How to Choose a
Paver Contractor

The Questions That Actually Separate Contractors

Every paver contractor in Orlando says the same three things: quality work, fair prices, customer satisfaction. None of that tells you anything, because none of it can be checked before you hire them.

Here's what can be checked. Twelve questions, asked before you sign anything, that tell you more about a contractor than their website, their trucks, or their sales pitch ever will.

1. How thick is your base, and what's in it?

This is the question that matters most and gets answered least specifically. "We do it right" is not an answer. "Four inches of compacted aggregate base, graded for drainage" is an answer.

Central Florida's soil is light and sandy — it moves under anything rigid or under-prepared sitting on top of it. The base is the part nobody photographs and the part that decides whether your surface is flat in year ten or dished at the edges in year three. If a contractor can't tell you the depth and material off the top of their head, they don't have a standard. They have a guess that changes with the quote.

2. Do you pull permits when the job requires one?

Some residential paver work doesn't need a permit. Some does — depends on scope, and depends on your municipality or HOA. A contractor who says "we never bother with that" either doesn't know the rule or is choosing to skip it, and either one should worry you. You're the one who owns the consequence if an unpermitted structure becomes a problem at resale.

3. Who's actually doing the work — your crew, or a sub?

Ask directly. Some companies sell the job and sub out the labor to whoever's available that week, which means the crew on your property didn't make the promises you're relying on. There's nothing wrong with subcontracting per se — but you should know which one you're getting, because it changes who's accountable when something needs fixing.

4. What's the warranty, and does it cover installation separately from materials?

Two different things get warrantied: the manufacturer's warranty on the pavers themselves, and the installer's warranty on the workmanship. A contractor should be able to state both, in writing, without hedging. "We stand behind our work" isn't a warranty. A number of years, on a document, is.

5. How do you handle drainage?

Water has to go somewhere. On a flat lot that's less urgent; on a sloped one it's the whole specification. Ask what happens to runoff — where it's directed, whether the base itself is built to let water pass through rather than pool. A contractor with no answer here hasn't thought about what happens after the first heavy rain, which in Central Florida is not a hypothetical.

6. Can I see work you've actually done — ideally near me?

Not a stock photo gallery. Real addresses, or at minimum real photos with real context — this city, this year, this project type. A contractor confident in their work will offer this before you ask. One who's cagey about it usually has a reason.

7. What happens if I find a problem after you leave?

This is the question that tells you whether the relationship ends at the invoice. Ask specifically: if a section settles in six months, what's the process? Who do you call, how fast do they respond, is there a cost. A contractor who's vague here is telling you the warranty is a marketing line, not a policy.

8. What brands do you install, and why those?

Material choice isn't neutral. Different manufacturers have different tolerances, different color-through consistency, different real-world performance in Florida heat and UV. A contractor who names their suppliers and can explain the choice knows their materials. One who says "we use whatever's available" is optimizing for their margin, not your driveway.

9. Will I get a written, itemized quote — not a verbal number?

A verbal estimate protects the contractor, not you. It's vague enough to move once work starts. An itemized written quote — materials, base work, labor, broken out — is the document that holds both sides to what was actually agreed. If a contractor resists putting numbers on paper before you commit, that resistance is the answer.

10. How long will the job actually take, and what's the day-to-day like?

Most residential paver jobs run two to five days depending on scope. Ask what that looks like — is your driveway unusable the whole time, is there noise, does the crew clean up daily or leave debris until the end. This isn't a small-talk question. It's the difference between an inconvenience and a disruption to your week.

11. What's not included in the price?

The honest version of this question is: what will cost extra that I'm not expecting? Demolition and haul-away of an existing surface, unexpected drainage correction, rock encountered during excavation — some of these are unavoidable and should be priced as contingencies up front, not discovered as change orders. A contractor who says "nothing, the price is the price" without having walked the site yet is guessing, and you'll find out later whether the guess was honest.

12. Would you turn this job down?

This is the question that tells you the most, and almost nobody asks it. A contractor who's never said no to a job is either lucky or not being straight with you. If you describe something that doesn't hold up — patching a cracked slab instead of replacing it, laying pavers over a bad base to save money — the honest answer is "we won't do that, and here's why." If every version of your idea gets a yes, you're not getting expertise. You're getting a sale.

Why We're Fine With This List

We wrote these questions because we know how we answer them. Four-inch compacted base, every job, no exceptions. Our own crews, not subcontracted labor. A five-year installation warranty in writing, separate from the manufacturer's. A written itemized quote within 24 hours of the site visit, and the price on that quote is the price on the invoice.

And yes — we turn down work. If someone wants a patch instead of a proper fix, or an overlay on a cracked slab, we'll explain why it won't hold, offer the real alternative, and walk away if they'd still rather have the shortcut. We'd rather lose the job than put our name on something that fails in two years.

That's not a sales pitch. It's the answer key to the list above. Ask any contractor these twelve questions before you hire them — us included.

Getting a Straight Answer

The fastest way to test any of this is to ask it directly and see how specific the answer is. Vague answers to specific questions are the tell.

Tell us what you're planning and we'll answer all twelve before you even have to ask — then come out, look at the site, and give you a full written quote within 24 hours.