Use before material
Document how the parking area actually works.
Commercial paving starts with movement. Record customer entry and exit, delivery routes, waste collection, loading areas, fire routes, tenant access and the heaviest vehicles that use the property. Turning and braking zones may deserve different attention than stalls used by passenger vehicles.
Operating hours and seasonal peaks also affect the plan. A technically suitable scope can still create unnecessary business disruption if staging, curing, markings and reopening are not coordinated. The first request should identify any part of the site that must remain open.
- Vehicle types and daily traffic patterns.
- Loading, waste and delivery movements.
- Entrances that must remain available.
- Tenant, customer and staff parking needs.
- Emergency and accessible routes.
- Preferred phasing or off-hour windows.
Condition map
Separate surface wear from structural warning signs.
Mark potholes, open cracks, settlement, rutting, broken edges and earlier utility repairs on a simple site plan. Add the location of catch basins, manholes, curbs, islands, ramps and concrete aprons. Areas used by heavy or turning vehicles should be identified even if the visible damage is modest.
The review should explain which pavement can remain and why. A uniform overlay, isolated patching and full reconstruction are different scopes. Where multiple approaches are possible, ask for clearly labelled options rather than one blended price that hides the limits of each method.
Water and elevations
Trace runoff before changing the finished surface.
The City of Mission describes a drainage system made up of enclosed urban pipes and open rural channels. On a commercial property, runoff may pass through private catch basins, surface grades or other on-site infrastructure before reaching the wider system. Existing drains, entrances, sidewalks and building thresholds create fixed elevations that need to be measured.
A proposal should identify observed low points and explain how the selected work addresses—or does not address—them. If drainage design, catch-basin work or off-site approvals fall outside the paving scope, that boundary should be explicit.
Business continuity
Make the staging plan part of the quote.
Define work zones, vehicle detours, pedestrian routes, delivery arrangements and communication responsibilities before work begins. Phasing may require temporary markings or barriers, and the sequence may affect how new work ties into existing pavement. Confirm who controls the site during each phase and who can authorize changes.
Weather, access and discovered conditions can affect timing, so distinguish a planning schedule from a guaranteed reopening time. The site owner or manager should also confirm any lease, strata, accessibility or emergency-access responsibilities that apply.
Commercial comparison
Ask every bidder to price the same written scope.
Compare measured areas, demolition, base preparation, drainage assumptions, pavement transitions, utility adjustments, curbs, markings, wheel stops, traffic control, disposal and clean-up. Request unit prices or a change process for unsuitable material discovered after opening the surface.
Do not substitute a contractor’s proposal for municipal, engineering, accessibility or property-management review when those are required. This website organizes the request; it does not certify design, code compliance or site operations.
Primary sources