Comparing contractors is hard because the quotes usually aren’t comparable. One includes excavation and disposal, one doesn’t. One is a 4-inch slab, one is 5. One has reinforcement; one is relying on you not asking.
The price difference you’re looking at is often not margin. It’s scope. Here’s the checklist — print it, take it to all three.
Scope and dimensions
☐ Measured area in square feet or metres, and linear metres for curb or edging
☐ A marked-up sketch or plan showing exactly where the work starts and stops
☐ Slab or paver surface thickness stated
☐ Demolition and disposal — included or excluded, stated either way
☐ Excavation depth
The specifications that decide longevity
☐ Granular base: material and compacted depth. The most important invisible number on the page
☐ Compaction method — in lifts, or not stated
☐ Concrete strength in MPa
☐ Air entrainment and exposure class for anything meeting de-icing salt
☐ Reinforcement: rebar or mesh, size, spacing, and that it will be chaired off the base
☐ Control joint layout and when they’ll be cut
☐ Curing method and duration
☐ Interlock: paver manufacturer and product, bedding depth, edge restraint type, polymeric sand
☐ Walls: block system, drainage stone, filter fabric, drain pipe and outlet, geogrid and at which courses
Water, which nobody asks about
☐ Finished grades and slope direction — where does water go?
☐ Any drainage work included
☐ Downspout handling where the work meets the house
This section is blank on most quotes and is responsible for a disproportionate share of problems.
Commercial and contractual
☐ Exclusions, stated explicitly. The most useful section of any quote and the most often missing
☐ Start window and expected duration
☐ Payment schedule and deposit amount
☐ Permits: who applies, who pays, and whether the price assumes approval
☐ Warranty — what’s covered, for how long, and what voids it
☐ Change order process in writing
☐ Quote validity period
Deposits — what's normal
A deposit is normal; materials have to be ordered. Somewhere in the range of 10–30% is usual for residential work in Ontario, with progress payments and a holdback at completion.
A request for most or all of the money up front is the clearest warning sign there is. So is cash-only for a discount with no written contract — it removes your warranty, your paper trail and any recourse you’d otherwise have.
Paperwork to ask for
☐ WSIB clearance certificate, valid, in the contractor’s legal business name
☐ Certificate of insurance showing commercial general liability
☐ Business name and a real local address
Both certificates take about two minutes to produce if they exist. Ask every contractor you’re considering, not just the cheap one.
Red flags
Door-knocking with “leftover material from a job down the street.” Pressure to sign today for a price that expires tonight. No written scope. No fixed address. Cash only. Reluctance to provide WSIB or insurance. A price dramatically below everyone else’s with no explanation of what’s different.
Cheapest is sometimes right. It’s just worth knowing what you’re giving up to get there.
How to actually compare three quotes
Put them side by side on base depth, slab thickness, mix, reinforcement and exclusions. Nine times out of ten the price gap explains itself in those five rows.
If a quote won’t give you those numbers, that’s your answer about how the work will be done.
Our side of it
We quote line by line, state what’s excluded, and price change orders before the work happens. It makes our quotes longer than some and occasionally higher. It also means nobody has been surprised by an invoice from us.