Professional job completed?

[Basingstoke]

I used a long standing land scaping company to patio a 20' by 12' area behind my garage. They quoted £850 to patio the area supplying matching slabs to those already laid in the garden. They predicted that the job would take 2.5 days and we agreed that they would patio a rectangular area gravelling the sides to avoid having to cut slabs to keep the cost down (as the area isn't square).

To my surprise, they took just 4 hours to lay the patio. The slabs are laid on a concrete mix, the thickness of which ranges from 5" to 1", which inturn is directly on top of the lawn, ie no excavation or hard base.







They then returned 3 days later to lay the 3 slabs to the left and gravel around the sides (at least they added a layer of Plantex first). Yes, the gravel to the left is covering the base of the fence by 3" or so.




I have never heard of patios being laid directly onto grass and immediately questioned the job, being told that the ground was compact and that they would stand by their work should any problems occur. I have drawn up a contract confirming this guaranty for a 5 year period and demanded it be signed before any payment will take place.

I know the patio will drop as the grass dies beneath but do not know what else I can do as the job physically looks good and they have guaranteed their work. Is it a case that I should wait for the slabs to drop or is it widely accepted that the job they have completed is not good enough in the first place?

Unfortunately, the quote was not in writing but am hoping that the level of work completed is of such sub standard that the work wouldn't be considered sufficient should it go legal.

[Ted]

They signed the five year guarantee!?

I don't offer five or ten year guarantees as I reckon they are worthless. Not many things come with a five year guarantee or longer. My spade comes with a lifetime guarantee but I can't think of anything else that does.

I offer a one year guarantee and if the client wants longer they can get it insurance-backed if they really want to.

[Basingstoke]

But do you think the patio would even last a year?

[Ted]

It wouldn't surprise me at all if it didn't last a year.

I certainly don't recommend laying on grass and I would be surprised if that concrete bed doesn't crack.

[lutonlagerlout]

when the grass rots the patio may fail
i cant see the problem with cutting the slabs ,we call those slabs "biscuits" the stihl saw wizzes through them in about 15 seconds
at the bare minimun the grass should have been removed IMHO
the slabs like they have been laid competently enough
but if you say £120 for slabs £60 for sharp sand £30 for cemnt then they have had a nice mornings work havent they???
are you sure they left the grass in situ?
also whats going to stop grass growing through the gravel?
LLL

[Stuarty]

Id have bitch-slapped their ass. I always put a sub base down ive never laid put bedding onto bare soil. It might look nice right now, but it will be a whole different story in 12 months time.

[Ted]

Just to depress you more: whoever built your fence should have put in some gravel boards really. Those fence panels struggle to contain pea shingle, are much more expensive to replace than a simple gravel board and do not appear to be flush with the ground, so the pea shingle will escape anyway.