Handing a significant home improvement project to someone without checking their background first is a risk that plays out badly often enough to make verification worth the time it takes. The hiring conversation feels straightforward until something goes wrong and the accountability question surfaces. When a concrete contractor presents verified credentials, documented experience, and a clear project history, it adds confidence and reliability to the entire project.
Licensing and insurance checks
Licensing requirements for concrete contractors vary by state and municipality, but the verification process follows the same basic path regardless of location. State licensing boards maintain searchable databases where a contractor’s license number can be confirmed as current and in good standing. That search takes minutes and confirms whether the person standing in front of you holds the credentials their jurisdiction requires for this category of work. Insurance verification deserves equal attention. Two distinct coverage types matter for residential concrete projects:
- General liability insurance covering property damage that occurs during the project on your site
- A workers’ comp policy protects your business if a worker gets injured
- Current certificate of insurance, rather than a policy document that may have lapsed since it was issued
- Coverage amounts are adequate for the project scope, rather than minimum threshold policies that leave gaps
- Your property is listed as additionally insured on the certificate for the duration of the project
Requesting certificates directly from the insurance carrier rather than accepting copies handed over by the contractor removes any question about document authenticity.
Portfolio verification process
Photographs on a contractor’s website or marketing materials represent their best work under the best conditions. Useful portfolio verification goes further than reviewing curated images. Ask for the addresses of completed residential projects in your area and request permission to drive past them. Seeing actual work in person across different age ranges tells a more complete story than photographs taken immediately after installation. Compared to fresh sealing, projects completed two or three years ago show how the work holds up. A fresh installation never discloses surface cracking, edge chipping, drainage performance, or colour retention. If clients ask for older work, confident contractors do not hesitate.
Reference conversations
Past clients describe the full project experience rather than just the finished product. A contractor delivering excellent physical results through poor communication, schedule disruption, and billing surprises will be described accurately by previous clients in ways no portfolio image captures. Asking for references specifically from projects similar in scope and finish type to your own produces more relevant information than general testimonials. Questions worth asking about references include how closely the final cost tracks against the original quote. If the timeline communicated at signing reflected how work actually progressed, and how the contractor handled problems that emerged during the project. Those answers preview what your own experience will involve.
Online record review
Review platforms and local business registries provide information that contractor-supplied references and portfolios naturally leave out. Patterns across multiple independent reviews reveal operational characteristics that single references might not surface. A contractor with dozens of reviews showing consistent themes across different clients is providing a more reliable signal than one with three glowing testimonials and nothing else. Better Business Bureau complaint history and any licensing board disciplinary records sit in publicly accessible databases that take minimal time to check. Contractors with clean records across these sources, alongside strong independent reviews, have demonstrated consistent performance across a broad enough client base to provide genuine confidence before any contract conversation begins.
