Hiring the Right Concrete Contractors for an Exterior Job

You need concrete work done on your driveway, walkway or around your pool. This is not a job you can complete yourself. What do you do? You call in the professionals to do it for you. You need concrete contractors.

If you have never hired a contracting company before, you may not have a clue as to where to begin. The first thing you need to do is to put your research skills to work. Research and learn everything you can about the patterns, colors and textures that interest you for the exterior project at your home. The internet offers you a wealth of information and assistance in this regard.

Now you are ready to get on with it. Call and/or e-mail several concrete contractors in your community. Pay close attention to how long they each take to get back to you if you have to leave them messages.

You need to get all estimates for proposed work in writing. Consider what your timeline is for the completion of the work. You also need to think about the thoroughness of the bids that you are receiving. Ask that a sample be included with the estimates you received. This will help you to better assess the work of the concrete contractors. If there are any special circumstances connected to the project, it is important to discuss them at this point in time.

Make sure that the items you are comparing on each estimate are the same. You need to make "apples to apples" comparisons and not an "apples to oranges" one.

The next step is to do your due diligence on the contracting specialists. Check the references you have been given and check to make sure all licenses are up to date. You also should check the insurance for the concrete contractors to make sure everything is as it should be. It would be wise to contact the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to check to see if any complaints have ever been filed against the company in question.

Now it is time to sign the contract. Do not accept a verbal agreement! You need a contract that has been signed because it will protect you in the event that a conflict arises. Make sure that a payment schedule is included with the contract.

Approve the sample that was provided to you. This lets both yourself as well as the contractor know that you both have the same vision for the project and are on the same page with it.

Pay your bill on time. Pay in accordance with the payment schedule that both parties agreed upon. You want good relations and communication with your concrete contractors. This helps to guarantee that there will be harmony between you.

After all of this is done, the work can get underway. You can now look forward to the work ahead and the final result of it all!