New Patio am I being unreasonable?

Ajmason42

You also said he spent a lot of time levelling it there should be a slight fall on it away from the house so rain doesn’t pool

twopenny

No I'm not wearing it. The first new row is level with the old slabs. Nicely done.

Picture 2

The second new row is out of line - and the rest follow the 2nd row.

My guess is the first bit was done and they went home or had a break and didn't check when putting the next row in and just followed that.

Picture 3

Totally unacceptable. That is in the middle and not level with the surrounding ones. If someone had walked it would be each of them

What still concerns me is that there is no sign of cement at the edges to support and keep in place. There would also be lots of blobs of cement in the surrounding earth from the laying.

Looks like a quick 5 blob job on an non compacted base.

So it won't take them long to get it up and do again

Rosa_Damascena

Not read past page 1 but even I know there is such a thing as tolerance in size, and this is not it.

Something tells me this is a cash-in-hand job and your landscapers will move on pretty quickly.

SteveVy

Hi Folks,

Thanks for all the replies, the patio is being totally relaid as I post this, Will post some pictures of the work they are doing...

SteveVy

Rosa_Damascena said:

Not read past page 1 but even I know there is such a thing as tolerance in size, and this is not it.

Something tells me this is a cash-in-hand job and your landscapers will move on pretty quickly.

It's not a 'cash in hand job' for me, I've been told to pay via bank transfer and only pay once I am happy

FreeBear

Take some photos while the slabs are being laid - If they are using spot or ring bedding, the slabs will need to come up again and done properly.

Rosa_Damascena

SteveVy said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Not read past page 1 but even I know there is such a thing as tolerance in size, and this is not it.

Something tells me this is a cash-in-hand job and your landscapers will move on pretty quickly.

It's not a 'cash in hand job' for me, I've been told to pay via bank transfer and only pay once I am happy

Good to hear. I'm interested in why they didn't realise the gap in the quality of their work immediately? Its only marginally better than asking someone like myself - ie complete novice - to lay a patio.

SteveVy

Hi Folks,

We have an issue...the patio has been relaid, whilst it now looks signficanly better, it is still uneven in places leading to trip hazards on 3 or 4 blocks. The guys said in 24hrs it'll set and all will be level ( I doubt it)

I was asked by one of the lads to send over £1,000 now ( Total amount is £1250 is outstanding), I refused and said tomorrow morning at 9am I'll send the funds if I am happy with the patio. I paid for all the materials last week once work had began.

The owner verbally abused me over the phone and called me a few racist names which I do not wish to repeat...he also said he will come and smash my house and car if I do not pay today..I have no issues paying I just want to confirm the work is done to the right quality.

What should I do now?

FreeBear

Slabs will not "settle" if the sub-base has been prepared properly. If the slabs have been laid on a wet layer of bedding mortar, a few taps with a (large) rubber mallet should see them knocked down to the right height. If not, lift the slab, scrape out a bit of the bedding mortar and have another go. Once the slab is correct, move on to the next one.

It isn't rocket science to lay slabs - I managed a 10x4m patio using a mix of 600x600 and 600x750 slabs.

Mojisola

SteveVy said:

The owner verbally abused me over the phone and called me a few racist names which I do not wish to repeat...he also said he will come and smash my house and car if I do not pay today..I have no issues paying I just want to confirm the work is done to the right quality.

What should I do now?

You need to record any further talks or get him to message you so that you have evidence of his threats.