Paving project - Contractor required

[andrewsweeney]

Hi
I have a project that I feel is beyond my ability. I have a long drive that opens out to a large circle in front of my house. At present this is tarmac, which over the years is showing signs of ageing. I wish to replace the tarmac with either stone sets / block paving. Due to the size of the drive and the different levels involved I feel that it should be carried out by an experienced trades man, I was hoping that someone would be able to point me in the direction of a contactor that can do what he says he can do ( this is getting harder to find these days ), While I don’t mind paying a fair price for a fair job, finding someone that I have confidence in to carry out such a job is proving to be a task in it’s self.

Thanks

[Tony McC]

Andrew - you should have pointed out that you're in Bolton, so those lads down in Guildford and other such far flung locations don't waste your time.

[andrewsweeney]

OPPs sorry about that.

[suki]

it shouldnt be a to tougher job to find quality tradesmen in this day and age ,heres what we do to set ourselfs apart from the cowboys, for the last 5 yrs i have used my digital camera to document most of my paving and landscaping jobs , before during and after about 20 pic for each job, i then print these out onto a portfolio to show ppl when we quote , we also can a cd-rom with arounf 50 documented jobs on so customers can have the disk and view our previous work at there leisure, i have found this is an excellant way to show customers what we do and what we are capeable of acheiving. ask any contractors u may employ if they have a portfolio to show u and also get them to tell u of work they have done in the area so u may possibly view it or speak to the happy customers, this will weed out the cowboys very quickly and should leave u with the real trades, but remember u get what u pay for.

[Tony McC]

Cd-rom portfolios are a good idea, but I still think it's hard to beat the impact of a well-presented A4 professional folder with quality 10x8 prints. Not every client is comfy with computers, even if the contractor takes along a laptop, but no-one can resist gawping at quality photos.

I know that one of the Brew Cabin Irregulars is considering creating a video to show potential clients just how thorough they are in their efforts. A short 10-15 minute video could be a 'killer app' if presented in the right way.