Asphalt Drive, Good Deal or Not?

[JeepJeep]

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A gentleman from D&H Carroll (N. VA area) dropped by the other day and offered a quote to pave my drive. Sounds like a good deal but I did not like his approach.

His initial pitch was “Had a job that fell through, I have two loads of asphalt I need to unload, instead of $1.54 I’ll charge $1.25 a square foot.” Sounded like the old speaker scam to me. I even explained to him his pitch made me nervous.

I have an existing gravel drive that’s one year old, it is in good condition, seems to be built with 27A has a base and 54(?) as a top dressing, I’m not sure how thick it is. He measured 3200 Square Feet, I have not validated this.

The price seemed real good, so I asked a bunch of questions anyway:

Me - How thick will the asphalt be?
D&H - 2-3 inches over all, 4-5 inches at the road and garage.

Me - What do you do to prepare the existing gravel?
D&H - Grade, spray for weeds, and add rock salt. What does the Rock Salt do?

Me - I asked about drainage and runoff, we have one spot that erodes the drive and washes out the gravel during heavy rains.
D&H – He offered to put curbs in on the edge of the drive leaving the area open where it runs off across the drive.

Me – Do you measure the existing gravel, what do you do if it is low in some areas?
D&H – We can bring in gravel if needed, but we prefer to use the asphalt to fill in any low areas.

Me – Once the asphalt is laid do you seal it?
D&H – Normally that would be another $300 - $400 for an oil based seal. We can just throw it in to this deal. This is the best time to do it as all the pores are clean.

Total price would be $3700, he rounded off the square footage to 3000. This puts the price at $1.23 a square foot. This would include the curbs, the sealer, one year warranty, and no payment until I am satisfied. Quote is good for 2 weeks (makes me wonder again about his original pitch). He is more than willing to give me references and addresses of work he has done.

So is this a good deal? Does he sound like a scam artist? Anyone dealt with this company before? Any other questions I should ask?
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Thanks, Jim

 

[Bird]

Jim, I'm in another part of the country so things may be different in your area. The guy's sales pitch is quite common in my area. The problem is that it's frequently a legitimate good deal at times from reputable, established companies, but it's also a common scam by fly-by-nighters who do a really half way job.

A few years ago, when I was on the board of directors for our local water company, we had the same thing happen. Our parking lot at the office did need to be paved, and a guy showed up with just about the same offer ($1.05 a square foot instead of the normal $1.50). The board president just happened to be in the office at the time, called and found it was an old established company, called several other companies for estimates (all much higher), then called other board members who unanimously agreed to have it done. Got a good job done, . . . and we got severely criticized for spending the money without putting the topic on the agenda of a regular board meeting, getting written bids, etc. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I have a firm rule. I don't respond to any door-to-door or telephone pitches, no matter how good they seem, even if I am actually in the market for whatever the pitchster is selling.

I've probably missed the occasional good deal, but I know darn well I've avoided being scammed many times over.

When it comes to having workers around your property, it pays to know your particular state's vagaries regarding worker's comp. In some locations, they can and do come after the homeowner if the "business" doesn't have the proper insurance in place. Some homeowners policies cover this--some don't.

Food for thought.

SnowRidge

 

[theboman]

Most time sounds to good to be true it is. We have a lot of fly by night drive way makers that come thru this area each year.
The smear, roll it, you pay, they leave and you never see them again. It's way to common. The asphalt is usually really a thin coating. Beware of the folks if they are not an established business. Look at their vehicles, equipment and you can even call the asphalt company to see if they are legit.

 

[Egon]

Get his name and report him to the local police and consummer board.

DO NOT fall for that extra or deal fell through con.

Some of these people [ may be called Travellers ?? ] make a living doing sub par jobs with only a rental pickup and cell phone.

Egon

 

[MDSteve]

I'm about an hour or so from you in MD.

I had part of my driveway paved this way when I lived in a neighborhood. I had extened the driveway and had it full of rocks and a guy came buy and had a load that he wanted to use up. It was left over from a job down the street. He said $500 bucks. I agreed and they layed it down it was about an inch shy of matching my current drive and he said he would be back next week to finish and collect the money. He never came back and I never paid him. We sold the house 5 years later.

At our current house the drive is recycled asphalt about 3/4 miles long. I just get 3 loads a year and spread it in the bad spots.

Steve

 

[BB_TX]

As with all the others, I would be very cautious. However, the fact he is willing to give references, no payment until satisfied, and made the offer valid for 2 weeks would at least make me interested. Fly-by-nighters and outright crooks usually don't operate like that. They usually say they can only offer it today, take it or leave it. If he truly can supply references and those references give good reports and the work looks good, then it may be a good deal.

 

[dourobob]

Given all that it would sure still bug me that the original pitch implied the loads were available now because of a cancelled contract. I don't think that stuff will sit on a truck for two weeks ??!! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Bob

 

[CTyler]

How well does that hold up compared to rock/gravel?
What about packing, grading etc..?
What is the price compared to gravel?
I'd assume you need base rock first.

I have about 600 foot or so of drive for my new house. So far we have dumped 8 loads of 3 in, 16 ton loads. After this packs down a bit were planning on 1 1/2 to top it.

Thought about checking into recycled pavement just haven't done it.


Thanks
Chris

 

[JeepJeep]

Great feedback guys!!! Thanks again!!!

It’s definitely a judgment call. The pickup he drove was well maintained with permanent signs on it (not magnets) and no listing with the “Better Business Bureau”.

I will take him up on his offer of contacting his references and looking at his work first hand. Possibly getting dates of the installs to see how his work looks after so many years. I’m curious if he would offer an extended warranty for a small fee, not necessarily that I want it, rather to put him on the spot to see if he will stand behind his work.

Again, Thank You!!!
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