A driveway bid without a spec is a guess with a dollar sign on it. Here are the three lines that should be in writing on every bid you collect — ours included.
Line 1: Thickness
Thickness is sized to the load. A slab carrying passenger cars needs less than one carrying a loaded pickup, a camper, or a boat trailer. The mistake isn't picking one number — it's the bid that never states a number at all, so nobody can hold the crew to it. Ask for the thickness in writing. Then ask what it's based on.
Line 2: The base
The base is the unsung hero: compacted stone that spreads vehicle loads, drains water away from the clay, and buffers the slab from soil movement. A real spec states the base material and depth, and confirms compaction — stone dumped loose and smoothed over is fill, not base.
On red clay this line matters more than any other, and it's the first line the lowball bid deletes, because it disappears under the pour by lunchtime.
Line 3: The steel
A rebar grid, tied and set on chairs so it sits in the middle of the slab where it works. Steel lying on the dirt at the bottom of the pour does approximately nothing. The spec should say the bar size and spacing — and how the crew keeps it up in the slab during the pour.
The verification problem
Here's the catch with all three lines: after the pour, you can't check any of them. Thickness, base, steel — buried. Whatever crew you hire, ask one question: "How will I see the prep before you pour over it?"
Our answer is built into the process: Bradley photographs the base depth and the tied rebar and texts it to your phone before the truck backs in. Your bid should come with some version of that answer, from anyone.
