If you own or manage a business, you understand that maintaining your curb appeal and safety is just as important as maintaining your interior. One of the main things you must consider when it comes to your commercial exterior is how safe it is for people to park and walk. Therefore, you may be looking at an asphalt paving company to assist you. Here are questions to ask an asphalt paving company you’re looking to hire.
1. What Kind of Services Do You Provide?
There are many asphalt paving companies to consider, and they all don’t offer the same service. Some asphalt paving companies offer a variety of extensive services ranging from installation to routine maintenance to repairs. Therefore, it’s always best to inquire about the variety of services that you can expect if you bring a contractor on. Some may offer asphalt curb installation, sealcoating services, concrete paving, lot paving, and asphalt repair. After all, if you find the ideal contractor, you can go to them for different services and you won’t have to keep calling different people for the same type of work.
2. How Long Have You Been in Business?
According to Parking Network, drivers spend about 17 hours annually looking for a parking space. You want to have confidence that you’re bringing on a contractor that can provide the right parking lot pavement services so that your customers and staff don’t have to linger while trying to find parking space. Your potential asphalt paving company should have a lot of previous job experience working with other commercial companies. After all, commercial pavement may not be the same as residential work as there’s usually more space to consider and different compliance issues.
3. Can I Have Some References?
References are past customers who were satisfied with the work that the contractor has done for them. You can tell a lot about a company by how they respond when you ask them for these references. An experienced company with a good reputation won’t hesitate to provide contacts for you. After all, they can rest assured that their other clients will have nothing but good things to say about their services, use of materials, and professionalism. However, if you’re dealing with an asphalt paving contractor who doesn’t have the best experience with clients because they didn’t always do good work, they may hesitate to provide those types of contacts. Since you’re dealing with commercial properties, you may be able to visit those businesses in person so you can judge the quality of the paving work yourself.
4. What Materials Do You Use?
Regardless of how much experience an asphalt paver has, you still need to ensure they’re using the right type of materials. You want only the best materials used on your parking lot as you want it to be as durable and safe as possible. The type of materials they use will affect the overall quality of their work and affect the safety of your exterior. After all, you don’t want asphalt pavement that will begin to crack or become unleveled quickly after doing the job. People should be safe to drive and walk around your area. In order for that to happen, the initial installation must go to plan with the right materials.
5. What Are the Payment Terms?
Be clear on the payment terms before hiring a paving contractor. When it comes to scheduling these services, you also want to make sure you’re getting fair pricing. It’s beneficial to ask for a proposal to have an estimator review your request. Whether you need emergency maintenance work or regular paving services, having accurate pricing information will allow you to budget wisely and invest accordingly.
6. Can You Work With Concrete?
Just because a paver specializes in asphalt doesn’t mean that they can’t also work with another material. Concrete paving is also popular when it comes to exterior surfaces, so if you have concrete pavement that’s beginning to show wear and tear, your local asphalt paver may be able to help you with repair.
Inquiring about concrete paving services is important for understanding when you should call a team of experts for it. You’ll likely hear that noticeable flaking, excessive cracking, and lifting are some of the main signs that concrete paving is a solution for your parking lot or driveway.
7. What Is the Time Frame?
As a business, you have a schedule you must maintain. Depending on the type of business you have, you may have many people coming in and out of your office. Whether you’re a small office or a large corporation, you want to have a good idea of just how long any contracting work will take. After all, this type of work may be disruptive to your production. Understand that the duration of your paving project depends on the extent of work you need to be done outside. If there are only a few cracks or a couple of potholes to repair, then asphalt pavers can likely handle that in a few hours. However, if you recently purchased a commercial space that has become worn down and been unattended for years, there may be more work to do when it comes to your parking lot paving.
8. What Are Your Qualifications?
Getting quality work from a qualified, highly-trained team of pavers will provide you with peace of mind. For example, a company with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau is one to trust. A dependable crew will be happy to share the qualifications of their team members, as sharing this information is vital for many customers looking for repeat paving providers.
9. What Is the Extent of the Work Needed?
You may not understand just how damaged your parking lot area may be. If you’re taking on a commercial space where you have to do a lot of renovation, you want to know as much as possible about the area. After all, you may not know if the damage that has been done will simply be due to general wear and tear or negligence from the previous owner. Therefore, it’s a good idea to ask as many questions as possible about the extent of the needed repairs or installation.
When contractors from an asphalt paving company examine your area, they can give you details about what the problem is and what they plan to do to fix it. They can also give you a list of recommendations for how your company can continue to ensure that your exterior remains in tip-top shape. They can give you recommendations on when and how often you should call them to return for more repairs and updates.
As you can see, there’s lots to consider when you’re getting asphalt paving work done in your commercial space. It’s serious work that can affect your overall exterior and commercial curb appeal, so you want to find the right contractor for the job. Look no further than our local team for paving services that you can rely on. We can help you with asphalt paving, repairs, new installations, seal coating, cement repair, and so much more. If it’s time to upgrade your parking lot paving, contact our asphalt paving company today. The team at Ford Asphalt Company looks forward to speaking with you!
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