Choosing a Paving Contractor

Why the Choice Matters

Driveways and parking lots are major parts of your property, and their quality directly affects how your home or business is perceived — and how safe it is. A poor paving job comes with real defects: depression spots or "birdbaths" that puddle after every rain, or a pitch graded toward your building that sends runoff — and water damage — exactly where you don't want it.

What a Quality Contractor Does Differently

• Tests the ground and builds the base. A stable, compacted base is what makes pavement resist sagging, ruts, erosion, cracks, and flaking edges.
• Grades for drainage. The correct pitch moves water away from structures, not toward them.
• Uses state-approved materials. VDOT-spec mixes are produced to measurable quality standards — ask what mix your quote specifies.
• Puts the scope in writing. Removal, base work, thickness, and drainage should all be itemized. "Pave driveway" on one line is a red flag.
• Finishes the details. Straight seams, even striping, speed bumps, signage, and edging attended to with care.

Questions to Ask Any Paving Contractor

• Are you licensed, bonded, and insured? (A-Pak is all three, and BBB-accredited since 2015.)
• What's the compacted thickness of the finished asphalt — and is that number in the written quote?
• What happens if you find soft spots in the base?
• Where will water go after paving?
• Can I see recent local work? (Ours is in the gallery — and probably on your street.)

Red Flags Worth Walking Away From

• "We have leftover asphalt from a job down the street." The classic driveway scam. Reputable contractors order material for your job; leftover-asphalt offers are usually thin lifts over unprepared ground that fail in a season.
• Cash-only, today-only pricing. Pressure plus no paper trail is exactly the combination you'll regret in March.
• No thickness in the quote. "2–3 inches" isn't a spec. Loose asphalt compacts by roughly a quarter when rolled; a contractor who won't commit to a compacted number can't be compared to one who will.
• No mention of the base. If the estimate goes straight from "remove old asphalt" to "pave," ask what happens to the stone underneath. The base is the driveway; asphalt is the wear surface.
• A price far below the others. Paving costs are mostly material and trucking, which every contractor pays about the same for. A dramatically cheaper bid is missing scope, thickness, or both.

Verify the License — It Takes Two Minutes

Virginia contractors are licensed through the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Ask for the number, then check it at DPOR's license lookup — you'll see the license class, status, and expiration. Ours is #2705131299, in the footer of every page on this site; a contractor who hesitates to give you theirs has answered your real question.

How to Compare Two Quotes Fairly

Line them up item by item, not total by total: removal and disposal included or not, new stone quantity, compacted asphalt thickness, mix specification, drainage work, and cleanup. When one bid is missing a line the other has, price that line — it usually explains the entire gap. And ask both contractors the same question: "what happens if you find soft spots in the base?" The answer tells you who plans for reality and who prices for the best case and change-orders the rest.

Compare complete scopes, not just totals. The cheapest quote usually leaves out the step you'll pay for twice. When you're ready, get a free, itemized A-Pak estimate to measure the others against.