in which the blade snaps back after tripping on a curb.

We have installed a Western shock to slow the return speed to lessen the impact and reduce wear on the plow and operator.

Here is a video of it in action!

They also installed this rubber deflector which improves the performance of the blade.

After plowing for one year with the one shock absorber we added another to the other side.

Thanks for the fine work on the install from Kooy Brothers in Toronto: http://www.kooybros.com

Call North Shore Eavestroughing at 416 615 0443 or visit us at www.eavestrough.ca/snow-services 

North Shore Snow Clearing Services

For over 17 years North Shore Eavestroughing has provided reliable snow removal services for commercial properties. Sorry to all our eavestrough clientele but we do not do residential clearing. It fits well with our eavestrough business which slows down during the winter season. Once snow comes we are in full snow mode and do eavestroughing when weather permits.

Snow clearing is a service that we really enjoy providing to our clients. Its a perfect fit for all our trucks to be utilized during our off season. It enables us to provide work for our team in a normally seasonal business.

Luckily we enjoy the challenges of keeping all our equipment fully maintained and fixing things on the go as needed. The snow business is demanding on equipment and we must be prepared for the unexpected. We love the anticipation of a big snow event in the forecast and realize how our clients will be relying on us to get their property cleared and safe.

 

 

 

This is the only vehicle in our fleet that does not have a snow blade for obvious reasons!!

Growing up on the east coast of Canada in PEI I have seen some really awesome storms with 70 cm of snow and high winds which produce some high snow banks which we had to clear. I operated a snow business there and we would go for days straight as some of our customers operated 24 hours as seen below.

On the East Coast we had a fleet of tractors with blowers as some of the banks would reach 12 feet high. Snow drifting off this hotels roof created a nice challenge!

Seeing and dealing with these type of storms on the East Coast has helped prepare myself and our company for the worst conditions that Toronto can through at us. Late nights and unpredictable storms are all taken in stride to ensure our clients receive the very best snow service!

For a free estimate on your snow clearing and salting needs contact North Shore Eavestroughing at 416 615 0443. Visit our website at http://www.eavestrough.ca/snow-services

Visability At Property Entrance

Your business entrance is the most important area to keep clear, wide and free of visibility issues. Banks of snow should not be piled at the entrance of the property as it makes it very difficult for cars to enter or exit your lot.

Banks of snow at a entrance should be limited to 2 to 3 feet high as not obstruct the view of cars exiting your lot and entering the flow of traffic on the street. Its not only dangerous and annoying for your customers leaving your property and will surely be a  bone of contention if someone gets sideswiped when leaving your lot.

A professional contractor who takes pride in their work and has the property owners interest in mind will not stack snow at the entrances and find other suitable locations based on communication with the property manager.

 Its also important to make sure snow banks are not piled at your entrance but even worse the banks should not flow out onto the street. I was surprised to see that this bank stayed like this all last winter on a busy street. This is an accident waiting to happen and will have potential for legal implications if there was a serious accident as a result.

I hope that this post will help property managers identify some common issues regarding snow clearing in Toronto. Hiring a professional snow contractor will alleviate any of these problems.

Contact North Shore Eavestroughing at 416 615 0443 for a free snow clearing and salting estimate. Visit our website at http://www.eavestrough.ca/snow-services

Snow Banks Can Cause Property Damage

Its important to be communicate with your snow removal contractor before the winter season about locations of snow piles. Its best to pick locations that will not obstruct your business. Most properties have some grass area or low priority areas that can be used for snow piling. If your snow is being relocated off site then these may be just temporary piling spots until the snow is relocated.

Its important to communicate to your snow removal contractor not to push these banks too far back off the lot and cause stress and damage to fences. Many contractors want to do a great job and get the banks pushed way back which is great for keeping parking spots clear but leave you with some springtime surprises which require money to repair.

A professional contractor will communicate with the property manager when designated piling areas are full which can happen quite quickly on a heavy snow winter. Instead of pushing snow up against fences and buildings a plan can be discussed which may include relocating some snow with a loader either on site or loaded on trucks for removal.

Some piling areas are very limited so a snow contractors plan should change accordingly. One snowstorm can fill or overfill piling locations as shown in this picture! Once an area is full the plowing contractor should change their plowing strategy to locate snow to another area to prevent damage to the property.

Snow piled against fences, especially chain link may look fine during the winter but become damaged once the snow piles melt in the spring and slowly pull the fence down out of shape causing damage.

For a free estimate on your snow removal and ice control needs contact North Shore Eavestroughing at 416 615 0443. Visit our website at http://www.eavestrough.ca/snow-services

Curb To Curb Snow Clearing

Curb to curb snow clearing means that all snow is cleared from the parking lot except for the designated areas to pile snow. Snow clearing professionals will leave your lot looking neat and tidy as the snow will be cleared within inches of the curbs.

A light application of salt will clear the rest of the snow away from the curbs and leave your property looking superb and ready for business.

The good thing about curb to curb snow clearing is that the parking lot remains the same size for the winter and the parking spaces are not sacrificed or encroached on. Island are easy to navigate around and in the picture above there they are not used to stack snow so that there no visibility issues.

Curb to curb not only keeps your lot looking professionally cleared but safe and free and clear of snow banks that impede traffic flow.

For a free estimate on your commercial snow and ice clearing for the 2013/2014 snow season contact North Shore Eavestroughing at 416 615 0443. Visit our website at http://www.eavestrough.ca/snow-services

Handicap Parking Deserves Priority Service

Its extremely important that handicap parking receive the same attention to detail that the rest of the
parking lot receives. The lot shown here has about 6 handicap spots across the front of the building. Its quite obviously been neglected based on the pictures below.

These spots need to be scraped clean and salted so that this area is bare pavement as soon as the snow stops falling.

A professional company will make sure that all snow is removed along the curb as well to prevent the chance of any slip and fall claims and make for happier customers.

In this case the snow has stopped falling  2 days previous so chances are the company doing the snow removal here have no intention of making it right.

Hiring the right snow removal company will reduce your liability, improve your company image and keep people safe. Attention to detail is important in the snow business just like any other service business.

For a free quote on your commercial snow removal needs for your property email me at North Shore Eavestroughing  darren@eavestrough.ca  Check out our website at www.eavestrough.ca/snow-services