The paving industry has a low barrier to entry: a bakkie, a plate compactor and a Facebook page, and you’re in business. Some of the best tradespeople in Cape Town started exactly that way — and so did most of the horror stories. When a driveway fails eighteen months in, the contractor who laid it has usually changed phone numbers.
Having repaired a fair share of other people’s work, we’ve got strong opinions on how to pick paving contractors. Here’s the checklist we’d use if we were hiring instead of quoting.
Start with work you can stand on
Photos prove nothing — every contractor’s gallery looks good the week the job finished. What you want is an address: a driveway they paved three or more winters ago that you can go look at. Check the edges (still tight?), the surface (any dips or puddle stains?), and the joints (weeds or washed-out sand?). A contractor who can’t offer a single older reference site is telling you something.
Seven questions that separate the pros from the chancers
- What sub-base are you putting under this, and how thick? For a driveway you want to hear 100–150mm of compacted G5 or crusher-run — not “we level it and compact the sand.”
- How will water get off this surface? Anyone paving in Cape Town without talking about falls and drainage hasn’t worked through a proper winter. Our post on driveway drainage shows what they should be planning for.
- What edge restraints are included? Unrestrained edges creep and collapse. Concrete haunching or solid edging should be in the quote, in writing.
- What thickness brick are you quoting? 60mm minimum for vehicles. If they’re quoting 50mm bricks for a driveway, the price looks better because the job is wrong.
- Who removes the rubble, and is it priced in?
- What’s the payment structure? A deposit for materials is normal. Full payment upfront is not. We’d suggest never handing over more than 50% before bricks start going down.
- What does your guarantee actually cover? “Guaranteed workmanship” means nothing without a period and a phone number that still answers. Ask for it on the invoice.
Red flags worth walking away from
A quote radically cheaper than everyone else’s — the money comes out of the base preparation, every time. Pressure to start “tomorrow, because we have a cancellation.” No physical address or company registration. Cash only. And vagueness about materials: “good quality bricks” on a quote should be a brand, a type and a thickness.
Compare quotes properly
Three quotes for the same driveway are usually three different jobs wearing the same price format. Line them up against each other: base depth, brick spec, edge restraints, drainage, rubble removal, guarantee. The cheapest complete job often isn’t the cheapest number on the page. Our paving prices guide gives you the realistic 2026 ranges so you can spot an underquote instantly.
Local knowledge counts more than people think
Cape Town isn’t one site condition. Sandy soil in Table View compacts differently from the clay in the Southern Suburbs; salt air on the Atlantic Seaboard is hard on some finishes; slopes in Somerset West need thought about stormwater. A contractor who works your area regularly has already made their mistakes on someone else’s driveway.
What working with us looks like
We’ll come out, measure, talk through material options honestly — including when the cheaper brick is the right call — and give you an itemised quote that answers all seven questions above without you asking. Our driveway paving and patio paving pages show recent work, and the gallery has plenty more. Book a free site visit and put us through the checklist.
FAQ
How much deposit should a paving contractor ask for?
Materials-level deposits of 30–50% are standard. Anything approaching full payment before work starts is a serious red flag.
How long should a paved driveway last?
Properly built, 20 years plus. The bricks basically last forever — it’s the base and edges that determine lifespan, which is why the invisible work matters most.
Are cheap paving quotes always a scam?
No — sometimes a small operator with low overheads is genuinely cheaper. The test is whether they can answer the seven questions above in writing. Honest and cheap can coexist; vague and cheap ends in tears.