After going through our first winter in this new house we share with two others, arranging someone to plow and trying to keep the gravel driveway clear between plowing, we decided to have the driveway paved. We got an estimate from Roundy's and hired them to do it even though, to be frank, we couldn't find any good reviews on them, or many reviews at all for that matter. But the owners (husband and wife) made a good impression on us so we went with it. I didn't seek out multiple estimates. I liked that they are local, and I figured if someone else came in 5% cheaper or whatever, maybe the quality would be 10% worse for all I know.
Their crews were pleasant and easy to work with and the work quality seems top notch to us. They graded and leveled the long, narrow driveway that ran along the street, cutting the edge of the street so they could pave up level to it. They brought in fresh gravel as a base and built two retaining walls for support: a smaller one made of good old large Maine boulders, and a sturdier one made with equally large but symmetrical street-facing concrete blocks. There was a delay after that step as they had to wait for the manufacturer of the wall blocks to fashion covers for them before continuing. That took about six weeks and was beyond their control. But then the paving itself took place, all in one day, and the job was finished to our satisfaction.
I feel obliged to point out that communication seems to be their only weakness. We left messages to check up on progress that they didn't respond to, forcing a follow-up call by us,, and a couple of times crews showed up first thing in the morning to start a phase of the job and we weren't told in advance, so one of the residents who works from home had to interrupt a work meeting to give us keys to move their vehicle. That was just a minor irritant to us, knowing how tough the current climate is for businesses to find good help, and I only mention it in case communication is more important to you that it is to us as retired folks.
So here we are a month after the paving was completed and there have been no issues with the new tar as yet. read more