How To Choose A Houston Commercial Asphalt Company

High quality asphalt is worth the investment, but you will need a reputable commercial asphalt company in Houston to provide that service. If your business needs a new piece of asphalt pavement or needs to maintain its existing pavement, there are certain qualifications to look for in a potential contractor, including:

- Years of experience and an impressive project portfolio (with references)
- Properly insured
- A detailed project proposal
- Sufficient manpower and equipment resources
- Expanded service capabilities (such as site preparation services)

When evaluating commercial asphalt contractors in Houston, the above should be the minimum for any pavement team you consider working with.

Why it is Important to Choose the Right Houston Asphalt Company

Commercial asphalt is a significant investment for Houston businesses, so it needs to be done right. Here are some risks of hiring an inexperienced paving company:

- Poor quality asphalt will fail early – When asphalt is not installed using best practices and materials, it is vulnerable to early failure. Poor quality asphalt will crack and shed aggregate sooner, which means it will be exposed to water intrusion, causing it to deteriorate from the inside and potentially collapse due to base subsidence.
- Poor quality asphalt will not look or perform as well – A low quality asphalt mix will not have the same rich color, smooth surface texture or robust integrity that commercial projects demand. Your asphalt will look older than it should, as a result.
- Poor quality asphalt will reflect poorly on your organization – Potential customers will often judge your business on how its pavement looks as it makes a first impression. Badly cracked and discolored asphalt may lead some to assume the rest of the property is poorly maintained as well. Some may even carry that negative thought to the products and services you offer, which is completely avoidable with quality asphalt pavement making a positive first impression.

If installed and maintained properly, your asphalt pavement can provide 15 or more years of reliable performance.

Five Things to Look for in a Commercial Asphalt Company

If you are searching for a commercial asphalt company in Houston, there are several things to prioritize and ensure you are working with a reliable crew. They include:

1. Experience and a compelling project portfolio – The most important trait for any asphalt contractor is experience. Particularly, experience with projects in the Houston area. Houston poses additional challenges to pavement contractors, including clay-rich soils and intense heat. If your pavement contractor has experience in the Houston area, they will know how to mitigate any obstacles, like adjusting asphalt thickness or stabilizing the soil with mechanical or chemical action.
  
  Your asphalt contractor should be able to prove their experience with an impressive project portfolio. Look for projects similar to yours and those completed in the Houston area. There may even be a project nearby that you can visit in person.
  
  Regardless, the contractor should also have contact information from previous clients that you can follow up with. A positive testimonial is one thing. Speaking with the client directly about their project will give you a better idea of what to expect from the contractor.
2. Properly insured – Insurance is an important protective measure for clients, ensuring businesses aren’t hit with unexpected liabilities or left dissatisfied with poor quality work.
  
  General liability insurance is critical and protects against any damage committed by the pavement team during the project. Workers’ compensation is also important, as it ensures property owners cannot be held liable for any injury on the property.
3. A detailed project proposal – When pavement contractors submit proposals for asphalt work, those proposals should be clear and detailed. There should be no lingering questions when you analyze the estimate.
  
  A proper project proposal will detail every service and process, including site preparation, grading, base stabilization and pavement installation, among others. It will also detail how much material will be needed and the type of asphalt mix to be used.
  
  Any inclusions or exclusions will also be detailed in the proposal. If you are still unsure about the project’s scope after looking at the proposal, there may be hidden costs lurking.
4. Sufficient manpower and equipment resources – Commercial asphalt projects are large-scale undertakings that require considerable machinery and manpower resources to execute. Your Houston contractor should have their logistics down to the point where they can allocate everything your project needs, without pulling from other projects the contractor is involved in.
5. Additional service capabilities (like site preparation) – Chances are, your asphalt project will involve some degree of site preparation to ensure it is stable enough to bear the weight of vehicle traffic. Ideally, your commercial asphalt contractor will be able to handle site preparation, as it can save your organization money and time working with a single contractor.
  
  However, only some pavement contractors are also able to perform site preparation. When evaluating potential crews for your project, pick one that has site prep experience so your project can avoid any hiccups or delays.

If your contractor can provide the above, they will have the ability and professionalism to oversee commercial asphalt projects of any scale or scope.

How to Choose the Right Houston Asphalt Contractor for Your Project

In Houston, commercial asphalt contractors are not required to hold licensing, so you will have to rely on other factors to choose the right team for your project. That includes an impressive portfolio, verifiable testimonials, professionalism, transparency and the resources to do more than just install asphalt. If your asphalt contractor can bring all of that to the job, you will get long lasting asphalt pavement that provides maximum value for your business.