
Ask every contractor the same eight questions. The differences in the answers will tell you more than the differences in the numbers.
The questions
- How deep do you excavate for this surface, and why that depth?
- How many lifts do you compact?
- Is disposal of the old material included?
- Is edge restraint and polymeric sand in the price?
- What happens to water on this property — where does it go now, and after?
- Who is actually on site — your crew or a subcontractor?
- What is the schedule, and what happens if weather moves it?
- What is covered if something settles next spring?
What good answers sound like
Specific and quick. A contractor who builds this way answers without thinking, because it is what they do every week. Vague answers about "proper base" and "industry standard" are the tell.
Include us in that list. If our answers are worse than somebody else's, hire them.
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