Pavement Maintenance Checklist - PART 2: CHOOSING A CONTRACTOR

The three words that will strike fear into the heart of the most experienced property manager.

Ok, maybe there are some veterans out there who can do this dance in their sleep now, but I must say that it’s not for the faint of heart. 

Although this part of the project timeline doesn’t have the most steps, it can often be the longest and most drawn out part of a parking lot project. Even if you’re the vet we mentioned above and have a go-to contractor (or two) who can help you out, you probably still feel like you’re pulling teeth trying to get three bids (if that’s your company’s requirement). 

On that high note, let’s jump back into the project timeline!

‍

A Year in the Life of a Parking Lot - Part 2 of 3

WINTER / SPRING

4-6 Months Before the Project

If you didn’t follow the advice of Part 1 and get a budget bid from one contractor the previous summer/fall, you may be working in a relatively tight window of time to get your parking lot project bid before the craziness of summer hits. This is especially true if you are living in an area of the country where snow stays on the ground for the majority of the winter. The space of time between when snow clears out and construction season is in full swing is relatively short (well, when you are talking about drawn-out contractor timelines at least).

If you did get a budget bid last year, you may still have a couple more bids to hunt down (and a price to have reverified) in this window of time as well. 

Whichever camp you’re in, it’s a good idea to be on your game and ready to ask for bids right at the end of winter/beginning of spring to give yourself ample time for your project.

‍

1. Reach out to your tenants about any issues that came up after the winter.

If you aren’t physically at the property on a regular basis, it’s a good idea to check in with your tenants (or some other onsite contact) after the winter to make sure no new parking lot issues have developed during the colder months. Especially in the northern states, the freeze-thaw cycle can do surprising things to a parking lot even in one winter. 

‍

2. Walk your parking lot and write down any specific concerns you have (pay special attention to water and any potential liabilities).

Even if you received a budget quote the previous summer/full, it’s a good idea to walk the lot and make note of any areas that you want addressed in your upcoming parking lot project. 

A knowledgeable contractor should be able to create a good scope without your help, but they don’t see the parking lot in all kinds of weather and they don’t know your property like you do. Is there a low spot that is always holding water after rain? Is there a side entrance with a trip spot that’s been bothering onsite staff? 

Make a note of what’s important to you so you can ask contractors to include those specific areas on their proposals.

‍

3. Take a look at the summer (and maybe fall) calendar for the property. Are there any days or dates that work cannot be done? Or dates the work needs to be completed by?

Some scheduling requests are pretty standard and will be easily accommodated by a contractor (“don’t work on Thursdays"), while others are more challenging to accommodate and may come with additional costs (“this work can only be done over Memorial Day weekend”). 

Either way, it’s best to think through deadlines or scheduling restraints ahead of time so that you can communicate them to your contractors and not end up with a surprise extra charge when they get around to asking about when they can complete the work.

4. Vet contractors and find at least 1 that you feel really good about.

If you are looking to get multiple bids for your project, it can be really challenging to get all of the bids back in a timely manner. You may need to reach out to twice as many contractors as you think in order to get the right number of proposals delivered in the timeframe you need. 

It’s easy to become so desperate to hit your bid quota that you’re willing to ask anyone who can deliver to submit a bid. 

We would recommend though that at the very least, you get at least one bid from a contractor who has a good reputation, good reviews, or comes highly recommended. That way, you can have something reliable to compare with the rest of your bids.

‍

5. Get a parking lot assessment.

Ask your first choice contractor to assess your parking lot and give you a scope of work that they would recommend for your project. 

This is one of the most important parts of a parking lot project and will help the rest of your project go much smoother.

‍

3-5 Months Before the Project

6. Use budget and goals to finalize the scope for your parking lot project.

If you worked with a good contractor to get your first bid and assessment, you should have reliable information that will help to finalize the decisions about what scope you want to have completed for this project. 

If you were given options, decide which approach is the best for your property and your business goals. If any of the services came back at a price too high for a reasonable ROI, you can simply decide to remove them during this planning stage.

This process should give you a good, clear scope that you can use as a “bid form” of sorts to give to the comparison bidders.

‍

7. Send the scope out to other contractors to get comparison bids.

While I wouldn’t penalize other contractors for creating a unique scope of work (if the reason for making a different suggestion was based on them really digging into the project and helping you achieve your goals), often providing a predetermined “set scope” to contractors can help jumpstart the bidding process and give you the best chance of getting a bid back quickly.

‍

8. Ask the contractors what, if any, change orders are possible for the project and how they would handle them.

Surprises are wonderful…but not when they are part of a parking lot project. Especially if you are dealing with a tight budget, it’s a good idea to ask your contractor if they can see any reason why your project might have a change order. 

If not, great! But if a change order is possible, you’ll be thankful you had some heads up so you had a chance to think through budget considerations before getting into the middle of the project when modifications to the scope are more challenging. 

Of course not all change orders can be foreseen, but I’m sure you’d rather know as much information as possible ahead of time!

‍

‍2-3 Months Before the Project

9. Select your contractor and get on their schedule.

Once you have all the bids in your possession, it’s time to make a final call on who you want to use. This step definitely deserves a post all to itself, but here are a couple of factors we’d recommend thinking about:

• Service, quality, or price: which is the most important to you? Which is the second most important? Not all contractors are created equal, and according to the “Unattainable Triangle,” no one can be the best at all three simultaneously. Even the best businesses can usually only specialize in just one area, and then maybe just be good in a second area. There is likely at least one factor that every contractor you’re talking to isn’t stellar at. Want great service and good quality? The price is likely going to be higher. Want a low price? What other area are you willing to sacrifice? Take a look at the contractors you’ve researched. How would you rank them in service, quality and price based on your experience with them so far? Which area do you think they are the best at? Which area is probably their weakness?
• Schedule: if you have a strict deadline, who can or can’t meet your needs?
• Experience: how responsive, clear, and helpful were the contractors during the bidding process? Often people are at their best during the sales process, so if your customer experience wasn’t outstanding while getting a bid, there’s a good chance that will continue throughout the project!

‍

Whew!

Collecting bids, comparing options, and deciding on a contractor can be a long and tiring process. Congratulations on making it this far!

If you chose a great contractor, hopefully the hardest part of the project is behind you. 

Cheers as we move on to the final phase and get this thing done in Part 3: Completing Your Project!