Debating on whether to go with a Concrete or Asphalt driveway for my rental property.Concrete would look better and might add greater value to the property, but Asphalt would cost less and would still add value.The property currently has no driveway, so I’m sure either option would add value to the place, either way.

Tagbas, I understand that this process can be frustrating, but you got to keep pounding the pavement.

And the first estimate does state: "One-third deposit to start job, and the balance is due in full upon the completion of all our quoted work, plus any additional work completed, if any.I suppose the "plus any additional work completed" covers his additional $1000 charge.The next project for this building is to have the cracks in the asphalt parking lot filled and the lot sealed.

It’s just asphalt that appears to be leftover used when they paved the road. 

.#3 Contact Local Contractors for Labor Pricing / Hire a GC to ConsultCall local Subcontractors and get budget pricing for common repairs on your typical rehab project.For example, call a roofer and ask what their average cost per Square of Architectural Asphalt Shingle Roofing would be on a 1,500 sf house, with a 6/12 pitch.Note: Some contractors will be reluctant to share pricing without seeing the property, but tell them you are just looking for a rough budget number you can use on future projects.You can also pay a General Contractor a consulting fee of a couple of hundred dollars (per house) to walkthrough a few properties with you and provide a detailed estimate of prices that you can use as your 'menu for future projects.#4 Compile Your Prices into a Spreadsheet or Estimating SoftwareOnce you start to get a better understanding of Labor and Material costs you will want to store this data into a spreadsheet or software that you can use to help you streamline the estimating process.The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs comes with a spreadsheet that you can use to help you populate your own database of labor pricing and material pricing.

A few items that I was wondering whether anyone has had any direct experience with on the construction side (understanding some of these things are very market-specific):- Asphalt parking lot replacement - looking at about $5.00/sf for this- Concrete aprons around the docks - there are 4 front dock doors, and some of the aprons needs some patching/replacement. 

Nothing better than actually being out there beating the pavement and sending offers. 

When it is concrete or asphalt, it may be more difficult to see but water will be coming out somewhere.

For example, amount of asphalt on driveways in term of thickness etc.

The roof is asphalt composite shingles.