10 month old patio, one slab hairline crack

2stixoftwixes

In Jan/ Feb this year we had a new patio laid (28 m2) 
Yesterday, when I went out into the garden one of the slabs, has got a thin hairline crack right through the middle.  This is right in the middle of the patio and now I can't 'unsee' it

The local company that did it, was paid via BACS and isn't a member of checkatrade or similar

Not knowing anything about landscaping/patios etc
is there anyone out there who could advise if this is a 'normal' occurrence on something that cost nearly £3000 and has cracked within 10 months   
what we can do about it, any legal avenues ?

Many thanks

knightstyle

Usaully this type of crack is due to the slab settling because of inadequate support under it, could be poor ground preparation or a too weak mix of the sand-cement used to bed it down.
In the first instance you must contact the company and give them a chance to rectify the problem.

Keep_pedalling

Have you tried contacting the people who installed it?

TELLIT01

Why do so many people seem to look at taking legal action at the first sign of a problem?  That should be the very last route to take because of the cost involved.  In the situation described by the OP, they need to contact the people who did the work and ask them to rectify it.  The slab may have had a weakeness which wasn't immediately apparent, and walking on it has been enough to crack it through.  They should replace it without argument.

Aylesbury_Duck

Quite.  It's probably a few quids for a new slab and an hour's work for the original company to rectify, so a call to them should get it rectified in reasonable order.

Considering "legal avenues" for something so trivial is a premature over-reaction.

theonlywayisup

Dupe.  https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6312208/10-month-old-patio-one-slab-hairline-crack#latest

jimbo6977

TELLIT01 said:

Why do so many people seem to look at taking legal action at the first sign of a problem?  That should be the very last route to take because of the cost involved.  In the situation described by the OP, they need to contact the people who did the work and ask them to rectify it.  The slab may have had a weakeness which wasn't immediately apparent, and walking on it has been enough to crack it through.  They should replace it without argument.

On the other hand you get people who spend hours on the phone or send multiple letters by recorded delivery, and get nowhere for months or years on end, then get ripped on forums like this one with replies like "ooooh an 'official' complaint, that'll frighten them!"

There's a happy medium somewhere I suppose.