Are the parking lots or driveways at your business starting to look worse-for-wear? Do potholes, cracks or bubbles prevent your clients and employees from arriving at or leaving your premises comfortably? If so, it may be time to pursue a new paving consulting project.
While you might think paving consulting is just a matter of finding the cheapest quote, hiring a construction crew and repaving your lot, the process actually requires patience, research, and attention to detail. Before any paving consulting project begins, it’s important to get important prerequisites out of the way. Taking action now can save you money and energy while ensuring the project wraps up in a timely fashion.
Consider the scope of your paving consulting project
What are you trying to accomplish with your current project? Do you just want to update your facility, or are there structural issues that need to be addressed? How large is your commercial property? Is there one parking lot, or multiple lots? If the main lot is shut down for a period of weeks or longer, where will your clients and employees park then? Determining the answers to questions like these will ensure you have a good grasp of what you want to accomplish. It will also make communicating with a paving team that much easier.
Speak with colleagues and other professionals
If you’ve never invested in a paving consulting project before, you’re probably feeling somewhat overwhelmed. This is perfectly understandable. There are a lot of things to think about, and you want to make sure you make the right investment. Set aside some time to reach out to fellow business owners and colleagues who have already gone through the re-paving process. What did they learn? Were there any setbacks? Do they have any advice to offer? People love helping one another out, so you’re sure to get some helpful advice.
Determine your budget
Before you can start any project, you need to determine how much it’s going to cost. The price of paving your parking lots and drive ways can vary significantly depending on the size and scope of your property. Set a budget that is larger than what you expect to pay. This can help protect your livelihood if a project goes over budget or if delays take place due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.
Determine the project length
You can’t predict the future, but you can estimate how long a project will take. For example, if you will be hosting a convention or networking event in a few months, it’s important that construction is completed prior to that event taking place. Remember that projects take place in various phases. There is a planning period, a work period, and then a final overview. Determine how much time you require for these various tasks. An estimate is better than no plan at all.
Find a paving consulting team with a proven track record
Once you’ve determined your budget, the size of your project, and how long you expect it to take, it’s time to move on to finding a paving consulting team that you can trust. While it might be tempting to just search Google for the best deal, it’s far better to partner with an organization that has experience in this particular area. Not only will this provide you peace of mine, it also will ensure that your project is completed in a timely fashion and without any hiccups.
As a full-service Pavement Consulting Firm, we specialize in all aspects of concrete, asphalt, recycled materials, and other pavement systems. We can provide all of your pavement design needs, from existing condition evaluations and estimates for recommended repairs, to complete replacement design, documentation, and project management. Our years of experience and unmatched expertise in the industry place McNeil Engineering apart from all other consultants.
If you’re ready to get to work on your next project, contact Rodney Davis, our Paving Consultant, and Project Manager at (801) 255 – 7700 Ext. 113 or send him an email at rod@mcneileng.com
