What a real paving bid should include (and the red flags)

A one-line bid that says 'pave driveway — $8,500' tells you nothing. There are a dozen ways to make that number smaller and every one of them shortens the life of your pavement.

A real bid states compacted asphalt depth, base rock type and depth, how the sub-grade is prepared and compacted, how water will drain off the finished surface, and how the edges are handled.

Red flags: crews knocking on your door with leftover material from another job, cash-only pricing, no written scope, and a price dramatically below the other bids. Cheap paving is usually thin paving over an unprepped base.

Ask for the compacted depth in inches, not tons. Ask what the base is. Ask to see a job they did three years ago rather than three weeks ago — anybody's work looks good the week it goes down.

Every Olympic City Paving bid is written and line-itemed so you can compare it honestly against anyone else's.