Let our pavers lay the way for you

If it’s finally time to tame your outdoor space with some paving, we have just the right person for the job. Our experienced home pros can pave driveways, pathways, garden spaces and lay tar. Whatever your idea of a perfect paved space looks like, our home pros will make it happen.

Paving projects we handle:

Tips for contracting the best paver

Pavers are such an effective way to finish off a job. Be it on the floor of your house, on a patio, a garden path or surrounding a swimming pool there are so many places that beautiful pavers can add to the overall aesthetic of your property. But sourcing nice pavers is only half the job, finding a person to lay the pavers and to lay them like their makers intended can be quite a tricky process.

It is not as easy as putting them end-to-end with a bit of grout. It is a complicated job that requires expertise and experience. So where exactly do you find a paving home pro and how can you be sure that they will deliver on the job as you expect them to. It is not necessarily easy, so here are a few ideas to help set you on the right path.

Know what you like

Personal references are always the best place to start when looking to find a home pro. In this case know what you like and remember where you have seen it. In a world where you are planning on getting some paving done, spend a bit of time in advance of the job looking for examples of work and finishes that you like.

Once you have identified these, ask the people whose property is home to the work who did it or them. Once you have a name and contact details ask more questions. Was it a good experience working with the home pro? Did they deliver as expected or was there a bit of cajoling and hard work to get the finished product as it is?

Did they look after the rest of your property like you garden? Find out what they charged and if there were any other important bits of information they may want to share. The more you know about the home pro by way of personal references and examples of their work, the better off you will be. And don’t be afraid to let the home pro know how you found them and that you have spoken to people they have previously worked for.

Contracts are always important

Just because you have seen their work and received a glowing reference doesn’t mean that you can continue without a contract. Once you have decided on who you are going to work with, you should always put all the terms and conditions down in writing. Make sure that all the salient points of the agreement are stated and that the document is signed and dated by both parties.

The contract should cover off the essentials like price and deliverables. Guarantee if there is one. And payment terms. Anywhere or anything that could lead to a misunderstanding or to scope creep should be covered off to protect both parties.

Paving home pro endorsements

Personal references are great and a very good place to start, but talk to the professionals as well – people who work in the construction space alongside pavers and home pros on a regular basis. Remember whatever the job is that you are doing everyone involved will want it to look world-class when it is finished.

So if there is a builder or a pool company or a landscaper also involved in the project, ask them who they have worked with in the past and who they would be happy to work with again in the future.

Also look for things like professional endorsements or credentials. Fix Forward specialises in vetting, training and finding contract work for small, independent artisans, which includes pavers. Our focus is on checking that the workers can do what they say they can. Thereafter we look to upskill our people with key tools for success as entrepreneurs.

Finally, we seek to match appropriate artisans with relevant work. It should translate to a degree of comfort and security as we pride ourselves on being experts in our field and being able to tell quality workers from time-wasters.

Paving home pro prices

It goes without saying that you are working with a budget and that you cannot overspend, but that doesn’t mean that you should go for the cheapest option. So often the cheapest option ends up costing more in the long run. In a world where a quote seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

And remember sometimes it is okay to delay by a month or two in order to save up some extra cash for a slightly more expensive home pro. In negotiating terms manage expectations – let them know that you want to hire them and ask if the quote will still stand in three months’ time.