FACTS TO CONSIDER WHEN HIRING A HARDSCAPE CONTRACTOR

Is the contractor certified by the Interlocking Concrete Paver Institute (ICPI)?  ICPI sets industry standards that contractors should follow for the installation of hardscape materials.  Greenview Designs is ICPI certified and we work at or above industry standards.

Is the contractor certified by National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA)?  NCMA sets industry standards for the installation of landscape and retaining walls and masonry applications.  Greenview Designs is certified by NCMA.

If your installing Techo Bloc materials for your project is the contractor a certified Techo Pro Contractor?  This is an extensive manufacturer screening of contractors which provides offers and guidelines that include a 2 year written guarantee on all work performed, inspections of jobs being built, re-inspections 3 years from completion date, several customer referrals and interviews are required, industry certifications (mentioned above) and insurance certificates to name a few.  Greenview Designs is a Techo Pro Contractor.  Please click on the Techo Pro logo on our website to learn more about the certification process.

What type of base is your contractor going to install and at what depth?  Your 1” aggregate blend base is one of the most important aspects of your hardscape project.  ICPI recommends a minimum 6” aggregate base.  Greenview Designs overbuilds and installs a minimum base of 8” on all of our projects to insure your patio will not fail in the future.

Following the excavation for your walkway or patio it is very important to compact the subsoil which many contractors overlook.  Applying a geo-fabric between the subsoil and aggregate base is the next and very important step in building your base.  It creates a barrier between your subsoil and your aggregate base and distributes weight load evenly.  Compaction of base materials should occur every 2” to insure proper compaction.  In several installs we use heavier rated compaction equipment which increases the depth of aggregate base we can install prior to compaction.  Due to the fact your base is very important to the long-term structure of your patio these are very important questions to ask when choosing a hardscape contractor.

Our aggregate blend base extends 12” beyond the outer edges of patio installs as well as 12” beyond the base for landscape and retaining walls.  This prevents any “sagging” or failures along the edges that occur when a base is at the edge of patio’s and walls.

What type of setting bed will the contractor apply his pavers or slabs in?  ICPI as well as all paver manufactures recommend a 1” sand bed.  Stone dust should not be used as a setting bed as it does not drain and breaks down over time.  If a contractor tells you they are using stone dust in a paver application you are sure to have failures within two years and your patio might need to be picked up and laid again on proper sand materials.

What type of paver joint sealer will your contractor use?  Use of sand and quarry dust will not hold up over time and it allows water through the paver joints and under your patio.  When freeze and thaw occurs and water exists under your pavers it will cause heaving and your pavers will need to be picked up and laid again.  Greenview Designs uses polymeric sand (manufactured by Alliance & Techniseal) which is a very fine polymeric sand that we wet and it becomes as hard as concrete, withstands 95% of water.  Further, those unsightly weeds between your paver joints won’t exist as it will with sand and quarry dust.  Wind, rain and a blower will also remove sand and quarry dust from your paver joints causing failures.

Will your contractor install a paver edge restraint system for all outer edges?  This is important to hold your walkway or patio in place and the use of a concrete bead along the edge will fail over time with the freeze and thaw cycles. 

Is your contractor fully insured?  Greenview Designs carries 3 million in general liability coverage.  

Does your contractor have their New Jersey home improvement certification from the division of consumer affairs?  It’s the law and a contractor without this certification cannot complete your job by law or obtain any permits.  Greenview Designs NJ home improvement contractors license # 13VH04470000.

Will the contractor obtain all permits?  Will they call for all utilities markouts on behalf of the homeowner and confirm all underground utilities prior to starting your job?

What type of warranty are you being offered?  Greenview Designs passes along all manufacturers warranties for the products itself and we back our workmanship for two years!!  If a contractor cannot back his work for two years and put it in the contract you should ask yourself what type of quality your getting.

Are you installing a pool?  If so how will the contractor fill the over dig area around your pool?  Flowable fill or concrete are the only two methods that will insure you don’t have future failures.  It is impossible to get proper compaction in such an area using 1” blend materials.  In the end the paver decking around your pool that meets the coping will settle and possibly cause the coping to pop and drop into the pool causing damage to your concrete shell.

Does your contractor only use and specify one manufacturer?  Greenview Designs will install a wide range of manufactures products from Techo Bloc, Belgard, Unilock CST and  EP Henry to name a few.  Your taste and budget will decide the product we use.  We specify and prefer working with the Techo Bloc line of products.  We have found this product line to be the easiest to work with, the best of quality and most importantly the best finished look.  Techo Bloc is also the only paver manufacturer to offer a lifetime guarantee on the products themselves.

What range of services can your contractor offer?  Do they install low voltage landscape lighting, outdoor cooking stations, outdoor fireplaces and burn pits, outdoor audio and video, masonry services, stone veneers?  Greenview Designs offers all of these services which allows you to work with one contractor to complete your project in a headache free manner and meet your deadlines.  We also work very closely with the nation’s number one and largest pool builder.  Please ask us for more details or brochures.