It’s grey, it’s cracked, it’s a down right eye soar. Your driveway is worn down from weather, oil leaks, and dreaded tire streaks! What should one do? One should hire your friendly neighborhood pavement contractor! Now, without doing research you could just find anyone who claims to get the job to hire and risk the probability of getting over priced, slow paced, and untrustworthy workers. So what should one do? Well, here are some great tips to hire great and trustworthy pavement contractors. Please keep in mind in order for these tips to be helpful to you, you must be willing to do research and take the time to due your homework. Doing this can prevent you from contracting scammers, fake business and basically anyone trying to get your money without actually doing the work you are hiring them for.
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Step one:
Check the reviews from your personal contacts. When looking for pavement contractors it’s always a good idea to use reviews from the community. What did neighbor Joe say about the company you plan to hire? Using information from neighbors, close friends, and family can narrow down your search for a decent contractor. Doing so can help you avoid being disappointed in the quality of work the contractor may not provide. It will also help you feel better about trusting those you are hiring especially if a personal contact recommended them to you.
Step two:
After you find the recommendations from personal contacts it’s best to go online and find even more reviews. Take the information given to you and do a search on it. If no reviews show up that is your sign to find another contractor by looking at a paving contractor directory for paving contractors. This step can really be a pain but finding the right person is totally worth it once you get there. It is advisable to approach the expert paving contractors to get the exact budget for driveway paving costs.
Once you have chosen and researched reviews on the right contractor it would be wise to check the “Better Business Bureau” and make sure of the following things; one, It’s a business with a business license, two it’s not a scam, and three, it the company isn’t in trouble for any scandals. Lastly, always meet your contractor in person before signing or verbally agreeing to anything. You do not want to sign something and that person didn’t do the job right but you have already placed deposits into the job. Doing this should help prevent you from being scammed or making another decision.
Step three:
Once you find the company you are willing to hire it is finally time to do the consultation. Before you go right into the consultation it will pay off if you know exactly what your driveway needs. Look at your drive way and do some quick research. Ask yourself questions like; Are there any cracks in my driveway? Is my driveway stained? Is my driveway falling apart? Knowing the exact problem with your driveway can help you communicate to your contractor and it can also help you avoid buying overpriced work that you may not need.
Step four:
Once you are knowledgeable the consultation should go smoothly. Still, be on your toes and look for signs that your pavement contractor knows what he’s doing. Look for him leveling the ground and always remember to ask questions if you are unsure of charges or anything else you are unsure about. Now you are prepared to go out into the world and fill in those cracks, erase those stains, and eliminate those stubborn tire marks. With a little research and patience, your experience in hiring a pavement contractor can be a pleasant and enjoyable one.
Author’s Bio:
Maria Dsouza is a former teacher with a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education and mathematics. She has been a writer since 1998, specializing in business, fitness and education. She also writes that are related to interlocking pavers and driveways.
Thanks for the tips! This is my first time hiring a paving contractor, so I want to make sure to hire the right person for the job. I’ve already looked up a bunch of potential contractors, but it seems like I should do more to make a more informed decision. Getting recommendations from the people I know seems like a really great tip to narrow down my search to a small handful of companies. I really liked your tip to schedule a consultation with the company that I’m most willing to hire, so now I’ll make sure I do that to choose the right paving contractor.
It is interesting for me to learn a little bit about paving contractors. I think that it is important to find the right company that works for you. I think these tips will really help me find the right contractor for my needs.
It’s important to looks at referrals and reviews from people you know. That way you can safely choose some paving companies to choose from. It’s best to do lots of research ahead of time, that way you can get the service you want, for the price you can afford, and without any surprises.
Hello, my driveway has some massive cracks in it and they have just been growing year after year. I have been searching for a paving contractor but I honestly didn’t know where to start. Your article, especially the first and second steps about looking at reviews, were very helpful to me. Now I will hopefully be able to get rid of those annoying cracks. Thank you for the post!
Great points about checking the “Better Business Bureau”. You can never be too careful when choosing contractors. Good pavement helps curb appeal. The BBB is a great resource.
I really like the way you laid out the steps in the article. I’ve read a few where they aren’t in order and it can be a bit confusing. Anyways, I think that the third step is the most important one. When you are meeting with the contractor, this is giving you an idea of how they will go about doing the job and what kind of work will be done. This step is usually the deciding factor for whether you will hire them or not. I would always want to go with a professional company that takes pride in their work. You wouldn’t want a road or driveway to be filled with holes and patchy spots.
Yeah, I think getting a feel for the contractor at the walk-through / estimate is huge, along with asking for references and before-and-afters from their past work. Awesome stuff!
Thanks for explaining how I should find a paving contractor. My asphalt driveway is pretty damaged, so I need someone to fix it right away. Doing consultations seems like a great way to choose the right paving company. I should try scheduling consultations so that I can know who to hire for handling my paving needs. Thanks for the tips!
It sounds like doing the consultation is a big deal with contractors. Like you said, you’ll want to be as knowledgeable as possible so that you can know exactly what is going on with your driveway. I’ll have to pass this along to a friend who has been shopping around for asphalt contractors lately. Thanks for the great info!
Knowing what your asphalt project needs before consulting with the contractors is important. Like you mentioned, communicating exactly what you need will help to ensure you are getting what you need. Writing down and taking pictures may also be helpful to have during the consultation.
Looking up reviews online really helps me to find individuals or companies to hire. I like being able to read what other people have to say on the person or company. That way, I can tell if they are going to be a good hire or not!
You stated that it would be wise to check the “Better Business Bureau” and make sure of the following things; one, It’s a business with a business license, two it’s not a scam, and three, it the company isn’t in trouble for any scandals. Are most contractors registered with the Better Business Bureau? I came home from work last night and noticed a huge crack in our driveway. Hiring a reputable paving contractor might be our best option.
You recommended using information from neighbors, close friends, and family to help narrow down your search for a paving contractor. I’ve been thinking about having my driveway paved and was curious as to what steps I should take to find a contractor. I’ll definitely have to ask my close friend, who had a asphalt put down a couple of years ago, and it looks terrific. I’d definitely want to know what he thinks about their service.
I agree that you would want to start your search for a paving contractor by checking reviews from people you know. i would imagine that finding someone who is trusted by people you can trust would be best. This would probably be a good place to start your search and develop a list of paving contractors.
I liked your step one to check the reviews from your personal contacts. You also said that you should then check online for even more reviews after talking to your friends. I think it’s important to choose a paving contractor that has a professional website that is appealing to you.
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I can see why it would be helpful to get personal references as well as double check those against online reviews. I can see why this would help you get a better idea of what each contractor is like. My parents have been wanting to pave their driveway for a long time, but just haven’t gotten around to it. I’ll have to make sure that consider this before hiring someone.
Nowadays people really rely on what the “reviews” say as part of their decision making process especially online. It makes them feel more comfortable. I also feel that its important for a contractor to go the extra mile to really put an effort into their website so it gives the customer an idea about who you are and how you can help them.
It is good to know that a consultation is a good idea once the paving contractor has been selected. Finding out exactly what your driveway needs would be highly beneficial. My neighbors recently got their driveway repaired and said that they had success with their contractor because he was willing to answer all of their questions.
I agree that checking the better business bureau would be a good way to get a feel for a good paving contractor. It would seem that you would want to find someone who is well liked by the BBB because this would ensure they are experienced. I’m looking for a paving contractor to help with some driveway maintenance so I’ll have to choose someone who is accredited by the BBB.
Going online to find out about a paving contractor would be really important. I would imagine that you would want to find someone who is properly certified and qualified to do the job you need. My sister needs her asphalt driveway resealed so she’ll have to find a contractor with the right qualifications to do the job.
My brother is in need of a paving contractor for his driveway and I wanted to help with some tips on how to hire one. You talked about how you should look for reviews and recommendations online with a potential company to make sure they are legit. I never thought about putting that much work into a contractor but you mention that it really pays off in the end. Thanks for the awesome help.
It was helpful that you recommended speaking to a company’s past customers about their experience. I liked how you suggested looking online to view other reviews about a contractor. My brother has been wanting to build a basketball court in his backyard for his kids to play on. It could be beneficial for him to make sure a contractor is reputable before hiring a paving company to complete this job.
Thanks for the tips! I appreciate that you had a step-by-step guide for hiring a paving contractor. I like how you mentioned that we should still be on our toes and look for signs that our pavement contractor knows what he’s doing even after the consultation. I would definitely follow that if I hire a paving contractor in the future.
I’m glad I came across your tips on hiring a paving contractor. I am planning to switch my concrete driveway to asphalt as I think it will match my roofing. I like how you recommended looking up reviews from personal contacts and taking it further online. Checking with the BBB is also a great idea. I’ll make sure to use your suggestions when looking for a contractor that is perfect for my needs.
I like how you mentioned that when looking for a paving contractor, you should check out reviews from your community, and people you know and trust because it will make you feel better about who you’re hiring. The driveway at my house is very small, and my husband and I just bought a new car, and have to park it on the side of the road, because there’s no room for it, so we’ve been considering getting our driveway bigger. I will definitely keep your great tips and information in mind when hiring a paving contractor t make our driveway bigger so that we’re able to fit all of our cars on it.