If you are an experienced commercial property manager or owner, you probably know that periodic applications of a sealant can help prolong the life of asphalt pavements. However, your budget for asphalt maintenance may be tight, so you may need to stretch every dollar as far as you can. After collecting several bids from seal coating contractors, you choose the contractor submitting the lowest bid. Although the lowest bid could turn out to provide the greatest value, if you base your decision solely on the dollar amount of the bid, you could be setting yourself up for an unwelcome surprise.
Why the Lowest Sealcoating Bid Isn’t Always the Best
How Can Some Asphalt Sealing Contractors Charge Substantially Less Than Their Competitors?
When it comes to asphalt sealing, there are various ways that unscrupulous people can take advantage of others. Most of the outright scammers target homeowners, using ploys that range from applying black paint rather than a sealant to simply vanishing after collecting for the work in advance. When dealing with a commercial customer, disreputable contractors typically use methods that are a bit more sophisticated.
1. Asphalt contractors pay approximately the same price for sealant mixes, aggregates, and additives. Some unscrupulous contractors may tell you that they receive special pricing from a sealant manufacturer that is less than half the price paid by the competition. This not true. The following point explains what they are likely doing.
2. Sealant manufacturers provide instructions for preparing the mix. Among other details, the guidelines specify the amount of water and sand that the contractor should add. Water and sand are cheaper than sealant. Adding more water allows the contractor to cover more area with the mix. Not adding sand lets him add even more water. He can charge less for the treatment, but what you are getting is a thin material that will have an extremely short life and do very little to protect your pavement.
3. One method that disreputable contractors often employ to cut their overhead is to go without insurance. Every paving contractor knows that things can go wrong. Experienced contractors take precautions, but if one of their employees suffers an injury on your site, their worker’s comp policy will pay for the employee’s treatment. If an employee is spraying sealant when a sudden gust of wind blows the sealant on your building, the contractor’s liability insurance can pay to remedy the issue. Uninsured contractors leave you to assume the risks that are their responsibility.
4. An unusually low bid can also indicate that the paving contractor does not plan to repair the cracks in your pavement before applying the sealant. He may not mention the cracks at all, or he may tell you that the sealant will fill them. Sealants can cover some of the tiny, hairline cracks in an asphalt pavement, but they certainly cannot fill larger cracks.
How Can You Tell Whether a Low Paving Bid Is Acceptable?
There are reputable asphalt sealcoating contractors who can sometimes submit the lowest bid. Knowing whether you should accept a low bid is basically a matter of verifying that the contractor submitting the bid meets additional qualifications.
1. The contractor should willingly provide you with proof of his insurance.
2. Credible contractors can provide you with references so that you can verify the quality of their work.
3. Good contractors will give you a written, itemized quote.
4. Established contractors will have a physical address and an office phone number.
5. Reputable contractors will not hesitate to discuss their equipment and the experience of their crews.
At Alpha Paving, we sometimes find that we are the lowest sealcoating bidder on a job. In terms of gallons, we apply more sealant every year than any contractor in Texas. Keeping up with the demand for our services requires us to invest in and maintain high-quality equipment as well as hire and retain experienced, skilled employees. We know how to deliver extraordinary work at very competitive prices. Our services include pavement striping, asphalt sealcoating, asphalt crack sealing, asphalt patching, thermoplastic pavement markings, street maintenance, asphalt resurfacing, road construction, traffic signs, and concrete work. Our clients include religious institutions, commercial property managers, subdivisions, airports, municipalities, hotels, shopping centers, educational facilities, apartment complexes, and health care facilities. We are based in Round Rock, TX and offer free quotes, so request yours today by submitting the online form or calling 512-677-9001.
