Driveway or fence first?
new207040 said:
do you plan to do any other work in the backyard that would require heavy equipment (ie grading etc) if not do driveway - if so hold off as heavy equipment on new asphalt may not be good, from what i understand it takes bit for the asphalt to "season"
Good thought. We have the rest of the fence that has to come out, a garden area that we are changing back to grass, plus the back stairs which we are changing from wood to brick. Not sure if they would need a bobcat or something for those jobs? I wish I could find someone that could just do everything. We want to use Essex for the driveway but have to find someone else for the rest of the stuff (probably Anthony's).
You can probably find someone to do everything.
For example, these guys seem to do fencing, paving, masonry.
http://curbappealdesign.biz/
I can't vouch for their work, but Mo (I think he's the owner) came out to do an estimate last year and seemed very knowledgeable. (It turned out that we would need to apply for a variance for what we wanted, so we decided against going in that direction).
I had also chatted briefly with Picture Perfect Landscaping who will do a 3D design for $1500, and then apply that amount toward the work. (Although I don't see fencing listed in their services paragraph).
http://www.pplnj.com/contact
sprout said:
@GGartrell,
You can probably find someone to do everything.
For example, these guys seem to do fencing, paving, masonry.
http://curbappealdesign.biz/
I can't vouch for their work, but Mo (I think he's the owner) came out to do an estimate last year and seemed very knowledgeable. (It turned out that we would need to apply for a variance for what we wanted, so we decided against going in that direction).
I had also chatted briefly with Picture Perfect Landscaping who will do a 3D design for $1500, and then apply that amount toward the work. (Although I don't see fencing listed in their services paragraph).
http://www.pplnj.com/contact
Oh yeah, when I was getting bids I found plenty of places that would do it all but none that I was comfortable with doing it all. I should probably have phrased it that way at first.
Charles is owner cell 973 809 2740
I think this is their other information:
39 CONDIT TERRACE
West Orange, NJ 07052
(973) 919-3331
www.agconlan.com
Contact: Tobar, Vanessa
Business Description: FAMILY OWNED. ADDITONAL CONTACT: (973 )731-5710. MAY CONTACT THROUGH EMAIL.
Services: Deck Cleaning, Asphalt Driveway, Hardscaping, Lawn Service, Masonry, Mulch
Second this on all counts! We used Giordano also a few years back and are very happy with the work and I've heard nothing but praise for his work on this board.srg36 said:
We used Mike Giordano many years ago for the driveway and we're still happy w the results. I would call him for an estimate and show him the fence issue and ask his opinion on the sequencing.
srg36 said:
We used Mike Giordano many years ago for the driveway and we're still happy w the results. I would call him for an estimate and show him the fence issue and ask his opinion on the sequencing.
We heard great things about Mike when we looked into doing this last year. We also need a little repair work done on the top of the retaining wall that lines the driveway and I believe when we called he said he doesn't do this kind of work. I Don't mind splitting the work between two vendors but I'd rather not have to bring a third into the deal.
We've done the driveway quote thing before, and are at it again since we just couldn't afford to do it back in 2013, but really need to now.
In case it is helpful to you, we received quotes from the following companies who gave close estimates with detailed descriptions in their written quotes:
Essex-Morris Contracting Company - John Trezza, 973-676-8590
Anthony's Landscaping (our neighbor used him for a major driveway w/Belgian block as well as a front entry and landscaping around the foundation, and they did a great job.) - 973-763-6566
We also got a quote from Michael Giordano who seemed very knowledgable, but his quote was via email and a bit less specific that the other two. I only have his email michaelgiordanocontractor@yahoo.com
I'm calling the 3 above and also checking MOL to see if there are other highly recommended contractors I should call for current quotes. We are hoping to luck out with a lower cost today, since the lower price of oil has brought the average price of asphalt concrete down almost 20% from June of 2013.
http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/business/trnsport/PriceIndex.shtm
To your question, I am in the camp of @newt07040.
Do the Drive way last that way it is not damaged while the fence is fixed and provides the 'Finished' look you will be looking for.
Later,
Da,
The UPS Store
George
pdg said:
We've done the driveway quote thing before, and are at it again since we just couldn't afford to do it back in 2013, but really need to now.
In case it is helpful to you, we received quotes from the following companies who gave close estimates with detailed descriptions in their written quotes:
Essex-Morris Contracting Company - John Trezza, 973-676-8590
Anthony's Landscaping (our neighbor used him for a major driveway w/Belgian block as well as a front entry and landscaping around the foundation, and they did a great job.) - 973-763-6566
We also got a quote from Michael Giordano who seemed very knowledgable, but his quote was via email and a bit less specific that the other two. I only have his email michaelgiordanocontractor@yahoo.com
I'm calling the 3 above and also checking MOL to see if there are other highly recommended contractors I should call for current quotes. We are hoping to luck out with a lower cost today, since the lower price of oil has brought the average price of asphalt concrete down almost 20% from June of 2013.
http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/business/trnsport/PriceIndex.shtm
The Mrs. reminded me that Giordano never actually delivered the estimate we asked for last year. Contacted him again last month and never heard anything back so either he is real busy or not interested. We got an estimate from Essex but it was way higher than everyone else. It came down to Luigi's and Anthony's. I wasn't comfortable with Luigi's ballpark verbal estimate. The range was just too wide and his description of what needed to be done seemed like it was missing steps that were in the other estimates I got. We have actually used Anthony's for yard work before we switched to JK and although it was just mow and blow he did a good job. They are 5 weeks out on jobs right now which sucks but I guess we are just gonna have to wait.
Thought I'd update this post rather than starting a new one, just in case anyone comes across this in a search doing research on repaving. In addition to having our driveway replaced and the retaining wall repaired we also decided to replace our front steps. We wound up going with Avellino masonry which was the last and actually the most expensive of all the bids we got. We went with them based on recommendations from neighbors and the fact that guy they sent out seemed to be the most knowledgeable of the 5 bidders. Their bid didn't seem like it was just thrown together cutting and pasting form old bids. Everything was clearly laid out and the description of what needed to be done seemed logical. It looked very specific to our property. That said, the process has not gone very smoothly thus far. We are hoping it's like the old saying that you don't want to watch sausage being made but the finished result is great. I'll put a link here to my review on Yelp and Google once everything is finished. Still got my fingers crossed.
truegrid said:
I did all of that and more with one company as well - Abraham General Construction and Landscaping. I actually had 6 companies that could bid to do all the work. Only the driveway was unplanned, Abraham Landscaping was able to do it. Based on the scope of what you want done, they can determine the order of the work- even if not going to do it all at once. I had replacing stairs, 2 walkways taken out and new put in, tore out and put in foundation garden and driveway, laid down drainage pipes, tore out and put in new driveway (due to drainage issue) and put in gardens and minor landscaping.
Charles is owner cell 973 809 2740
I think this is their other information:
39 CONDIT TERRACE
West Orange, NJ 07052
(973) 919-3331
www.agconlan.com
Contact: Tobar, Vanessa
Business Description: FAMILY OWNED. ADDITONAL CONTACT: (973 )731-5710. MAY CONTACT THROUGH EMAIL.
Services: Deck Cleaning, Asphalt Driveway, Hardscaping, Lawn Service, Masonry, Mulch
Avellino sub-contracted the work out to Abraham. So basically I'm paying an extra thousand dollars to have the company you suggested I call in the first place (and do a horrible job at that). Live and learn.
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