Sep 13, 2013
How to Hire a Qualified Paving Contractor
After several phone calls this summer of individuals wanting us to evaluate paving jobs completed by other contractors we thought we should discuss the importance of owners do diligence when hiring an asphalt contractor. Owners of commercial properties have called us seeking a second opinion on the work they had completed by other contractors. They often express to us that the quality of workmanship they received was poor and what they were told and then received did not align. Don’t let yourself be a victim.
Here’s What to Ask & Look For in an Asphalt Contractor. The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) also provides excellent information.
Testimonials: Word of mouth is still one of the best ways to rate a company. Ask around. If you own commercial parking lots who do other owners of commercial lots use? Use local resources of trade organizations that recommend good standing asphalt paving companies such as SITE, MAPA, NAPA, & AGC. See our website for these organizations links.
Get 2-3 Bids: Seek out a couple reputable companies and meet with the estimators to talk over your project. Tell them up front your expectations and see if they have any ideas if there are particular issues you want to address (such as drainage, matching sidewalks, not loosing curb height). Our estimators are a wealth of knowledge and if there is something they don’t know they will ask around and try to help you solve your asphalt dilemma!
The Details: Once you have gathered the bids how are the details in the bid? Do you understand the process by reading through the bid? If not ask the contractor to clarify exactly what they are going to be doing. You want to make sure you are comparing “apples to apples”.
Visual Inspection: Ask to see some recent projects nearby that the paving contractor completed so that you can see the quality of workmanship for yourself. If you were going to have interior home renovations you would most likely ask to see contractors past or current projects to see the contractor’s abilities. An asphalt parking lot or driveway is similar. Seeing a quality job can be very reassuring. If the contractor is unwilling to give you addresses of recent jobs completed than let that be a red flag.
Technology: Check out the company’s website. This will give you clues into what they are capable of and if they can handle your job. If you have a large parking lot to complete and you visit their website and see the contractor mostly completes driveways your project may best be suited for another asphalt contractor who does larger scale projects.
Guarantees & Warranties: Ask the contractor during the bid process if they guarantee their work. Contractors should be willing to provide a 1 year Warranty.
Go With your Gut: Trust your Gut! Quite often in lieu of going with our gut on who we think would give the best quality job we often gravitate towards dollar signs $$$$$. If you are looking for quality, remember the old phase “you get what you pay for.”
Good Business practices prevail in asphalt installation. Do your do diligence. Ask around, get multiple bids, review the bids thoroughly, ask to see nearby recent projects similar to yours, check out their website, and most importantly trust yourself!
West Contracting would love the opportunity to have one of our estimators provide you with a quote on your next asphalt maintenance or asphalt construction project. contact us today!