Questions worth asking any contractor

A few photos and rough dimensions are enough. Hold off on choosing material and pattern. The site visit often changes what makes sense.

No, not for a job of any size. Sub-grade, grade change, access and water routing set the price, and none show up in a photo. A number without them is a guess.

Earlier than feels necessary. Ontario's building season is limited by frost, and bigger scopes book out before spring. Settling a scope early commits you to nothing.

Thornhill, Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughan and North York, and no others. Four are in York Region. North York is in the City of Toronto, where approvals go through different departments.

Because they usually price different scopes, mostly below the surface. Interlocking driveway cost moves with excavation depth, spoil volume and disposal, and the sub-grade found once the box is open. Machine access, base depth sized to the load, and whether a drainage outlet exists or must be built all count. So do edge restraint on the full perimeter, paver class and size, cutting volume, level changes, and reinstatement afterwards. When comparing two bids, skip the totals. Find the line that differs; that is the real disagreement.

Dimensions by area, base build-up by layer, the drainage outlet, and materials named by product. Above all, a written list of exclusions. A thin exclusions list is the usual reason a price moves mid-job.

Work pauses and you get a written change to the scope before it resumes. Old footings, buried concrete or soft sub-grade sometimes appear once the ground is open. They belong in a signed change, never as a surprise on the final invoice.

Locates, every time, before any digging. Permits depend on the design: taller retaining walls and fences fall under rules that vary by municipality. We confirm what applies before the design is final.

It depends on the load above and the soil below. A walkway needs less than a driveway, and clay needs more than free-draining ground. The final depth is confirmed once excavation exposes the sub-grade.

Five things working together. A correctly sized excavation, granular base compacted in thin lifts, fabric where the soil calls for it, a planned fall to a real outlet, and restraint on every free edge. Skip any one and even a top-grade slab will move.

No. Old asphalt or concrete is a failed surface, not a base, and it traps water under the bedding. It comes out, the sub-grade is checked, and a new base is built.

Below the frost line. Shallow posts get lifted by frozen ground each winter and settle back slightly off each spring. After a few seasons the line wanders, which is why older fences lean regardless of board quality.

Water, nearly always. Saturated soil is heavier and pushes harder, more so when it freezes. Without clean drainage stone, filter fabric and an outlet at the base, a wall carries a load it was not designed for. It bulges, leans, then fails.

Like any surface, but with a plastic-edged shovel or rubber plough shoes. Bare steel chips paver edges and scours the face. Salt will not harm the structure, but it speeds surface scaling on concrete, so use it sparingly.

Very little beyond the joints. Check them each spring and top up any washed-out sand, since full joints let pavers brace each other. A morning of refilling costs far less than resetting a spread field.

No. It is efflorescence, mineral salts rising from curing concrete, and it fades with weather. Dark patches that track the joint pattern are different. They can signal moisture held in the base and deserve a look.

Usually, depending on the cause. A single dip in sound surroundings is often a soft pocket or poorly backfilled trench, and a local base rebuild fixes it. Ruts along both wheel tracks mean the base was too shallow; resetting the surface alone brings them back.

Rarely exactly. Shades shift between production runs, and your existing pavers have weathered. The usual fix is to borrow units from a hidden area for the visible patch and put new stock out of sight. A patch also blends noticeably after one season outdoors.