Patio requires "edging?"

I think they've laid them too tight. You could easily get away with a 10mm or more joint in those

Natural_Stone_paving.jpg


buff-sandstone-006.jpg
 
Would it seem like a reasonable request to widen the gaps as I've seen the progress throughout? How long would it take? I assume it means relaying the entire thing? How would they move the slabs now they're on mortar?
 
If it was me, I'd get bulk bags of topsoil delivered and redo your lawn so that it's flush with the patio and is a nice smooth walk onto the grass.

Not sure I'm keen on how they've not interlocked all of the slabs though. On the photos mattyg has posted, you can see that all the slabs are staggered like bricks. Yours are done in rectangular patches though with only limited interlocking between. For example, look at those bottom left 4 slabs. They don't interlock at all with the 4 above them. There's quite a lot of long straight joints which I wouldn't expect.

Very hard to get fixed now though.
 
Can I just interrupt here...I have a question.

Is it always a given that a bed of Mot1 Sub base should be used when installing or laying new slabs on a patio area (basically I'm taking up the old slabs and a landscaper is installing the new slabs I will buy, but has said a bed of sharp sand and cement will be enough)?

What are peoples thoughts? OP did the guys that installed yours lay down a bed of Sub base aggregate?
 
The more I read the more I cry.

Yes, a large amount of scalpings was required.

I'd steer away from him if he's not going to lay hard-core. People here are saying my guys are cowboys but he 100% is if he's not going to compact any. 2 inch thickness minimum.

Do your current slabs have a decent sub base? If so then it doesn't need to be done again.

I just read this:

http://www.pavingexpert.com/random01.htm#intro

and now understand what they should have done for a truly random pattern. I think I need to cut my losses as the people running the company are gypsies and I don't want to get on the wrong side of them.
 
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Solus said:
and now understand what they should have done for a truly random pattern
Click to expand...

Indeed. I sweated over my layout for flippin ages, reading the advice on the page you linked to. We tried cutting out small bits of paper to try different arrangements, but it was super fiddly. In the end I knocked up a quick program that allows you to enter in all of you slab sizes, and then lets you drag them around, with collision detection and everything.
 
Solus said:
The more I read the more I cry.

Yes, a large amount of scalpings was required.

I'd steer away from him if he's not going to lay hard-core. People here are saying my guys are cowboys but he 100% is if he's not going to compact any. 2 inch thickness minimum.

Do your current slabs have a decent sub base? If so then it doesn't need to be done again.

I just read this:

http://www.pavingexpert.com/random01.htm#intro

and now understand what they should have done for a truly random pattern. I think I need to cut my losses as the people running the company are gypsies and I don't want to get on the wrong side of them.
Click to expand...

You agreed to get a patio laid by Polish people employed by gypsies?
 
Cuchulain said:
You agreed to get a patio laid by Polish people employed by gypsies?
Click to expand...

There are boards everywhere in my area and their work (block paving) all looked really good. I spoke to customers of theirs and they all had good things to say. I called the number on the sign and spoke to someone with a Welsh accent, the assessment was made of the job by someone who was very well spoken.

Only on the day the work commenced was I greeted with polish workmen and a guy with an Irish accent ordering them around.

One of their leaflets...

https://goo.gl/photos/MpQWtK7xgnomLgNH9

In general the company seemed very professional, all a cover up I guess for the true nature of the business.
 
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I get leaflets like that constantly tbh they all look the same, so I started to question certain things like when the sales guy says he's been doing this for 20 years or 40 years so am left wondering why when I check the business details the company don't exist or its put under another family members name. Half the companies appear with different company names or don't exist so this tells us they had lots of bad customers or didn't fix the issues or refund customers etc.
You can go one step further and see if they are actually registered with check a trade or any of the other governing bodies, chances are they wont be!

You can use this website to check:
https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-a-company

And it don't hurt to google them.

And yeah be a bit careful, while people can be quick to complain and curse or give bad reviews online, they know where you live and who you are. This is one of the reasons why many companies or cowboys get away with it sadly, don't blame people for not leaving negative reviews I have done the same myself.

Overall I have looked at your pics yeah its a tad uneven on the right? or higher raised, depending on the price you paid see what they can do to fix this or any other faults? otherwise its not bad imo just depends on the price you paid if you paid like 2-3K for that job id be a little annoyed id guess !
 
I am due to pay 1700 for the job (excluding slabs).

It's 32m2, the slabs cost me £675
 
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Solus said:
There are boards everywhere in my area and their work (block paving) all looked really good. I spoke to customers of theirs and they all had good things to say. I called the number on the sign and spoke to someone with a Welsh accent, the assessment was made of the job by someone who was very well spoken.

Only on the day the work commenced was I greeted with polish workmen and a guy with an Irish accent ordering them around.

One of their leaflets...

https://goo.gl/photos/MpQWtK7xgnomLgNH9

In general the company seemed very professional, all a cover up I guess for the true nature of the business.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, if I ever need work doing (or you do) recommend using a company that's reviewed well on checkatrade, they have to pay a fee to be listed and they know it can ruin their business if they get bad reviews for shoddy work.
 
The slabs are coming loose and I've taken the liberty of showing them this

https://goo.gl/photos/zLtjA7U9nfhjS1rr5

I did get a right earful off the guy for lifting them up but surely I shouldn't be able to do that after 2 days? Rocking under my feet.

Gives me chance to ask to rearrange a few I guess hahaha
 
After two days they should be set properly, its not like its been baltic lately preventing the mortar setting. They just need to re-bed them it's hardly a big job.
 
I showed him some this morning and he agreed that the heat may have been an issue.

I called to say more had come loose, turned up at my house 7pm and started shouting "I can lift them all up if I want to, you need to leave them to set". So I said I'm only lifting what's rocking under my feet.

Seriously regretting this now. Also, they did this nice little channel for the sink and washing machine waste to the drain

https://goo.gl/photos/kiMxF9bVaD6hopDt7

Any ideas how I can do something better with it before they come back tomorrow?
 
It was originally but they said the previous people who stuck the channel in put it too high so they had to remove it *sigh*
 
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