smerchly Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 A guy came to the house & gave me a quote to remove all the old asphalt & redo the driveway . They do commercial , industrial , parking lots etc, and gave me a price which was half the last quote I had last summer .They work would be done in the spring . Has anyone had their driveway done by L&M Co, ? Maybe I should have asked him if he has done local work .........thanks for any info ., Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisb Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 If they came to your door without you calling them then look elsewhere is my advice. If they need to go door to door soliciting work then they are probably no even local. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matterhorn Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 never heard of them but typically estimates should be in the same ballpark range. if it is severely out of wack on the low side, then you are definitely getting cut rate service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesse Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Definitly ask for a local reference or 2 you can go look at.It could be a good new company that is starting with low prices untill they build up a reputation to compete with the big boys.It is pretty hard to mess up that job as long as you have a good stone base packed.I would not rule them out too fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walleye5 Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 well I wouldn't do business with theses guys, what happens is they go around getting jobs then do doo-doo work, using phoney numbers and names. been in the paving business 38 years roads etc. and I would bet these guys are fly by night. measure your driveway and a rough est. is 80 sq. feet per ton of asphalt . mult. by 80 tonne. thats your material cost. then labour. the other trick is they say 3 inches of asphalt that would give you 2.5 inches compacted. asphalt prices went up not down so half price sounds fishy and good companies don't need to compete. where you from I CAN GET YOU A REPUTABLE COMPANY. also I have been to court as an expert witness in asphalt scams. last year they arressted a group from england ripping people off. they charged an old guy 6000 for a job with about 500 bucks of material. cashed the cheque first then ran. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Sounds "fishy"... http://www.sse.gov.on.ca/mcs/en/Pages/Scams_and_Frauds.aspx I wouldn't trust someone who shows up at my door... A good Paving/Asphalt company doesn't go door to door anymore... be careful and do your reasearch, I hear about scams happening all the time to people in Niagara. I do know OPP investigate alot of scams in Niagara, they might have a website too.. http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/english/home-eng.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveC Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Always get several quotes. Your driveway work is only as good as the base. You need a nice compacted base. I just did mine this past fall. What they did was rip out the old stuff including most of the base which was garbage and had sunk so much. They took a deposit, and dumped and compacted my base and we let it sit for about 6 weeks driving on it and all.....then the guy came back and paved. Mine is a shared driveway and quite large........it was worth waiting and its nice and level, and I hope the base does not sink like it did before. Be sure to ask what your getting....I got 3' blacktop and 12" base. I watched him dig it out...a legit 12" Did a very good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted February 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2012 Thanks for the replies guys ! We all want to save a buck these days . This company is located in Stoney Creek . I figured ,since they do industrial/commercial work , they must be a large company with the proper equipment . My asphalt driveway has taken a beating over the last 20 years with cement trucks driving on it to pour concrete for a new garage , having my block basement walls water proofed & asphalt replaced which later sunk about 2 inches a few years later & the city doing work & doing a real shitty job replacing 15' of asphalt when replacing the water main . This guy said they will remove the asphalt , dig down & put in a new solid base ( approx.8 loads of stone) ,then let it settle for ? time before they pave it . I was thinking about going with cement ( $8 to $10,000) , so $2500 sounds so much better with this deal . I can call the company anytime & ask for more details as there is no $$ down until the job is complete . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted February 17, 2012 Report Share Posted February 17, 2012 I remember the name for doing cutrate jobs, No web page, no phone listing. Tactic is simple. Blitz a neighbourhood, Round up a bunch of adresses. Do them all in 2 days then disappear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted February 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2012 I have 2 phone numbers to call for inquiries and I found them on the net , but it gives phone and a map of their location . They are giving me plenty of time to get more quotes , but they all say the same thing when it comes to how they will grade and how much material is used . Maybe they will give me some references from other home owners who had work done by them . Here's a link to the small ad. they have on the net...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjhooker Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 My friend Mario works for Penn contracting as a finisher here in Thorold and all around the region. He does excellent work and there are literally a hundred Job sites where you could go and see the work he has done. I haven't talked to him in a spell and I don't know if he's too busy. But if you would like to have another quote done (shop around) PM me and I will send you his number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sirfishalot Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 When they were doing QEW and 406 extensions the companies that had the paving contract always had a set estimated order for asphalt for the day,If they did not get to use the days order they were still stuck with it so what they would do is drive around older neighbourhoods and look for crappy driveways and then solicit the owners and offer an outrageous deal for a repave or retop.Since the asphalt was paid for already per their contract then any monies made was all profit.They were easy to negotiate with as they just wanted to get rid of it. They knocked on my door one spring day and the guy had already sized up my driveway (22x80)and had a price...$2000. Sounds good but I didnt have that kind of cash free.In the end belive it or not they settled for $1100 cash !!! They put down 3" and compacted to 1 1/2 over the old stuff. That was 6yrs ago.I drove by the old place last summer and it still looked awesome! Smerch they Might have a big spring contract nearby? and they are just planning for the overrun. Check into it and ask for a reference or 2 you can go look at....oh yah and don't part with and moolah..till its done. good luck !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted February 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Thanks for another angle they use to drum up business Thom . The last time we had the driveway done was close to 20 yrs. ago & they also knocked on my door , drumming up business in the slow season so that they could save money themselves doing multiple driveways etc. My basement was dug up for waterproofing and then patched , then the city ripped up a 15'x 20' section for gas lines & again for a new water main line & did a lousy job with 2" of asphalt . If it wasn't for all the patching it would be fine . The guy from L & M said they would grade it properly for runoff & let it settle for a month or so before applying the asphalt .....no money until the job is done . ($2400) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walleye5 Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 When they were doing QEW and 406 extensions the companies that had the paving contract always had a set estimated order for asphalt for the day,If they did not get to use the days order they were still stuck with it so what they would do is drive around older neighbourhoods and look for crappy driveways and then solicit the owners and offer an outrageous deal for a repave or retop.Since the asphalt was paid for already per their contract then any monies made was all profit.They were easy to negotiate with as they just wanted to get rid of it. They knocked on my door one spring day and the guy had already sized up my driveway (22x80)and had a price...$2000. Sounds good but I didnt have that kind of cash free.In the end belive it or not they settled for $1100 cash !!! They put down 3" and compacted to 1 1/2 over the old stuff. That was 6yrs ago.I drove by the old place last summer and it still looked awesome! Smerch they Might have a big spring contract nearby? and they are just planning for the overrun. Check into it and ask for a reference or 2 you can go look at....oh yah and don't part with and moolah..till its done. good luck !! that won't happen thats just a story. they use everything up in a day and the companies that do the qew don't go near driveways.I have heard every story and scheme. Worked on many large paving contracts and the most we had left over is a ton. everything ordered is used . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziekertail Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 I work for a large asphalt company and 100 percent your asphalt won't be from a big job In Niagara no one after a days paving wants to do a drive way those guys just go to a asphalt plant and order by the ton and tell you they are a big company trust me none of the big boys are knocking at your doors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walleye5 Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 A rankin boy lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sirfishalot Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Even if it wasn't the "big boys" ,who gives a crap, they did one hell of a job at a hell of a price. In and out in a couple hours. And since the house was coming up for sale ,what did i have to lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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