After some 22 years, our asphalt driveway needed replacement. When I saw a neighbor getting his "replaced," in the span of about 90 minutes, I asked about what was being done and the cost. Then I saw that other neighbors, on the spot, were having their driveways done, and an entire day was then set for the contractor to do another several. Though tempted, I did not jump on the deal but rather did some fairly quick homework. (If you are reading this, you are the look before you leap kind, too.)
I discovered that the quick turn firm was overlaying asphalt on top of old asphalt and simply digging out enough old asphalt to blend the garage apron and street apron edges, using wheel barrow loads of asphalt and a few passes with a steam roller. I later learned that this method might not ensure that old cracks, large & small, will not reappear in the new "top layer" overlaying the old.
Turns out that the contractor had spotty ratings on more than one online site & noted on his own website that his firm did not "work
with" the Better Business Bureau. These revelations gave me pause. So I checked Angie's List and other online consumer ratings. Top-rated in the Washington, DC metropolitan area is Big Dog Concrete Construction: Excellent ratings and a BBB excellent record.
So, I got in touch with Big Dog, was immediately called back, was visited by their Work Team leader Ramos, received an estimate on the spot, had it confirmed by Big Dog email, and asked for a contract. All the foregoing was promptly and courteously done by phone, email, and in person. And (ready?) Big Dog's driveway replacement quote matched the "over-layering" price quoted by the quick-turn artist racing through our neighborhood.
Prior to installation day, the "Miss Utility" folks had already been sent by Big Dog (as Big Dog's email advised) to mark water,
gas, electric & I flagged the "invisible" dog fence. Then the particulars of the work visit were laid out in detail by a second Big Dog email. When the weather forecast deteriorated, Big Dog emailed that, if such materialized, they would contact me to reschedule. Very complete, concise, and appreciated.
On installation day, the Big Dog crew showed up an hour early with a small convoy of equipment. One truck brought the Bobcat to remove the old driveway. Another had a trailer with a steamroller & an asphalt-laying machine with more levers and adjustments than I could fathom. The team, led by Ramos, who had visited to survey the job and provide the estimate, consisted of seven men and every necessary tool plus shovels, drop cloths, traffic cones, boards, edgers, yellow tape, stakes, and a large dump truck full of steaming asphalt. (But, no wheelbarrows.)
The Big Dog crew, in yellow shirts, seemed like a swarm of bees in constant, rapid motion: each had a role; each aided the others; all took direction, though none seemed to need it to get the tasks done. The entire old driveway was removed with the Bobcat & shovels to bare soil and gravel sub-base. The new asphalt was applied in an orderly process, using the complex asphalt-laying machine supplemented by shovels to ensure uniformity of application. The steam rolling was done and done again, with hand tools edging the sides for aesthetic and water-run-off reasons. Then, all was marked by yellow caution tape and every scrap of material was cleaned up.
Through it all the crew were professional, friendly, personable, pleasant, willing and able to answer questions -- and did I mention
never not in motion? Nevertheless, this was a full 8-hour job. Things done right take skill, equipment, and time.
You'll be unsurprised to read that I am very pleased with Big Dog's high quality work and the benefit of a bit of homework that led me to them.
Big Dog Concrete Construction (more that solely concrete construction, you & I now appreciate) is a professional firm that displays high quality from first phone call to final yellow tape attachment. And the team shows what a real work ethic looks like.
My only suggestion would be that Big Dog work to clone Ramos and his team in the hope that other service providers could achieve this manner of doing business.