Let’s talk driveways. Some houses have little short driveways. Many have long skinny driveways. Others might have a dirt path that leads up to a creepy rusted cattle gate in the middle of nowhere making you terrified of getting out of your car at night to open said gate when you get home late and there’s no light or civilization to be seen and what was that noise?! Read more in my upcoming book: The Traumas of Growing Up in the Boondocks.
Childhood trauma aside, the point of this post is to walk you through the process of adding a driveway. Maybe there is no real driveway at your residence currently, or maybe it’s crumbling and needs replacement. We had a long existing concrete driveway in pretty good shape, but found ourselves desperately needing a solution for parking my husband’s new company vehicle.
The thing is a behemoth, so it ended up parked in the side yard since there was no room on the driveway. This wasn’t a huge deal until it rained and this heavy-ass van sunk into the ground. Like tires barely visible. Most of our yard was destroyed during the van-rescue process. Here’s a photo of me side-eyeing the aftermath while Roman looks adorable:
So yeah, I started pricing adding a second length of driveway next to our current one and got that done ASAP. Honestly, it’s a plain driveway so I won’t bore you with driveway pictures except these where we “put our stamp on it” because I’ve always wanted to do that. 🙂
It makes our lives a thousand times easier. No more shuffling cars depending on who needs to leave, friends and family don’t have to park by the street, and no more quick sand van fiascos.
Now that we’re on the other side of this project, I want to share with you some tips to find an awesome contractor and make this process smooth sailing!
I can’t stress enough the importance of getting multiple estimates. Our highest bid came in at $4,600 and our lowest was $2,000. That’s quite a difference! Now you shouldn’t always go with the lowest bid, but in our case, we felt comfortable after taking all the measures outlined below. We definitely made the right choice because we enjoyed working with our contractor, LOVED the final product, and absolutely loved saving $2,600. This guy even removed a tree that was in the way at no extra cost when I was totally thinking I’d have to pay for tree removal first. Pro-tip: when your contractor and crew are this nice, you buy them snow cones of appreciation. During winter, sub snow cones for homemade hot chocolate.
So without further ado, here are our top 5 tips for a contractor match made in heaven:
5 Tips for Choosing the Right Contractor
1. Do your research
Before you look for a contractor, research the type of work you need done. Do you want a cement driveway? Asphalt? Brick pavers? These all have different price tags. There are websites like HomeAdvisor and Homewyse that can give you an estimate of what similar projects in your area may cost. Know, in general, what to expect so you won’t be blindsided when contractors give you bids (and also to know if they’re way overcharging).
2. Reviews and recommendations
Check as many home improvement contractor websites as possible for recommendations (e.g. HomeAdvisor, Angie’s List, Homewyse. Also check Google Reviews and their business Facebook page if they have one). If you see any red flags, RUN away now! On the other hand, if all the reviews you see are stellar, put those contractors on a “short list” to call for estimates once you’ve narrowed down your options.
3. Schedule free estimates
This is when you’ll see firsthand if they are available (if you can’t get an answer after trying a few different times, they might be too busy to take on more work), if they keep their appointment and are on time (doesn’t bode well for the project if they are late to an estimate), and if they handle the process professionally (Are they short and rude with you? Do they seem unsure or confused about what you’re asking? These are red flags). Trust your gut here. If you don’t get a good vibe, you should not work with them no matter how awesome their price was or how quickly they promised it would be done.
4. “License and Insurance, Please.”
Ask to see your contractor’s general contracting license. Most states require licenses to pull permits, and it is illegal to do certain types of work without it. Also ask to see their insurance. At a minimum, they should have liability insurance (meaning if an employee gets hurt on your property, the contractor is responsible).
5. Get it in writing
All professional contractors should have no problem providing you with a written estimate and, if selected for the job, a written and signed contract. Contracts needs to include an itemized estimate (how much of the cost is labor? How much is materials?), a timeline of completion, and a detailed description of exactly what you’re paying for. If you requested that they provide a stamped finish in your concrete, have that written. Specify that you expect them to clean up afterwards. In our case, we wanted the addition to match the curve of our existing driveway.
BONUS:
The #1 thing you need to know about contracted work: never EVER pay in full BEFORE the work is finished! For our driveway (and with many jobs), the contractor wanted half up front to start and half upon completion. This makes sense because that first chunk of money is usually used for supplies/ materials needed for the job.
You and your contractor may decide upon quarter-payments or some other payment plan depending on how big the job is you’re having done, the timeline, the amount of materials, etc. But as a basic rule, you should never pay the total until the job is complete. You’ll also want to make sure to have your signed contract before making the first payment.
If you follow these tips, you can hopefully avoid the bad contractors and find a really great one to get the job done—and done well!—for a fair price. Working with contractors can be intimidating if you’re new to it, but remember this: you are hiring them for a job–usually a pricey one. When someone expects you to fork over hundreds or thousands of dollars, you have a right to have your questions answered, have a contract, be able to get in touch with them, and have them do what they say they will do when they say they are going to do it.
Do you have any projects planned that require a contractor? What big project do you want to tackle in the near future? Let me know in the comments!
