Questions people ask while holding a bid

No. Metroplex Concrete & Stone is a quoting and scheduling service. The guides help you read the bids you have; when you ask for a quote, your request goes to one independent, insured North Texas contractor who prices the job and does the work.

Because it will be written to the spec on our checklist: thickness, steel, base, joints, finish, cure, permits and dates. That gives you a complete bid to hold the others against.

No. A price without the spec and the lot is a guess, and this site is about the spec. See the guide on what moves the price.

The eleven counties of Dallas–Fort Worth: Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, Rockwall, Kaufman, Ellis, Johnson, Parker, Wise and Hunt. Each county page lists who permits work outside city limits and what the ground does.

Yes. That is what it is for. Print it, fill in a column per bid, and the gaps show up.

An independent, insured North Texas contractor. Certificates of insurance, the written quote and lien releases come from that contractor.

Usually because they are not for the same slab. One may be 4 inches on dirt with wire mesh, the other 5 inches on compacted base with rebar and the approach permit included. Put both on our bid checklist and the gap usually explains itself.

Yes, or it should say plainly that it does not. Many DFW cities require a permit and inspection for the approach at the street, and in Dallas it is issued only to a bonded paving contractor.

Either works when it is placed in the middle of the slab. Mesh is common at 4 inches, rebar at 5 inches and up. What matters is that the bid names it and that the crew sets it on chairs instead of lying it on the dirt.

Ask for the dates in the bid. Concrete gains most of its strength in the first month; crews commonly keep cars off for about a week and heavy trucks longer.

It depends on the city. Some, like Sachse, permit all flatwork including patios and require a pre-pour inspection; others only permit work at the street. Check your city and ask the bidder who pulls it.

Usually no. An expansion joint lets the patio move independently of the house slab. Ask for the joint detail in the bid.

Settling or cracking at the edge where the base was thin, and water pooling at the house line. Both come back to base and slope, which is why the bid should state both.

Often yes. The bid should say how the new pour is doweled or jointed to the old one and warn you that color will not match exactly.

Depends on what rolls on it. The bid should state the field thickness and the edge detail separately rather than one number for the whole slab.

If the interior will be conditioned, floored or used for storage that cannot get damp, yes. Ask the bidder to put it on the bid or to say why it is left off.

Most DFW counties issue a development permit for new construction in unincorporated areas even though they do not inspect buildings; a few, like Rockwall, require a county notice and third-party inspections for a house. See the county pages on this site.

That is normal. What you want is the number and who hires the engineer, so the two bids you compare both include it.

Rules differ by city. Many make the property owner responsible for the walk in front of the lot and require the city's permit and standard for the work.

Three feet minimum; four to five feet is the common comfortable width. The bid should state it.

Usually not for a few porch steps on private property, but a handrail may be required above a certain height. Verify with your city.

Often, if the lip is small and the panel is sound. Grinding is cheaper; the bid should offer it where it fits.

Different habits. Ask both to price the same marked-up plan so the totals are comparable.

Usually, in phases and often at night. The bid should spell out the phasing.

Not usually for like-for-like replacement. New paving, grading changes or drainage changes typically do need one.

If the lot is asphalt, the right fix may be asphalt or a concrete section. Ask the bidder to say which and why.

All concrete can. Joints hidden in the pattern, steel in the middle of the slab and a compacted base keep cracks controlled.

Commonly every two to three years in Texas sun. Ask the bidder for the interval for the sealer they quote.

Sometimes with a bonded overlay if the slab is sound. Ask the bidder to look first; a new pour is often the better answer.

Sealed surfaces can be when wet. A grit additive in the sealer fixes most of it; ask for it on the bid.

It holds when the water problem that dropped the slab is fixed. Ask the bid to address the cause, not just the lift.

If a third or less of the panels are cracked and the rest are sound, usually yes. Past that, replacement is often the better money; ask the bidder for both numbers.

Close, not identical. Weathering evens it out over a year or two.

Panel replacement at the street approach often does; leveling and crack repair on your lot usually does not. Verify with your city.