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How we measure your parking lot before we quote it

By Brandon, Arctic Fox Snow Services · July 6, 2026

The short answer: before Arctic Fox quotes any commercial property, we measure its plowable pavement using county aerial imagery and parcel data: parking areas, drive lanes, and walks, minus buildings, islands, and landscaping. The quote you receive includes a rendered map of your own lot showing exactly what was measured. You pay for your pavement, not for a guess made through a truck window.

The problem with drive-by quotes

The traditional way to price a snow contract is a slow lap around the property and a number scribbled from experience. Experience is worth a lot, but a guess has two failure modes and both cost somebody money. Guess high and the owner overpays every month of the season. Guess low and the contractor is underwater by January, which is exactly when service quality starts to slip. Either way, the number was never anchored to anything you could check.

What we do instead

1. You send the address. That is genuinely all we need for most properties.
2. We pull the parcel. County parcel data tells us the legal boundary of the property, so the measurement covers your lot and not the neighbor's.
3. We measure the pavement from aerial imagery. Working from county aerial photography, we separate plowable surface from everything else: buildings, landscaping islands, turf, and retention areas. What is left is the actual square footage a plow has to move and the walks a shovel crew has to clear.
4. A human checks the result. Every measurement passes a review step before it becomes a price. Odd lots, new construction, and tricky parcels get corrected by hand rather than shipped wrong.
5. You get the quote with the map. The written quote includes a rendered image of your property with the measured area marked, so you can see precisely what the price covers before you sign anything.

Why this matters to you

• The price is checkable. You can look at the map and confirm it is your lot, your entrances, your walks. No other line item in your budget should be a mystery, and snow should not be either.
• Quotes come faster. No waiting to schedule a site walk. Most standard properties get a written quote within two business days.
• Scope disputes disappear. When the map is part of the agreement, "I thought you were doing the back lot" conversations do not happen in the middle of a storm.
• Fair pricing both directions. Measured square footage keeps us honest and keeps the contract sustainable, which is what actually protects your service quality in a heavy winter.