7 Questions You Need To Ask Your Concrete Contractor Before Now

Your concrete needs work.  You have no time to do it. You do not have the ability to do it either. But, the job has to be done by others. So, now it’s time to hire a contractor for concrete.

You probably already know how to find a couple, but do you know the questions to ask to help you decide if the price they quote is worth it? Here are some questions if you don’t, and the answers that your concrete contractor can have if they are worth their salt.

1. What warranty do you offer?  Many contractors are delighted to receive a one-year warranty. If no assurance is made at all, then you can certainly work with someone else. Learn the specifics if the warranty is longer than a year. More than likely, there are a number of provisions in the contractor’s guarantee that allow them not to cover the most probable and worthwhile repairs.

2. What happens if a storm unexpectedly rains on your new concrete?  For such a scenario, your contractor should have been prepared, so he or she should be able to cover the weather causes for any harm. However, if there is a good chance of rain soon, you must also be willing to respect the decision of the contractor to pour the concrete on a different day.

3. How long might the job take?  Within three days, contractors should finish the job. He may be the sort of contractor who begins the job, leaves for a few days or weeks, and then finishes, if he hesitates to answer this question.

4. When will you be able to start?  For a few weeks or so, maybe a month, successful concrete contractors are typically booked. Ask him a little more if your contractor is able to start soon. Oh, who knows? Maybe for some time, he’s been working for someone else and just started his company. Perhaps he has just reached a slow time. If your question appears to threaten him, then take it as a sign to work with someone else.

5. Can you provide pictures of previous work?  These are readily available from a good contractor. If he can’t supply photographs, ask for happy customers’ contact details. You’re probably talking to the wrong guy if that’s not available.

6. How will the site look when the job is completed?  In order to do a tiny job, some contractors get a little sloppy and ruin a yard, while others are clean and tidy. Not exactly someone to stop dealing with is a messy contractor, but there are certainly better ones out there.

7. How thick will the concrete be?  The last thing you want to do if you have a driveway paved out is for it to break in the first few months after completion. 4 inches, with 5 inches being even better, is an acceptable thickness for handling the load put on the slab by vehicles. An additional inch increases the load-bearing power by 50%.