Workmen removed holding swing cement.

WIAWSNB

Thanks for the update.
Your photos miss showing the tops of the swing's poles  
Ok, it should be obvious that there are only two possible ways (certainly that I can think of...) in which an intact sheet of artie-grass can be laid on that lawn with only four pole-sized holes in them.
One way is to measure out the exact positions of all four poles as they enter the ground, and transfer this to the grass sheet. These four holes are neatly cut out, and the tops of the poles disconnected from the rest of the swing to allow the sheet to be slipped on down from above. The sheet would then be trimmed to suit the lawn's perimeter. 
The other way would be to remove the poles from the ground first, as you suspect they have. 
Q - is it possible to expose the tops of the four poles to allow the sheet to be slipped down over them like in the first method? 
Tbh, I think it's clear they didn't do this since the four poles were, by your account, loose, so would presumably have required 4 guys to prevent them falling over, whilst at least another 4 slipped the sheet over!
So, I suspect strongly they are fibbing.
Is that last photo taken now, after the repair? If so, looks pretty 😍.
How have the cuts been repaired? 
I'm surprised they're having difficulty getting the sand layer level? Ok, it might require additional cuts as described before, to allow access to the level part of the screed, so the 'fill' can be tamped down firmly to match, but the cuts should be perfectly repairable using the correct tape?

blackstar

Thanks.

This photo of the entire garden abiet a long distance photo is how it looks now after cement refitted and above cement refilled with klin sand and the square synthetic grass patch put down on top and taped down under with adhesive. 

Issue is the square patches look bad and the square areas are about 2 inches lower than the surrounding areas.
This is what I am wanting fixed but no seems willing to help. Can't be that hard to do as you explained a way to do this.

Also see this photo which was taken before the handyman cut into the synthetic grass, does that give any indication as to how they would have installed the synthetic grass around the swing? 
They said they did not remove the swings concrete footing but HOW did they fit the synthetic grass without removing the swings concrete footings as the swing would not lift out the ground without breaking the swings concrete footings??? 

 

WIAWSNB

"This photo of the entire garden albeit a long distance photo is how it looks now after cement refitted and above cement refilled with kiln sand and the square synthetic grass patch put down on top and taped down under with adhesive." I appreciate that it won't look as good on closer inspection, but it don't look bad from here. What tape did they use? Does it actually appear nicely bonded? 

"Issue is the square patches look bad and the square areas are about 2 inches lower than the surrounding areas. This is what I am wanting fixed but no seems willing to help. Can't be that hard to do as you explained a way to do this." I haven't laid artiegrass myself, but have sort of seen it done; it appears to follow a similar process to laying types of paving - compacted ground (possibly MOT), a layer of 'blinding' sand tamped down firmly, and the grass laid on top. If it is as simple as that, I just don't understand the difficultly experienced by your new handyman. Why can't he get the sand layer level?!

"Also see this photo which was taken before the handyman cut into the synthetic grass, does that give any indication as to how they would have installed the synthetic grass around the swing?" Not really - there are only two ways as I mentioned before. You haven't explained whether the tops of the four poles can be exposed to allow the lawn to be slipped over? 

"They said they did not remove the swings concrete footing but HOW did they fit the synthetic grass without removing the swings concrete footings as the swing would not lift out the ground without breaking the swings concrete footings???" As outlined above - but I agree pretty unlikely. 

As also said before, you are at some considerable disadvantage in having had the footings exposed - carelessly - by another person. As you now know, you should have allowed the original bunch an opportunity to sort the issue first. 

I think it should be quite sortable to an acceptable degree, but it doesn't look as tho' the new guy has managed this, for whatever reason. To be clear, it might be a more difficult task than it actually appears. 

WIAWSNB

Possibly not sand, but Type 1 MOT? But, no mystery there; I don't understand why these areas cannot be levelled successfully, and the grass patches refitted neatly.
In your second pic in particular, are these additional 'squares' that have been cut out?  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbL267l99F4

blackstar

Thanks for the replies.

The removed patches dont look nicely bonded at all. Not sure what type of adhesive strips they used but it doesnt stick down very well.
This was done by the 2nd guy who refitted the concrete to a much better job as swing mow doesnt move.
I will find out if the tops if the swing can be removed.

He just used some sand ontop but ofcourse not level. And thats the issues.

So 2 issues

1) not level and sinks as you stand on it a little.

2) The patches of grass are mot stuck on properly and keep coming off. And the cut lines are very visible as st handyman didnt do a good job with cutting the lines. The 2nd guy extended the cut with an X shape and you cant even see the X shape line he cut. 

Section62

blackstar said:

...
So 2 issues

1) not level and sinks as you stand on it a little.

2) The patches of grass are mot stuck on properly and keep coming off. And the cut lines are very visible as st handyman didnt do a good job with cutting the lines. The 2nd guy extended the cut with an X shape and you cant even see the X shape line he cut. 

You need to make a decision on what outcome you want.  You've now had three different people working on this and you've not had an outcome you are happy with.

I doubt you'll get the whole lawn relaid for free - the first company can rightly point out that you didn't give them the opportunity to put right any concerns you had, and the second person has since damaged the grass.

It is unlikely you'll be able to hold the second person liable as you've now had someone else work on it.

The third person is likely to say the second made such a mess of the grass that it was impossible for them to make an invisible repair.  It isn't clear how bad the third person has left the job, but if you are unhappy you need to talk to them.  I suspect they will say they've done the best they can in the circumstances, and I'm not sure a court would disagree with them.

Next time you buy a swing to put on artificial grass, get one with flat feet which can be bolted down using ragbolts.  This is about the only way of ensuring an ultra-secure support for the swing without having to cut the artificial grass to install it.

noitsnotme

blackstar said:

Thanks for the replies.

The removed patches dont look nicely bonded at all. Not sure what type of adhesive strips they used but it doesnt stick down very well.
This was done by the 2nd guy who refitted the concrete to a much better job as swing mow doesnt move.

Was the second guy, the one who refilled the concrete, also a handyman?  It sounds like you have now had 2 people with little experience of fixing/fitting artificial grass work on it which has made the situation with the grass worse.  This really has complicated things with the original fitter.  I’m not surprised they have said it has invalidated the warranty.  

I would have thought your only redress with the fitter now is to make a small claim against them for the cost of refilling the concrete.  Even then they would probably argue they weren’t given the chance to put things right before your handyman butchered the grass.  It would all come down to who could best convince the judge.

How much did it cost to fit in the first place?  Unless you are wiling to go down the route of a legal claim, it might be better to write this one off to experience.

WIAWSNB

It's a frustrating situation, Blackstar, and has been made complicated by the added interference, as outlined by others.

The really annoying aspect is, the situation is almost certainly fixable to a perfectly acceptable standard by a half-competent person. 

The visible squares, for example, appear to be to do with pile direction, although I don't know if such a thing exists with 'grass'?! When you brush that patchy area, does the grass colour still remain different? 

Any patch of 'grass' removed should have been replaced in exactly the same position and orientation as it was previously. 

If the sub-base is not level, which it seemingly is not, then it will be very difficult to get the cut edges to align accurately, as pushing down on these unsupported edges to secure them will instead distort the grass. The base needs to be completely level and compacted, just like the rest of the area. This ain't rocket science - why couldn't the other guy do this? 

Tbh, from what I can see, a half-competent DIYer should be able to do this. I guess it is a bit more tricky than it appears, but not catastrophically so. 

This just needs proper preparation, and some care. That's it.

How much did the first job cost? It might be worth tackling them for a discount, as 'you can evidence that they misled you on what they did', but then offer them an acceptable get-out, such as, say, a couple of £undred off 'before you consider calling on your Household Legal Protection'. 

Then, with that money, find someone who is bludy competent - get by word of mouth. 

I'm pretty sure this can be fixed to your satisfaction. 

blackstar

UPDATE 

Had anothet company out for a repair quote this morning and they said perfectly doable job to level up and only need to go back a few feet and will connect the disconnected cut patches of synthetic grass back together to be less visible and attach them back down so they dont move upwards.

Said its no problem. A bit faffy but not an issue.

Hopefully he does he means it and will come back with a reasonable quote. And wasn't just saying that and doesnt really want the job.

He said that it would have not been realistically possible to not break the concrete out and remove the swing for the original company to fit and lay the synthetic grass. He said it could have been possible by cutting joins and left the swing in place and not touched the swing concrete footings or lift the swig up but cant tell if thats how they did it. Most probably they didn't. Just his opinion. 

Here's a photo of how it looks today with th3 concrete refitted and the patch of grass loosely put back on the top. You cant see it but its not level

WIAWSNB

That sounds promising.

What he has described sounds very doable.

Fingers crossed.