Compare the Scope Before You Compare the Price

A lower bid is not automatically a poor bid, and a higher bid is not automatically more complete. The first step is confirming that each contractor is pricing the same work. If one proposal includes pavement preparation, crack treatment, accessibility markings, and traffic control while another simply says “seal and stripe lot,” the totals cannot be compared fairly.

A useful written scope should identify the measurable work, including the approximate asphalt area, parking stall count, line footage, arrows, crosswalks, curb markings, and specialty stencils. It should also explain:

How the pavement will be cleaned and prepared
Which cracks or damaged areas will be treated before coating
Which sealcoat and traffic-marking products are proposed
Whether the job follows the existing layout or includes a new layout
Which accessible spaces, access aisles, and fire-lane markings are included
How the parking lot will be phased, closed, and reopened
What is excluded from the price

Sealcoating is not structural repair. It can protect and refresh a serviceable asphalt surface, but it does not rebuild potholes, sunken pavement, failed patches, severe rutting, drainage problems, or alligator cracking.

Those conditions may need patching, milling, drainage correction, or another repair before sealcoating.

Verify the Company and Its Insurance

Start with information that can be checked. Confirm the contractor’s legal business name, working contact information and service area. Ask for recent examples involving properties similar to yours, such as retail centers, offices, churches, schools, medical facilities or HOA communities. Find out whether employees or subcontractors will perform the work and who will supervise the property.

Be precise when asking whether a company is “licensed.” Georgia regulates specific professions and contractor activities through different licensing boards, but routine striping and sealcoating are not presented as their own named profession in the Secretary of State’s licensing information. Other requirements can still apply based on the business, municipality and project scope. Ask the contractor what specific license, registration or occupational-tax certificate it holds, then verify the answer with the issuing authority. [1]

What a Certificate of Insurance Actually Shows

Request a current Certificate of Insurance (COI) from the contractor’s insurance agent or broker. Review the named business, policy types, and policy dates. A COI shows coverage at a specific point in time. It does not change the policy, guarantee that a particular claim will be covered, or create additional-insured rights by itself. [2]

Certificate holder: This identifies the person or organization receiving the certificate. It does not automatically provide additional-insured status or guarantee notice of cancellation.

Additional insured: A contract may require this status under the contractor’s general liability policy. When required, confirm that the applicable policy endorsement exists rather than relying only on a checked box on the COI.

General liability: This may respond to certain covered claims involving third-party bodily injury or property damage, subject to the policy’s terms and exclusions.

Workers’ compensation: Request evidence of coverage when applicable. Georgia generally requires employers who regularly employ three or more people, including regular part-time workers, to provide workers’ compensation coverage. [3]

Georgia provides an online tool for checking an employer’s workers’ compensation coverage status. [4] Verifying insurance helps you evaluate risk, but it does not eliminate every potential exposure. Ask your insurance or risk-management adviser which coverages, limits and endorsements your contract should require.

Ask What Materials and Preparation Are Included

You do not need to become an expert in pavement coatings. You do need enough information to understand what is being placed on your property. A proposal should identify the product manufacturer, product line or material type instead of relying only on phrases such as “commercial-grade sealer” or “traffic paint.”

Ask the contractor to explain:

How loose material, vegetation, dirt and contaminated areas will be addressed

Which cracks and pavement defects are included in the preparation

How many applications are proposed and how they will be applied

Whether the selected product is compatible with the existing pavement or coating

Which temperature, rain, and curing restrictions appear in the manufacturer’s technical data

How long the contractor expects the area to remain closed under the forecast conditions

A single application is not automatically inadequate, and two applications are not automatically better. The appropriate system depends on the product instructions, pavement condition, traffic, agreed scope, and expected result. The concern is whether the proposal clearly describes the system and whether the contractor intends to follow the product requirements.

Look for a Realistic Scheduling and Access Plan

Parking lot work affects tenants, customers, deliveries, and residents. Before approving a proposal, ask for a schedule that shows which areas will close, when barricades will be installed, and when each section is expected to reopen.

Depending on the property, that plan may include phased work, evening or weekend scheduling, tenant notices, temporary traffic routes, and designated parking alternatives. Coordinate emergency access throughout the project. If weather changes, the contractor should explain who will decide on postponement and how the new date will be communicated.

A dependable contractor bases reopening guidance on the selected product, pavement temperature, humidity, sunlight, traffic, and current weather. Be cautious of an unconditional promise made before those conditions are known.

Compare Written Proposals Side by Side

Quote item	What a clear proposal should explain	Warning sign
Measured scope	Approximate asphalt area, stall count and quantities for lines, arrows, stencils and curbs	A lump-sum total with no measurable scope
Preparation	Cleaning, debris removal and treatment of contaminated or loose areas	No preparation description or unclear owner responsibilities
Repairs and cracks	Which cracks and repairs are included, plus conditions requiring a separate price	A claim that sealcoat will repair potholes or structural pavement failure
Sealcoating	Product identification, applications, method and manufacturer-based weather restrictions	Unnamed material or an application plan that cannot be compared with product instructions
Striping and markings	Paint or marking type, layout scope and included stalls, arrows, crosswalks and stencils	A vague promise to “touch up lines” without quantities or layout details
Accessibility and fire lanes	Work included under the approved layout and any issues requiring owner or authority review	A guarantee of total compliance based on paint alone
Scheduling and phasing	Closure areas, work sequence, notices, barricades and weather contingencies	No written access plan or rescheduling process
Reopening	Estimated pedestrian and vehicle reopening windows tied to products and conditions	An unconditional reopening promise before conditions are evaluated
Insurance	Current COI and any contractually required general liability endorsements	Refusal to provide verifiable documentation
Workmanship policy	Written coverage, exclusions, duration and available remedy	Verbal promises with no written terms
Exclusions	Items not included, such as major patching, milling, drainage work or layout redesign	Unclear boundaries that could lead to unexpected charges
Payment and changes	Written payment timing and owner approval process for additional work	Undocumented terms or extra work performed without authorization

Accessibility and Fire-Lane Work Require More Than Fresh Paint

Under the 2010 ADA Standards, a standard accessible parking space is at least 96 inches wide and has an adjacent access aisle at least 60 inches wide. A van-accessible space can be at least 132 inches wide with a 60-inch aisle, or at least 96 inches wide with a 96-inch aisle. Access aisles must be marked to discourage parking, but the federal standards do not prescribe blue-and-white pavement colors. [5]

Paint alone does not establish accessibility. Space counts, slopes, signage, vertical clearance and the accessible route can also matter. A striping company can compare markings with an approved plan and flag visible concerns, but conditions involving design or code interpretation may require review by the property owner, a qualified design professional, or the relevant authority.

Fire-lane colors, wording, and marking intervals can vary by jurisdiction. The contractor should follow the approved layout and confirm local requirements with the authority having jurisdiction rather than assuming the old markings are correct.

Warning Signs Worth Taking Seriously

The proposal contains one total with no measurements, quantities or exclusions.

The contractor will not provide current insurance documentation.

The materials, preparation steps or application plan cannot be identified.

Sealcoating is presented as a repair for potholes, failed patches or base problems.

There is no plan for rain, closures, tenant notices or reopening the lot.

The company guarantees accessibility or fire-code compliance without reviewing the layout and applicable requirements.

Payment terms, workmanship terms and change orders are not documented.

Communication is already unreliable during the estimating stage.

Questions to Ask Before You Sign

Will your agent provide a current COI showing the business name, policy types and effective dates?
If our contract requires additional-insured status under general liability, will you provide the applicable endorsement?
Which sealcoat and traffic-marking products are proposed, and can we review their technical data?
What preparation, crack treatment and pavement repairs are included or excluded?
How many applications are included, and why is that system appropriate for this lot?
Will you follow an approved layout and flag accessibility or fire-lane concerns that require additional review?
How will you phase the job and communicate closures to tenants, customers or residents?
What conditions could delay the project, and how will you reschedule the date?
What are the written payment terms, workmanship policy and change-order process?

Request a Site-Specific Proposal

One Fresh Surface provides commercial parking lot striping, sealcoating, ADA-focused parking lot markings and fire-lane services in Alpharetta, Roswell, Milton, Johns Creek, Cumming and surrounding North Georgia communities.

The company offers prompt quote responses, flexible scheduling options and before-and-after project documentation.

To discuss your property, visit the One Fresh Surface contact page or call (678) 400-3050.

Sources

Georgia Secretary of State, About the Licensing Division. Accessed August 30, 2026.
Travelers Insurance, What Is a Certificate of Insurance? Accessed August 30, 2026.
Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation, Employer Information. Accessed August 30, 2026.
Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation, Online Coverage Verification. Accessed August 30, 2026.
U.S. Department of Justice, Accessible Parking Spaces. Accessed August 30, 2026.

This article provides general contractor-selection information. Insurance, accessibility, permitting and contract requirements can vary by property and jurisdiction. Consult the relevant authority or qualified professional when project-specific guidance is needed.