Like, how do you even find companies who do this? And how much is it going to cost me?
I googled “driveway paving” and stuff like that but all I come up with is a list from yellow pages (or similar) of local paving companies. No clue if they’re residential or commercial or even what they do, since NONE of them have websites (side note - what kind of company doesn’t have a website these days). And given their local addresses, their reputability comes into question.
So all things considered, I’d prefer not to have to start calling these companies without any frame of reference.
I want someone who can come out, give us options (asphalt v. concrete v. whatever else), explain costs.
Am I looking the wrong way? Is there a different name for people who do residential driveways? Any recommendations other than just calling yellow page listings?
Also, anyone have any idea what a driveway costs? I paced my driveway and am thinking it’s roughly 3,000 sq ft.
Don’t put down the local companies. If they have a Yellow Page ad, they’ve probably been in business a while. And those hard-working guys don’t really need a website, nor do they want to waste the money on one. You call them, they answer your questions, they come out and give an estimate. Ask any neighbors who may have had work done who they used. Ask people you work with. call your friends and ask who they’d recommend.
Just don’t buy asphalt from a guy driving down the street who says he’s got extra from another job and he’ll redo your approach for cheap.
You might simply have to break down and actually use the yellow pages - look under “concrete”. Most of them have yellow page ads touting what they do, many with words like “residential” and “driveways”. Most of the concrete contractors will do other options as well - typically, they aren’t that specialized. As with most major jobs you get done by contractors, you contact several of them, have them come over and give you an estimate, and choose among them. Estimates should be free, and no reputable contractor can give you a decent price quote without coming out and looking at the job. They should all be able to explain their options and make reccomendations.
The first order check of reputability is their state license number, which they will probably list in the yellow page ad. You can probably check sites like yelp.com to get other people’s opinions, but such things are subject to the problems of small sample sizes. At the end of the day, you have to study up on the subject, talk to the contractors, and make a judgement call as to which one will do a good job.
For that matter, never ever accept an offer from some guy who knocks on your door and offers to do any sort of home repair. He’ll usually want some money up front for materials. IF he ever shows up again and actually does some work, the work will be shoddy and incomplete. And his phone will be disconnected when you try to call him.
The best resource is recommendations from your friends and neighbors. If you don’t know anyone who’s had this sort of work done, then go ahead and call up local handymen, and ask for contacts to previous customers, so you can ask about their opinions.
I just had mine done last year. It cost over 3K and less than 4. (Sorry I don’t recall the exact figure but I think it was 3600.) I have a very long and steep driveway, so I would guess that mine was high for this area, but who know what your area would be like?
I found mine because they were doing the neighbor’s. I had found a few through CraigsList. Some didn’t even bother to reply to my inquiry. Even though I asked about a re-topping mine, one gave me a quote for digging up all the old and putting in new. It was over 6K.
This guy seemed pretty honest, he had been in the business all his life. His parents owned the business and they had done it for years. He told me that they either had to do a full-on re-top (instead of just a seal-coat) or to wait for another 6 or 7 years for it to be in such bad shape that they would have to pull up all the old. He sort of hinted that if it were him, he would wait (and save up the money to get it dug up and redone.)
They did a great job and even though I was a little concerned about the cost (I knew a layoff was coming) I think it was the right thing to do.
If I had to do it again, I would go to AngiesList. But unfortunately, in most area it costs money to join AngiesList.
Mine is gravel, somewhere in the same square footage, and the cost to have it paved would probably be between $4,000 - $7,000 CDN depending upon who did the job and what was involved. Sometimes the gravel bed needs to be redone or at least augmented, and sometimes not. I Know this from speaking to neighbours who have had theirs done. Obviously more expensive isn’t even necessarily better and all the other caveat emptors apply.
Talk to some neighbours like I did and ask for recommendations.
I’m living with gravel, because frankly, the benefits of a paved driveway aren’t worth the money to me: unless I win the lottery.
Every time I go outside for a cigarette, which is, unfortunately, all too often, I look at the driveway. It needs to be re-done. There’s a long pathway of loose pavement where my husband had to back out with the emergency brake on in his old car, tearing up the driveway’s surface. There’s the section that had a bump in it (created, I do believe, as pieces break off, by laying an old hose on the surface, and paving over it!) to allow water to flow across and down one side of the carport, and it’s deteriorating. There’s the moss starting on the parts that are breaking down.
But I just can’t bring myself to pay $5000 for new paving on the driveway.