How to Hire an Asphalt & Concrete Contractor
All reputable contractors who seek your business in good faith will provide references and phone numbers of satisfied customers. Some firms even maintain a list of recent customers and phone numbers. A few quick calls will help protect your investment. Ask references about qualifications such as contractors' quality of work, do they do the work in house, attention to details, on-time performance, length of warranty and ability to finish work completely & accurately, are some other points to consider:
- Decide who and how water valves or sewer inlets will be raised to meet the new asphalt elevations around them.
- Assign specific responsibilities and make notes.
- Get a detailed site drawing of what and where asphalt & concrete repairs will be performed.
- Surface drainage is very important. Make sure your contractor plans and builds adequate surface slopes to produce good drainage. Some "water ponding", is unavoidable when resurfacing. Make sure they take sufficient action to prevent them
- Once you have taken bids and selected the contractor you want, you're ready for the contract. A construction contract should detail such items as the responsibility for grading work and accuracy, for compacting the sub grade and base, for measuring compacted pavement thicknesses, for pavement slopes and smoothness, payment schedule, and guarantee of the finished product.
- Ask for unit prices if extra work is needed.
- It's important to make sure your contractor has adequate liability insurance. Ask for written proof of it.
