How to Choose a Paver Contractor in Tacoma: A Checklist Before You Sign

To choose a paver contractor in Tacoma, verify an active Washington L&I registration with bond and insurance, confirm who does the work, and get a written proposal that specifies base depth, compaction, drainage, edge restraint, permits, and cleanup. Compare at least three written bids by scope, not price. ND Brick Pavers, with an office in Yelm, is one option serving Tacoma and Pierce County.

I coordinate projects for ND Brick Pavers, from the first site visit to the final walkthrough, so I see what homeowners wish they had asked before they hired someone. This checklist works whether you hire us or another company. Most of it comes straight from what the Washington Department of Labor and Industries tells homeowners to check.

Who should you hire to build a paver patio in Tacoma?

Hire a contractor who is registered with Washington L&I, carries a bond and liability insurance, builds paver work as a core service, and will put the base specification and drainage plan in writing. In this area, base and drainage decide whether a patio stays flat through the wet season, so the installer's answer to "what is under the pavers?" matters more than the paver catalog.

Start your shortlist with companies that:

• Have an active L&I registration you can verify yourself.
• Show local paver projects similar to yours, ideally on similar soil and slope.
• Will walk your site before quoting, rather than quoting from photos alone.
• Put scope details in writing.
• Answer technical questions directly.

How do you verify a contractor's registration with Washington L&I?

Washington requires construction contractors to register with L&I. Checking takes a few minutes:

1. Go to L&I's Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson, or Business tool at secure.lni.wa.gov/verify.
2. Search by business name, owner name, or registration number.
3. Confirm the registration is active and not suspended.
4. Confirm a bond and general liability insurance are on file and current.
5. Review the history for lawsuits against the bond and violations, which L&I specifically suggests checking.
6. Make sure the business name on the registration matches the name on your proposal.

L&I raised the minimum bond for registered contractors in July 2024, phased in as registrations renewed. L&I's own guidance puts the point simply: bond protections only apply if you hire a registered contractor. If something goes wrong with a registered contractor, L&I also points eligible homeowners to its Homeowner Recovery Fund.

For reference, ND Brick Pavers' Washington contractor registration number is NDBRIDB815M5. Look it up the same way you would anyone else's.

What should you know about bonds and insurance?

A contractor bond and liability insurance are not the same thing, and neither is a guarantee of good work.

• The bond is a limited fund that can pay certain valid claims against the contractor. It is small compared with the cost of a major hardscape project, so it is a backstop, not a reason to skip the rest of this list.
• Liability insurance covers damage the contractor causes to your property or to others.
• Workers' coverage matters too. L&I is blunt that you do not want uninsured workers on your property, and it warns, using an unlicensed plumber as its example, that your homeowner's policy might not cover damage caused by unlicensed work.

For larger projects, L&I suggests considering a performance bond. Ask whether the contractor can provide one if your project is big enough to justify it.

Does it matter whether a paver contractor uses subcontractors?

It can. Subcontracting is legal and common, but it changes who is responsible for each part of the job. L&I advises homeowners to confirm the registration of any subcontractors as well.

Ask:

• Who will be on site each day?
• Will the crew that excavates and builds the base be your employees or a sub?
• If a sub is used, are they registered with L&I?
• Who is accountable if the base fails?

At ND Brick Pavers, our in-house crew does the work from demolition through final cleanup, with no subcontractors. That is one model. Others work well too, as long as you know who is responsible.

What should a paver proposal include in writing?

L&I tells homeowners to get a written contract and make sure they understand the terms. For paver work, a useful proposal answers these questions on paper:

Base and structure

• Excavation depth and total compacted base thickness.
• Base material type.
• Compaction method and lift thickness.
• Geotextile: yes or no, and why.
• Bedding layer material and thickness.

Water

• Surface slope and which direction water will run.
• What happens to downspouts near the work.
• Drain pipe or outlet if the site needs one.

Edges and joints

• Edge restraint type and how it is anchored.
• Joint material, such as polymeric sand, and the weather conditions needed to install it.

Site and schedule

• Demolition and haul-off of existing concrete, turf, or soil.
• Equipment access and protection of lawns, driveways, and landscaping.
• Start date, estimated duration, and what happens with rain delays.
• Daily and final cleanup.

Money and paperwork

• Payment schedule tied to milestones.
• Permits: needed or not, and who files.
• How change orders are priced if the crew finds soft soil or buried debris.

If a proposal is one line with a total, you cannot compare it to anything.

What drainage plan should a Tacoma paver project have?

Our area has long wet seasons and a lot of fine, slow-draining soil over dense glacial till. A paver patio that does not shed water will grow moss, lose joint sand, and eventually sink in the wet spots.

Ask every contractor to show you:

• Which way the finished surface will slope, and how much.
• Where the water will go once it leaves the patio.
• How they will handle roof water from nearby downspouts.
• Whether your soil needs a geotextile or a subsurface drain.

A contractor who has thought about these questions before the site visit is usually the one who builds a base that lasts.

Do paver projects in Tacoma need permits?

A simple ground-level patio often does not need a building permit by itself. Related work often does, or may:

• Retaining walls over certain heights, or holding a driveway, building, or slope above them.
• Stormwater review when new hard surfaces cross local thresholds.
• Outdoor kitchens with electrical, gas, or plumbing.
• Work near slopes, shorelines, or critical areas.
• Driveway approaches that connect to a public street.

Permit rules differ between the City of Tacoma, Pierce County, and neighboring cities such as Lakewood, University Place, and Puyallup. Your contractor should confirm the requirement with your jurisdiction before pricing, so the permit is in the estimate instead of becoming a surprise later.

How should you check references and reviews?

L&I suggests asking for references. Make them useful:

• Ask for two or three projects completed one to three years ago, not only last month. Base problems often show up after a wet season or two.
• Ask whether you can drive by and look.
• Ask the reference whether the crew showed up when promised, kept the site clean, and handled problems.
• Read reviews for patterns about schedule, cleanup, and how complaints were handled, not just the star rating.

ND Brick Pavers holds a 4.7 rating on Google. One customer review describes us replacing a 25-year-old driveway that had sunk and cracked with a paver driveway over roughly two weeks, with cleanup at the end of each day and help working the project within budget. Read our reviews alongside everyone else's.

What are the red flags when hiring a paver contractor?

L&I warns about door-to-door concrete sellers offering on-the-spot deals and about contractors who push for a quick decision. Other warning signs we hear about from homeowners:

• No L&I registration, or a registration under a different name.
• A quote with no base depth, no material, and no drainage plan.
• A large cash payment requested before any work starts.
• Pressure to sign the same day for a special price.
• No answer to "what happens if you hit soft soil?"
• Unwillingness to put verbal promises in writing.

L&I also notes that a low bid is often not the least expensive route. The cheapest quote often has the thinnest base.

How should you compare paver bids?

Line up the written proposals side by side and compare scope first:

1. Base depth and material.
2. Compaction method.
3. Geotextile and drainage.
4. Edge restraint.
5. Demolition and haul-off.
6. Permits.
7. Schedule and cleanup.
8. Payment terms.

Then compare totals. What drives the cost of a paver project is size, base depth, soil, access, materials, drainage, demolition, slope, and permits. If one bid is far below the others, find the line item it left out.

What does ND Brick Pavers offer if you are comparing?

If you add us to your list, here is what to expect: a site visit and free soil test, a free 3D design so you can approve the layout before work starts, a written proposal with the base and drainage spelled out, and our own in-house crew from demolition to final sweep. We have 19 years in business and more than 425 completed projects. Our office is in Yelm, and our crews work across Tacoma, Pierce County, and nearby Thurston County.

Use this checklist on us the same way you use it on everyone else.

Sources

• Washington L&I: Hiring a contractor
• Washington L&I: Protect My Home
• Washington L&I: Contractors (Verify a Contractor tool)
• Washington L&I news: Higher contractor bonds will help consumers stuck with shoddy construction (2024)
• U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-517: Composition of till, Puget Lowland (PDF)