How to choose a good asphalt contractor
13 April 2021
When it comes to choosing a company to complete your asphalt project, the key word to remember is “choice”. Don’t even feel pressured into making an on-the-spot decision just because a company happens to be working in your neighbourhood and is offering a deal. Taking time to choose the right asphalt contractor for your job is important.
Whether you’re paving a driveway, sidewalk, patio, walkway or entryway, working with a paving company that ticks all of the boxes on your checklist takes a little bit of thought and research. In this article, the paving specialists at Pavage Massie in Gatineau share some tips for how to choose a good asphalt contractor. Afterall, with over 30 years of experience and more than 25K asphalt and paving projects under our belt, we’ve learned a lot about striking a good contractor/client relationship.
Here are 5 criteria to consider when choosing your asphalt contractor:
1. Stick to local.
Always choose a reputable local paving company and never sign with an itinerant door-to-door roving paving crew. Paving projects are a significant investment and you want to ensure that you can easily contact your paver in the event of any unexpected issues or complications.
How to easily identify a local paver vs. a roaming door-to-door itinerant crew?
- Look for a professionally branded vehicle with a local phone number listed
- Ask for a business card or pamphlet
- Check the BBB listing for the company. Here’s ours! (Spoiler alert: we’re rated A+!)
Read more about how to avoid roaming scammers in our blog post:
Asphalt Scams on the Rise: How to Avoid Fraud.
2. Look for Experience.
Paving your driveway, sidewalk, patio, walkway or entryway is not the ideal time to let an inexperienced paver experiment and learn their trade on your property. We appreciate that laying asphalt is a major investment and you want the best team for the job.
When assessing the experience of a paving contractor, ask these key questions:
- Does the paving company you’re considering have a number of jobs under their belts? (did we mention our 25,000+ job count?!)
- Does the company have an established website with a photo gallery of the local paving projects that they have recently completed?
- Can the company provide references ?
- Are they listed with the Better Business Bureau or local Chamber of Commerce?
3. Comprehensive Contract.
Contracts protect the client and the contractor. A professional and reputable paving company will provide you with a comprehensive contract to read prior to signing for approval to complete the work. Look for a paving contractor who is willing to take the time to outline the details of the contract. He has to answer any questions or concerns you have about what to expect in terms of the finished product, fees and timelines.
Carefully consider and question the authenticity and trustworthiness of any paving crew or door-to-door salesperson that pressures you to sign any documents before you’ve had time to fully review them. A common trick employed by dishonest itinerant pavers is to suggest that “you’re not signing a contract” when in fact you really are. Really, why would they need your signature for anything else?
4. After Care and Ongoing Support.
Paving projects don’t necessarily end after the crew and trucks have rolled away. An important criteria to look for when choosing the company to complete a paving job on your property, both residential and commercial, is the amount of after care and ongoing support that the paver offers.
Look for a paving company that is committed to following up on any issues or unexpected problems with the asphalt or paving job that they have completed for you. A bonus item on the paver checklist is a company that provides helpful information about maintaining your pavement on an ongoing basis.
Oh, look! Here are 2 of our helpful blog posts:
Oil Stains on Pavement: How to get rid of them
How to Clean your Asphalt Driveway after a Long Winter
5. Professionalism.
It’s possible that a paving company might meet all of the criteria above but might not have a professional presence or demeanor when completing the pavement job on your property. It may seem like a minor thing to consider, but we know that maintaining good neighbourly relations is important. You don’t want a wreckless crew to make things uncomfortable for your neighbours on the street.
Here are some questions to ask yourself to help measure the professionalism of a paving company:
- Are they known for being respectful of their clients’ properties?
- Have you seen the paving crew working in the neighbourhood and aiming to be as least disruptive to the neighbourhood as possible?
- Is the paving company committed to following all necessary safety protocols to keep clients and employees safe?
- Did the paving contractor leave the property and street clean and tidy in their last job?
By taking some time to learn more about the paving company that you’re considering working with, you’ll be setting yourself up for a healthy client-contractor relationship and increase the odds that you’ll be completely satisfied with your freshly paved surfaces.
If you’re looking for a Gatineau based contractor to lay asphalt on your property this season, please give us a call! We’re confident that we’ll measure up and would be pleased to give you a free estimate on your project.
