Layman needs advice on botched patio job - Slopes towards house and <15cm from dpc

[yinhong]

Hi everyone, I'm a complete layman and am thankful for any constructive advice upfront.

We have asked a landscaper to lay a new patio for our back garden using slabs. A few days ago he dug up the old turf and slabs, and yesterday he laid the cement and about 3/4 of the slabs. (pictures below)

I'm now very concerned because of two issues:

1) I can see a hump in the middle of the patio which means that it slopes back to the house, and we haven't asked for nor did he suggest any drainage.
2) it is only 100mm below the damp proof course, and from my basic research it should be at least 150mm.

It is a new build house, less than 2 years old. We have been quoted £2000 for the job but we haven't paid anything up front.

Before and after pictures below:



[img]http://s7.postimg.org/h8uklkw....mg]

I suppose the crux of my thread is:

- are these two issues serious, and if so I would appreciate your advice on how I should go about resolving them, if it's even possible!

[rimexboy]

Pictures don't work for me

[bodgeitandscarper]

You already know the answer to these questions!!

[mickg]

photos don't work for me either

[yinhong]

Reuploaded pictures, hopefully it works now?

[rimexboy]

I'm a DIYer let me make that clear...

Is this a joke they look awful

[rab1]

Don't pay this clown a penny and tell him and his horse to feck off.

[lutonlagerlout]

see here for further advice

LLL

sorry but that is one of the WORST patios I have ever seen

up it comes

[lana]

I can comment on the dump course question, as had to investigate it myself when did my project. the 150mm while desirable, can be waved in some applications. take a look here http://www.pavingexpert.com/dpc01.htm and scroll to the title "Bending The Rules". I've checked out the regulations they referenced in this article and it appears that it is ok. It is also more acceptable if your slabs do not come directly to the wall, but have a little "dry gap", the one in my patio filled with shingles - provides nessesary drainage.

[lutonlagerlout]

lana the installation is all wrong ,regardless of the dpc
looks like the slabs are laid straight on the bedding course on the mud
it wont last 5 minutes
LLL

[yinhong]

Well.... what can I say? What a bloody mess!

I'm at a loss... what should I do next?

[mickg]

stop the work from continuing any further is the next step, then you need to sit down with the person who has laid this mess and explain why you will not let the work continue and finally you need to find another contractor

[lana]

I would ask him to remove the slabs, clean them, then - re-lay properly? :-/ or better still - ask him to remove the slabs and go and then find another someone to lay them properly? maybe he won't argue, as he should really see how bad his job is. did you pay for materials used already?

[yinhong]

- Should I still pay him for the job, and if so how much?
- Do I then just leave the job half done and ask another contractor to come in a sort the it out?
- Will the new contractor be able to reuse the slabs that have already been laid down? How should they go about doing this?

[yinhong]

I would ask him to... to remove the slabs and go and then find another someone to lay them properly?

Did you pay for the materials already?

Is it possible to remove the slabs from the cement without damaging the slabs?

Yes, we paid for the slabs and a deposit for the cement but nothing else so far.