10 Tips for choosing best paving quotes

First Published: 10 March 2022 | Updated: 3 December 2024

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When it comes to paving or retaining walls, you’ll need to consider whether you’ll hire a professional contractor or DIY. At Australian Paving Centre, we know the best paving and landscaping contractors and here we provide 10 tips for choosing your Tradie.

You can request a quote online and we’ll put you in touch with a preferred local Tradie for your project. Our preferred tradies operate independently of APC. We do our best to match a local Tradie to your project, however you must conduct your own due diligence on these businesses. Please ensure they are currently licensed and insured for the work they are undertaking.

10 Tips for choosing your Tradie

• Find someone local. Local tradies should respond to quotes quickly because they are concentrating on work in their local area. If they are local, they are generally on-site more often and readily available to attend to the project for any rectification work or additional small jobs. If you don’t use a local Tradie in the first instance, it is most difficult to get the same tradie back to do a small fiddly job.
• Your local tradie must be licensed for the work they are quoting to complete. Their builders’ license will have a summary of what work they are authorised to do.
• Your Tradie must be insured in case something goes wrong on the job. Accidents can happen!
• The tradie should provide a written quote. It is not unreasonable for them to ask for a deposit prior to starting the job. A deposit of between 33% and 50% is fair for the small operators.
• Ask to see some local work similar to what you are asking them to quote and inspect it.
• Look for the local tradies’ Facebook page or Instagram page and check out their work. Some have websites, but most are very basic. If they don’t have a website, this should not deter your choice because a lot of these tradies don’t have a website. Good tradies find their work through word-of-mouth and referrals. The tradies having to rely on service-based internet companies for quotes may not produce good quality work.
• Try not to use a business where the person quoting the project does not work in the industry in a hands-on capacity. Many people find that those that only quote the jobs and do not get involved in installation invariably over promise and under deliver. These types of business structures are more expensive due to higher operating costs of covering the salesperson or the quoter as well as the installation team.
• For best results and better value for money, use the small business owner-operators who quote and build the project they have quoted for you. When the Tradie who quotes the job builds the job, you get a much better result of what you are looking to achieve.
• Research and purchase the pavers, retaining wall and landscaping products yourself. It provides a cheaper overall cost for your paving, landscaping or retaining wall project and you buy the product you like and not the product the Tradie makes the most money out of.
• Having the product onsite prior to the Tradie attending to quote will result in a faster response and a more accurate quote for installing from Tradies.

At APC, as our stores are local and we are dealing with local tradies regularly, we can connect you with the right tradie for the job. You can either visit us at APC or you can request a quote online and we’ll match you with the best local tradie.

How To Avoid Additional or Hidden Costs

• Inspect the area – difficult to access areas may incur additional costs to complete the project. Ensure that equipment and materials can be quickly delivered by inspecting the area. What is the terrain like – is it flat, sloping, very hard soil or rocks?
• Check your design – any complicated work can incur additional labour costs. Setting a budget may mean a more straightforward design.
• Research the materials – some materials will be cheaper compared to others. We recommend you conduct proper research on what type of material is needed for the project.

Considering going DIY?

Doing a DIY project is very rewarding but requires thought, careful planning. You will also need proper tools, the right materials as well as some lifting and patience!

If you’ve decided on DIY, at APC we can help. Browse our extensive Knowledge Centre for valuable resources on any DIY project. We also have a DIY Paving Guide or visit us at APC to pick up our DIY Paving brochure. Whilst you’re there, grab a free paver sample!

And of course once the job is done, you can apply a sealer to help maintain your pavers. Read through our Paving Maintenance and Remedies brochure to tackle any stains and marks and keep your pavers looking great!