The Deposit Test: Vetting a Paving Contractor Before the Skip Lands

Most paving disasters do not start with a bad sand mix. They start with a deposit paid to a firm nobody checked. By the time the slabs are rocking, the phone number is dead and the guarantee is a scribble on a business card. That is not a reason to avoid hiring a contractor. Good paving crews exist, and the decent ones are usually just as keen to avoid tyre-kickers as you are to avoid cowboys. The trick is to make the awkward checks before money moves.

Start with a written quotation, not a friendly estimate

A proper quotation should be in writing and should describe the job, not just the price. For a 2026 patio or driveway project, look for measured areas, proposed levels, sub-base specification, drainage details, edge restraints, paving type, jointing method, and what happens to the spoil. If the quote says 'prepare and lay patio' and nothing else, you have not got a quotation. You have got a headline.

Ask whether the figure includes VAT. Ask whether materials are fixed or subject to supplier increases. Ask who orders the paving and who owns any surplus. A good contractor will happily explain these things because it protects them too. Vague quotes create arguments later, usually when the excavator is already in the garden.

Check the business, not just the van

A smart van and a Facebook page prove nothing. Ask for the legal business name and address. Check it on Companies House if it is a limited company. Ask for public liability insurance and, if they employ people, employers liability insurance. A certificate should be current and should match the work being done. Do not accept 'we are covered, mate' as a substitute for a document.

Waste is another quiet test. Ask where the old patio, sub-base and packaging will go. In England and Wales, a waste carrier registration should be available for inspection; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements. Fly-tipped paving spoil is your problem if it came from your drive. A contractor who cannot explain waste disposal is not a bargain.

Competence is boring, which is why it matters

Ask how they will set out levels and falls. Ask what sub-base depth they propose and why. Ask how they will deal with the drain, the manhole cover, the doorstep threshold or the slope away from the house. You are not testing them on trivia. You are listening for whether the answers are specific or improvised.

References are useful, but only if you actually speak to people. Ask for two recent jobs similar to yours, not a gallery of work from years ago. If possible, look at a patio that has been down through a full winter. Lifting edges, settled corners and failed joints tell you more than any glossy photo.

The deposit conversation

This is where good jobs and bad jobs often part company. A deposit is normal. A large deposit before anything has been ordered is not. Expect a sensible materials deposit, often in the region of 10 to 25 percent, with staged payments tied to progress. The final payment should wait until snagging is done and the site is clear.

Be wary of a contractor who wants half the job in cash before the skip arrives. Be equally wary of one who refuses a written payment schedule. Stage payments should be written down: deposit, delivery of materials, completion of sub-base, laying, pointing, handover. If the job is large, a small retention until defects are sorted is reasonable. Good contractors will discuss this without taking offence.

Programme, weather and access

Paving in the UK is weather-dependent, and any contractor who promises a fixed finish date in November without caveats is either lucky or inexperienced. Ask what happens if it rains for four days. Ask whether they will protect open sub-base and how they will handle freezes. Ask how many other jobs they will be running at the same time. A crew that disappears for a week to another site is not necessarily a crook, but you should know about it up front.

Access matters too. Where will the skip sit? Can a delivery lorry reach the drive? Will they need your outside tap or power? Is there a toilet arrangement? Who is responsible for protecting drains, lawns and walls? These questions sound fussy until a tonne bag lands on the flower bed.

Red flags that should stop the deposit

Walk away from pressure. 'We can start tomorrow but need the deposit today' is a sales tactic, not a schedule. Walk away from cash-only discounts, missing addresses, insurance certificates that never appear, and quotes that are dramatically cheaper than everyone else with no explanation. Walk away from anyone who will not put the payment terms, scope and waste arrangements in writing.

A good contractor will not mind being asked for paperwork. They will mind being asked to work blind. Treat the deposit as your last easy exit. Once it is paid, your leverage drops and their programme takes over. Do the checks now, keep the quotation and payment schedule on file, and you are far more likely to end up with a patio than a cautionary tale.