Salting and Ice Control in Barrie, ON

Salting and ice control in Barrie means salt or sand put down on your walkway, steps and driveway after freezing rain, a thaw-freeze night, or a clearing that left a skin of ice on the surface. It is an add-on for Barrie homeowners with a north-facing walk that never dries, a sloped driveway, or tenants and visitors who need sure footing, and it is written as its own line so you can leave it off.

You get a surface you can walk on the morning after an ice event, and a note in the log of what went down and when.

Spreading ice melt on an icy driveway in Barrie Ontario

What Ice Control Involves

Most tractor-blower services in Barrie do not salt at all, and the ones that do run a truck spreader on the driveway. We salt by hand from a bucket, so the walkway and steps get the right amount and the lawn edge, the interlock and the dog's paws get as little as possible.

On a seasonal contract with the salt line, we treat after every clearing where the surface has glazed and after freezing rain with or without snow. Without the salt line, we clear to the surface and leave treatment to you.

Salt, Sand or Both

Rock salt works down to about minus 10 and stops working on the coldest January nights, when sand gives grip without melting anything. Salt eats concrete that is less than a year old and marks interlock, so new steps and new pavers get sand or a calcium chloride blend instead.

The federal Code of Practice for road salts is written for organizations using more than 500 tonnes a year, which is nowhere near a residential service, but its rule is the one we follow: the right amount in the right place at the right time. Less salt on the walk is less salt in the storm drain and on your lawn in April.

What Affects the Quote

Salting is quoted per application on top of the seasonal snow contract or the per-visit driveway clearing, so a mild winter costs less than an icy one. The area treated sets the rate: walkway and steps only, or the whole driveway too. Freezing-rain-only visits, where nothing needs clearing but the walk is glass, are their own line. The walkway and sidewalk clearing page covers the clearing the salt goes on top of.

Salting and Ice Control FAQs

  • Do you salt on every visit?

    No. Salt goes down when the surface has glazed or freezing rain is in the forecast, and each application is logged. Salting dry snow does nothing but cost you money and mark the concrete.

  • Is salt safe for my interlock and my dog?

    Rock salt marks interlock and irritates paws. On interlock, new concrete and homes with dogs we use sand or a calcium chloride blend and keep it off the lawn edge. Tell us at the quote.

  • Can you come for freezing rain when there is no snow?

    Yes. Freezing rain visits are their own line on the contract, triggered by an Environment Canada freezing rain warning for Barrie, and we treat the walkway and steps first.

  • Does the City salt my street?

    The City treats priority roads and sidewalks and gets to residential streets afterwards. Nothing the City does reaches your driveway or your front walk, which is where most slips happen.

Request a Written Quote

A visit, a measured driveway, and each service on its own line. Routes close when the tractors are full, so ask before November.

Request a Quote

Sure Footing the Morning After

Salt or sand by the bucket on walks, steps and driveways, logged on every visit, quoted as its own line.