Winnsboro

How to Find Paving Contractors You Can Trust

It’s time for you to either get a new driveway or do repairs on your current one and you want to work with the best paving contractors Winnsboro, LA has to offer, Thankfully, there are many different steps that you can take to ensure that you get the best results. The following processes are ones that we at Ark-La-Tex Paving always suggest our potential customers take before hiring anybody.

Always Review Licensing

All high-quality paving contractors need licenses to work in this field. The type will vary on a state-by-state basis, though, so you must research what is required where you live. You can talk to local or state authorities to learn more about these training needs. Often, they’ll need to go through multiple types of licensing processes and training that helps to ensure that they are up to date.

When you’re talking to a paving professional, ask them to show you their license – it is usually displayed on the wall of their office and is pretty hard to miss. Is somebody giving you a hard time about their license or claiming that they lost it? Then you may want to research them a little further. Often, many states make companies display their permits, and keeping them hidden is illegal.

And make sure that you check the dates on the licenses, as well, because some people may display out-of-date licenses and hope that you don’t notice. We can safely say that this kind of step is scarce and is usually only done by desperate people. However, it should serve as a good warning sign if you can’t find their license or if it doesn’t seem to be current to the day’s date.

Talk to the Better Business Bureau

Many people check out reviews online when trying to find paving contractors and use these as a guide for their purchasing choice. We get why people do this and know that it can be useful, in a general way, for understanding the overall value of a company. However, we don’t think that this should be the only option you take because online reviews are often very skewed and inaccurate.

For example, most reviews are either one- or five-star, which doesn’t give you that accurate of a view of a business. And many companies buy fake five-star reviews to put on their site – seems wild, but it is true – and one-star reviews are often left by people who don’t like a company for wrong reasons. As a result, it is usually better to talk to the Better Business Bureau to get a better feel.

Yes, their ratings are partially based on customer reviews and complaints, but the BBB also carefully researches these claims independently to see if they are valid. They also rate the company based on their criteria and give you a better feel for their value. So when looking for a paving expert who you can trust, always go to the BBB first before trusting that angry one-star review.

Check Into Their Past Jobs

Another great way to find paving contractors who you can trust is to inspect past jobs that they have performed for others visually. Many experts will point you out to these locations or show pictures that give you a good idea of their paving skills. Images aren’t preferable here, obviously, but can be useful in many scenarios. First of all, grade the value of the photos before checking the pavement.

Why is the quality of the pictures relevant here? Well, some companies may try to hide imperfect quality pavement with bad photo quality or use various types of Photoshop touch-ups to make it appear better than it is in reality. Instead, try to find photos that are clear, obviously not touched-up, and display all of the pavement as clearly and smoothly as possible for your needs.

Does the company seem very reluctant to show you past work or outright refuse with questionable excuses? That sign is never a good one. Usually, it means that they are trying to cover up bad practice or a problematic issue that would show off poor artistry. Don’t forget, though, that a single bad job doesn’t make a company bad – only persistently weak work does.

Avoid Traveling Pavers

Here’s a situation that we’ve seen happen to many of our clients – the allure of the door-to-door paving professional. These individuals often show up at your door unexpectedly and claim that your driveway is in poor shape and needs immediate repair. Usually, they try to claim that they just “happened” by after finishing another job and have materials that they can use to help you out – and at a discount price!

This type of situation seems too good to be true because it is – these types of “pavers” are con artists who prey on people who don’t know better and who want to save money. What usually happens is that these “professionals” do an abysmal job on a rushed paving and then claim that they have to charge more, often stating that they’ll sue a person if they don’t pay them right away.

Instead of falling victim to this scam – which is what these types of workers perform – we suggest that you only work with paving contractors whom you reach out to for help. The fly-by-night contractors that we just mentioned typically move from town-to-town pulling this scam, so you might not have any recourse if you fall victim to it at any time.

Finding Contractors Who You Can Trust

If you want to work with paving contractors in Winnsboro, LA that you can trust, please reach out to us at Ark-La-Tex Paving. We have years of experience in this field and will provide detailed and high-quality repairs and installation that your home needs and deserves.