Ten questions, asked before you sign.

On scope

1. What excavation depth, base thickness and asphalt lifts are in this price? Specific numbers. This one question sorts most quotes.

2. Is disposal of the old surface and excavated material included? Tipping fees are real and they are a common line to find missing later.

3. What are you doing about drainage? If water pools now and the quote does not mention grade, it will pool afterwards.

On timeline

4. When would you start, and how long on site? A start window rather than 'sometime in spring'.

5. What happens if it rains? Every job gets weather-delayed at some point. What matters is whether you are told, and where you land in the queue afterwards.

6. Will my driveway be unusable, and for how long? Plan parking before, not during.

On money

7. Is this a fixed price, and what specifically would change it? A good answer names concrete discoveries and says you will be shown and consulted first.

8. What is the payment schedule? A modest materials deposit is normal on larger jobs. Most of the money should be due on completion.

On what happens afterwards

9. What does the warranty cover, specifically? Settlement? Cracking? Drainage? A warranty that excludes the things that actually fail is not one.

10. Can I see the base before you cover it? Any contractor confident in their base work says yes without hesitating. It is the single most revealing question on this list.

And two things to verify separately

Liability insurance and WSIB clearance, both as certificates rather than assurances. Both take one email for a legitimate contractor to produce.

Ask for two recent local addresses you can drive past. Photographs can come from anywhere; a driveway you can go and look at cannot.