Hardscaping checklists

Before you sign. Get the company's license number and check it on your state's contractor licensing board rather than accepting a photo. Ask for a current certificate of insurance sent directly from the insurer or agent. Ask whether the crew doing the work is employed or subcontracted, and who supervises on site. Ask for CMHA certification details if they claim it — CMHA publishes a directory of certified ICP, SRW, PICP and MSV installers and will confirm status by phone or email.

What must be in the contract. Square footage and layout. Excavation depth. Aggregate base type and compacted thickness, and how many lifts it is compacted in. Bedding layer material and depth. Edge restraint type. Joint sand product by name. Drainage detail and where water discharges. Who pulls permits. Removal and disposal of existing material. Start and completion dates. Payment schedule tied to milestones, not dates. Warranty terms for workmanship, in writing.

During the work. Ask to be called when excavation and base compaction are complete and before bedding goes down. Confirm the excavation looks like the depth in the contract, that the base is being compacted in layers rather than in one go, and that there is a drainage path. Photograph everything at this stage. Once pavers are down, none of this is checkable.

At handover. Walk the whole surface, including in the rain if you can. Check that water runs away from the house. Check joints are full and level. Get the paver model and color, joint sand product, and any leftover material. Get the warranty in writing with the start date, and get final lien waivers if your state uses them before the last payment.

How to choose

Verify insurance with the insurer, not the contractor

Ask for the certificate to be sent to you directly by the agent or carrier. Certificates are trivially easy to fake and expensive to be wrong about.

Make the base spec a contract term

Excavation depth, base material, compacted thickness and lifts. If it's not written, you cannot enforce it and you cannot prove it later.

Book your own base inspection

Get it in the schedule: 'owner walk-through after base compaction, before bedding.' A reputable installer will not object.

Tie payments to milestones

Deposit, base complete, surface complete, final after punch list. Never pay the majority up front, and keep a meaningful holdback until you've seen the finished job drain in real rain.

Collect the paperwork before the final check

Written workmanship warranty, permit close-out and inspection sign-off if applicable, product data sheets, and lien waivers where your state uses them.