What this service is
This is a different job from treating the lot, and treating it as the same job is how properties end up with a well-salted parking lot and an ice sheet on the front step.
The material is the same salt sand. Everything else is different. A lot gets treated from a spreader at speed; a walkway gets treated by hand, at walking pace, with attention to where the product actually lands. Steps and landings need heavier, more careful coverage than a flat run. Product needs keeping off the grass and beds immediately alongside, where it does damage across a season. And it’s all happening directly outside a door, so anything over-applied gets tracked inside onto floors that become their own slip problem.
It’s the surface where a fall becomes a claim, and it’s the surface a spreader on a truck cannot do properly.
Our process
We treat after clearing, not instead of it. Product spread over packed snow mostly disappears into it. The surface gets cleared first.
We prioritise entries, steps and landings - the three spots where a slip is most likely and most consequential.
We apply by hand where precision matters. Even coverage along a walkway, heavier on steps and landings, and kept off adjacent grass and beds.
We watch the freeze again points. Roof drip lines, downspout outlets, the shaded north side of a building, and anywhere meltwater crosses a walkway and freezes again after dark.
What affects the price
- Linear footage of walkway and number of entrances
- Steps and landings - slower, and treated more heavily
- Application frequency through days that thaw then freeze again overnight
- Whether it’s bundled with sidewalk clearing on the same visit
- Problem areas - a walkway under a roof drip line needs repeat attention all winter
When to schedule it
Together with sidewalk clearing, on the same contract and the same visit. The gap between clearing a walkway and treating it is exactly when meltwater freeze agains into clear ice on a surface that now looks perfectly safe.
Questions
Questions we get asked
Short, plain answers. If yours isn’t here, call or text (701) 390-0630 and just ask.
Is this included in a full-service contract?
Yes. Sidewalk ice control is part of full service, done on the same visit as sidewalk clearing.
Why is it priced separately from lot salting?
Different application method. Lots are treated from a spreader; walkways, steps and landings are done by hand, which takes longer and needs more care.
Do you use a different product on concrete?
No. The same brine-washed salt sand. What changes is how it’s applied and at what rate.
Do you treat steps and landings?
Yes. They’re the priority, not an afterthought.
Get a free estimate
Tell us about your property and we’ll get back to you. Serving Bismarck, Mandan and Lincoln.