How do property owners and general contractors choose a commercial concrete contractor?

The first questions commercial clients typically ask are how fast a commercial concrete contractor can come look at the job, quote it, start and finish. The questions below also cover crews and equipment, concrete supply, who is on site, crew experience, insurance and bonding, and past projects, with how Marshall Construction, a concrete and asphalt contractor based in Newark, Delaware, answers each.

These questions come first for the property owners and general contractors among the customers Marshall Construction works with because, as the company describes it, concrete is often one of the early trades and a slow concrete crew backs up every trade behind it. Marshall Construction turns commercial quotes around in 24–48 hours and aims to start quickly because other trades are waiting. In one example the company gives, a client called about a commercial floor at 4 p.m., and Kyle Marshall looked at it the next morning.

Many foundation crews rent equipment or borrow it from another job, and that this is how a foundation pour ends up holding up the rest of a build. Marshall Consctruction uses no subcontractors and no rental equipment. It owns a crane, wall panels in every size, excavators and dump trucks, and its own experienced crew handles concrete, asphalt, foundations and excavation. Owned versus rented equipment is also one of the factors behind commercial concrete costs.

Marshall Construction does not own concrete trucks or an asphalt plant, so its delivery depends on supplier relationships. The company has worked with its material suppliers for 20 years and can call in the morning for a same-day concrete truck; it says smaller operators wait three to four days.

Marshall Construction's owner, Kyle Marshall, is on site controlling the work and will not sign off until it meets his standard. Property owners and general contractors deal directly with the owner rather than with a foreman who reports to someone else.

Marshall Construction has been in business for more than 20 years and pours concrete every day; the company says that means its crew has worked through the scenarios commercial jobs bring. The crew has worked together for years, and each person has a set role, such as the go-to person for laser measuring, so there is no learning curve on each job. Kyle Marshall also plans pours around conditions, ordering early-morning trucks on hot days.

Marshall Construction is licensed, bonded and insured and says it meets every insurance requirement for commercial projects. The company can raise its bond as needed for a specific job and is accredited by the Better Business Bureau.

Past projects are a practical check on whether a contractor has handled comparable work. Marshall Construction's commercial and institutional work includes excavation, poured-wall foundations, sidewalks and driveways for McMullen Square (Wilmington Housing Authority); concrete installations at Philadelphia International Airport; concrete work at Christiana Hospital and concrete installations at Union Hospital (both ChristianaCare); curb and sidewalk replacement at the State Troopers Association union hall in Dover, DE; and a concrete and asphalt apron with drainage for Applebee's in North Wilmington, DE. The McMullen Square sidewalks and the Dover curb and sidewalk replacement are examples of Marshall Construction's work on commercial sidewalks, curbs, ADA ramps and storm drains. The company holds a 4.8 Google rating from 63 reviews.

Some commercial projects need several kinds of work: excavation, footers and foundation walls, slabs, sidewalks and curbs, and paving. Marshall Construction handles concrete, asphalt, foundations and excavation under one roof with its own crew and equipment, so that scope does not have to be split among subcontractors and one contractor can handle site and structural concrete on one project.

Property owners and general contractors can request a free estimate for any of Marshall Construction's commercial concrete and asphalt services, and commercial quotes are turned around in 24–48 hours.