On jobs over 5,000 square feet, I can now match most quotes for pavement (blacktop, asphalt, etc).  Today I was giving a price for a large playground all purpose court, when I realized that I was well over my clients budget.  She had been received a quote for asphalt, which on larger jobs in the past had been too low for me to reasonably compete with due to material costs.  However; I made a phone call to the concrete sales manager, and VOILA!!  On large jobs (over 60 yards) when I need to compete with asphalt, he said they will give me a considerable discount on my concrete price so that I can start being more competitive on larger jobs.  Here is a factitious scenario to illustrate how to get a much better product at the same price!  (Not many people would argue that concrete is less maintenance, much stronger, and better looking that asphalt).

Billy Bob wants 8,000 square feet.

ASPHALT
4 inches of compacted stone = $2,000

2 inches of asphalt = $8,000

Grading and labor = $4,000

Total Price = $14,000

Price per foot = $1.75

(preventative maintenance soon to follow!!)

CONCRETE
98 Yards of Concrete (4 inches @3,000 PSI) = $9,016

Grading/compacting and Labor = $5,000

Total Price = $14,016

Price per foot = $1.752 !!!!

Conclusion:

If you have a big job, don’t assume that concrete is too expensive!  Give me a chance to quote it and get a bulk price reduction from the concrete supplier.  Obviously, this pricing would never work on jobs under 60 yards, but on the big ones we can always give it a try!