Poor Patio Work and making a claim

whateveryouwantittobe

Thanks all for your responses.

I paid for the slabs originally at a cost of about £7500, I had all the base prepared etc, all they had to do was lay / cut them. The cost of this was £6400.

The tiles were not slurried properly meaning they didn't stick and the cuts were bad. 

All this they agreed in writing back in April, and stated they would lift and relay the patio at their own expense to put it right.

A time frame for starting and completing the work was also made and this has not been adhered to. 

The other people that have quoted won't use the lifted tiles as they cannot guarantee that they can all be used and as they were laid 9 months ago. Any replacements will be of a different batch and possibly colour thus not matching. So the existing tiles, even though they've been lifted are pretty much useless.

At the moment, I'd just be happy to get back the monies paid and for the cost of replacing the tiles.

Alderbank

whateveryouwantittobe said:

The other people that have quoted won't use the lifted tiles as they cannot guarantee that they can all be used and as they were laid 9 months ago. Any replacements will be of a different batch and possibly colour thus not matching. So the existing tiles, even though they've been lifted are pretty much useless.

No doubt those 'other people that have quoted' have said that as a special favour to you they will dispose of those £7.5k worth of porcelain tiles at no cost to you.

However I think you would struggle to convince a judge that they are pretty much useless.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

whateveryouwantittobe said:

Thanks all for your responses.

I paid for the slabs originally at a cost of about £7500, I had all the base prepared etc, all they had to do was lay / cut them. The cost of this was £6400.

The tiles were not slurried properly meaning they didn't stick and the cuts were bad. 

All this they agreed in writing back in April, and stated they would lift and relay the patio at their own expense to put it right.

A time frame for starting and completing the work was also made and this has not been adhered to. 

The other people that have quoted won't use the lifted tiles as they cannot guarantee that they can all be used and as they were laid 9 months ago. Any replacements will be of a different batch and possibly colour thus not matching. So the existing tiles, even though they've been lifted are pretty much useless.

At the moment, I'd just be happy to get back the monies paid and for the cost of replacing the tiles.

Thanks for the info OP.

Just out of interest for a quick question, if you had the base laid before this builder started why is he ripping it all out and doing a new base rather than laying new tiles? 

whateveryouwantittobe

Thanks for the info OP.

Just out of interest for a quick question, if you had the base laid before this builder started why is he ripping it all out and doing a new base rather than laying new tiles? 

He's not putting in a complete new base but the base needs to be clean and flat to start again so the top layer of broken cement and dust needs to be removed and a clean, flat base laid and waked.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

whateveryouwantittobe said:

Thanks for the info OP.

Just out of interest for a quick question, if you had the base laid before this builder started why is he ripping it all out and doing a new base rather than laying new tiles? 

He's not putting in a complete new base but the base needs to be clean and flat to start again so the top layer of broken cement and dust needs to be removed and a clean, flat base laid and waked.

Thanks OP, that makes sense  

Sorry one more question did this person plan on reusing the slabs or were they willing to cover the cost of the new ones? 

whateveryouwantittobe

They were adamant they could use the originals and then if they couldn't they'd re-assess.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

whateveryouwantittobe said:

They were adamant they could use the originals and then if they couldn't they'd re-assess.

It's a shame they didn't agree to replacing them with new ones as that would strengthen your case that it's the correct course of action.

OP if I were you I would send a letter before action now requesting that they either begin work within 14 days to restore the patio with it being completed within 28 days or they refund £6400 within 14 days.

If that results in a completed patio then hopefully the matter is resolved, if they buckle and refund the money at least you've so far got that lump back.

If they refund I would recommend getting a couple more quotes if possible, having the work done and then send another letter before action for your additional costs. 

Obviously the £6400 needs to de deducted from the amount paid to another company if the first builder refunds this.

Regarding the slabs being replaced no one can really say how a court would view this, if you want to claim the £9k for replacing them it would be best IMHO to have an expert opinion, from someone who isn't selling you a service, to support your claim. 

If the letter before action results in neither work done nor a refund you have to look at a combination of the above and make a person decision on whether to risk the investment in small claims vs the prospect of seeing any money. 

If you use a firm to send a letter before action the ones I've seen start from £1.80 up to around £18, personally I don't think it's necessary to spend £100 or such to send a letter with a more expensive firm.

If you do go to small claims and the amount is over £10k it might be wise to seek advice on costs to understand whether the prospect of the other side running up a large bill which you could get lumbered with if you lose exists. 

If you get anywhere and are able to update us it's always interesting to hear how these things turned out to better help others in the future with similar problems  

whateveryouwantittobe

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

whateveryouwantittobe said:

They were adamant they could use the originals and then if they couldn't they'd re-assess.

It's a shame they didn't agree to replacing them with new ones as that would strengthen your case that it's the correct course of action.

OP if I were you I would send a letter before action now requesting that they either begin work within 14 days to restore the patio with it being completed within 28 days or they refund £6400 within 14 days.

If that results in a completed patio then hopefully the matter is resolved, if they buckle and refund the money at least you've so far got that lump back.

If they refund I would recommend getting a couple more quotes if possible, having the work done and then send another letter before action for your additional costs. 

Obviously the £6400 needs to de deducted from the amount paid to another company if the first builder refunds this.

Regarding the slabs being replaced no one can really say how a court would view this, if you want to claim the £9k for replacing them it would be best IMHO to have an expert opinion, from someone who isn't selling you a service, to support your claim. 

If the letter before action results in neither work done nor a refund you have to look at a combination of the above and make a person decision on whether to risk the investment in small claims vs the prospect of seeing any money. 

If you use a firm to send a letter before action the ones I've seen start from £1.80 up to around £18, personally I don't think it's necessary to spend £100 or such to send a letter with a more expensive firm.

If you do go to small claims and the amount is over £10k it might be wise to seek advice on costs to understand whether the prospect of the other side running up a large bill which you could get lumbered with if you lose exists. 

If you get anywhere and are able to update us it's always interesting to hear how these things turned out to better help others in the future with similar problems  

Thanks.

They're marshalls slabs and a marshalls representitive has stated that whilst they can be reused they need to be completely cleaned or the slurry won't stick to the backs and you'll have the same problem again.

The issue is, no third party will ever touch another parties work, it's just not worth the grief further down the line if something doesn't work. Who gets the blame?

I've been there too in my previous life running a cctv company. We'd quote thousands to install a system, some hobbiest would come along a quote ebay cameras for £20 each that would work for a few weeks / months then they'd come back to us asking if we'd fix it!

Of course, once we've charged you to rip out the old system we'll put the new one in.