One parking lot, maintain or replace.
A property manager wants a number for the plaza lot, and their board wants options. Redline turns your walk of the lot into three bids side by side: crack fill and seal, the same with the failed areas patched, or a mill and overlay, each with striping and mobilization per phase.
From the lot walk to a bid on the manager's desk
Walk it and write it down
Total square footage, linear feet of cracks worth filling, the alligatored areas to cut out, stall and ADA counts, arrows and stencils. Photos of the worst spots go on the job.
Decide the phases
A lot that has to stay open gets done in halves or thirds, often at night or on a Sunday. Each phase is another mobilization, so it belongs on the quote.
Lay it out as options
Good is crack fill, sealcoat and restripe. Better adds patching. Best is a mill and overlay with new striping. The shared lines repeat in each option, so every total is complete.
Tonnage is your number
Give Redline tons, or give it the area, the thickness and your own tons-per-square-yard figure and ask it to do the math. Check what it shows before the line goes on.
Follow the budget cycle
Commercial work often waits on a board meeting or next year's budget. Draft the email from your Gmail, then set a reminder for when the manager said they'd decide, up to a year out.
A plaza lot, three ways
Three drafts for Dana Pike, Riverside Plaza, one per option:
Good, crack fill, seal, restripe: $13,876
Better, adds 1,200 sq ft of patching at $6.50: $21,676
Best, mill and overlay at $2.40/sq ft, restripe: $103,456
Each includes 2 mobilizations ($1,700) and striping (96 stalls at $6, 4 ADA stalls at $95). Save them?
Saved to Dana's file. Reminder set for Monday, Jan 4: call Dana Pike about the Riverside Plaza lot.
Quotes by chat work on every plan. Reminders land in the morning push on the iPhone app. Example prices only.
What goes on a paving or lot bid
| Line | Unit |
|---|---|
| Mobilization | Each, once per phase |
| Crack filling | Per linear foot |
| Patching, remove and replace | Per square foot |
| Sealcoat (number of coats) | Per square foot |
| Mill and overlay | Per square foot or per ton |
| Base stone | Per ton |
| Line striping | Per stall or per linear foot |
| ADA stall with sign and stencil | Each |
| Arrows, stop bars and stencils | Each |
| Cones and traffic control | Flat, per phase |
Tax on a quote is set in the Quote composer (Solo and up), one rate for the whole quote. Commercial customers with tax-exempt status may need a different arrangement; check with your accountant.
Selling to a property manager
Homeowners decide on their driveway in the driveway. Property managers decide in a meeting you're not invited to, weeks or months later, and what they bring into it is your quote. Three options side by side give them something to choose from instead of a single number to cut.
The other thing they remember is who called back. Move each lot bid's job to Quoted and it sits in the pipeline, turning amber at 7 days and red at 14, and a date reminder can wait until the board actually meets. When the manager says yes in January, the bid is still there with every line on it.
When it's sold, book each phase as its own visit at the hours the lot is empty. Suggested times assume weekdays from 8 to 5, so for night or Sunday work, say the time. The paving software page covers moving rain days and rebooking sealcoat customers.
Straight answers on paving estimates
Redline does
- Repair and replace options, each with its own total
- Lines by the foot, square foot, ton, stall and phase
- Tonnage math from your own thickness and density figures
- Photos of the failed areas on the job
- Reminders up to a year out for slow decisions
Redline doesn't
- Measure a lot from aerial or satellite images
- Draw a striping layout or site plan
- Let the manager accept the bid online
- Handle bid bonds, certified payroll or retainage
- Know asphalt plant prices unless you look them up
Questions contractors ask
Can I bill a lot in phases?
Yes. On Solo and up, send an invoice after each phase is done, each with a card pay link. Invoices are due in 14 days by default, and unpaid ones get flagged to you at day 3, 7 and 14.
Can I still quote residential driveways?
Yes, the same way, just smaller. A driveway sealcoat with crack fill is two lines, and a full remove and replace adds base stone by the ton and the asphalt by the ton or square foot.
Does Redline know current asphalt prices?
No. Your plant's price is your number. You can ask the chat to look something up on the web, which uses AI credits, but your supplier's quote is the one to use.
More for paving contractors
Bid the next lot from the truck.
Redline is free to start. Send the footage and the counts, and it builds the options.
Keep reading
- Paving softwareQuote driveways on the street, move rain days and rebook sealcoat customers.
- Quotes and estimatesItemized quotes by chat or from a photo, with a deposit. Options and tax in the composer.
- Concrete estimate appSquare feet and thickness into yards, base, steel and finish, with a deposit.
- Excavation estimate appMachine hours, stone and loads into a bid, with rock and extra loads priced up front.