Three paving bids for the same parking lot can land thousands of dollars apart, and the spread almost never means one contractor is greedy and another is generous. It usually means they priced different work. Until you can line the scopes up next to each other, the low number is not a discount — it is an unanswered question. Here is what to read on a commercial paving proposal before you compare the totals.
Start with thickness and area. A proposal should say how many square feet or square yards are being paved and how thick the asphalt will be after compaction — compacted depth, not loose depth, which is a meaningfully different number. If one bid says two inches and another says three over the same area, you are not looking at competing prices; you are looking at two different pavements with different service lives. The same applies to concrete: thickness, and whether reinforcement is included, changes the cost and the outcome.
Then read what happens under the asphalt. Base work is where bids diverge most and where the description is often thinnest. Look for whether the existing surface is being milled or simply overlaid, how deep, what happens to failed areas found once the surface is off, and whether the base is being regraded and compacted or left as-is. An overlay poured across a failing base looks identical to a proper job on day one and starts telegraphing cracks within a season or two. If a bid is silent on base repair, ask what happens — and what it costs — when soft spots turn up mid-job.
Check what is included besides the paving. Restriping after new asphalt, transitions where new pavement meets existing curbs and drive aprons, adjusting utility covers to the new grade, permits, traffic control and phasing so tenants can still park, and haul-off of milled material are all real line items. Any of them can be quietly excluded and billed later. A bid with fewer inclusions is not cheaper; it is less finished.
Ask about timing and cure. A proposal should tell you how many days the work takes, how the lot will be phased, and how long each area stays closed. New asphalt typically needs a cure period before heavy traffic and a longer wait — often several months — before it can be sealcoated. If a bid promises to pave and seal in the same week, that is a signal about the rest of the work too.
Confirm the business basics. Current general liability and workers' compensation coverage, licensing where your jurisdiction requires it, and a written warranty with a stated term and stated exclusions. Ask what the warranty actually covers — most cover workmanship and material defects, not damage from settlement, fuel spills, or loads the pavement was never designed for. Ask for references on comparable properties, not just comparable square footage. A retail center with delivery trucks and a school lot with buses are different problems.
The practical move is to write a short scope yourself before you request bids: area, intended depth, base repair expectations, striping, and schedule constraints. When every contractor prices the same scope, the numbers become comparable and the differences left over are the ones you actually want to evaluate — crew, equipment, schedule, and how they answer questions.
If you have proposals in hand and they do not line up, a free assessment can walk the lot, tell you what the pavement actually needs, and give you a scope you can hold every bid against.