Page 6 of 8
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 12:45 pm
by mickg
for me the detail round gullies and manhole covers should be as neat as you can get it, not throw a bucket of sand and cement in a hole and point it up
with the joint lines as straight as you can get them and the gap between each flag as tight as possible without any of the flags touching each other
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 12:52 pm
by Rich H
Nice cuts, mick! Not sure about pointing against timber, though. What happens when it expands and contracts?
davelad. From the main website:
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:03 pm
by mickg
your right rich and i did explain this to the customer before I installed the timber sleepers but they insisted they still wanted the detail of the timber to match the timber balcony what they had constructed
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:09 pm
by davelad
MickG, thanks, I'm hoping he's going to offer to put some kind of lid on it, as it is, it's dangerous at the moment as it' about a 2" deep hole and it fills with water when it rains - I can't see any way that the water could escape. It's my water meter and main stop tap, so it needs to be accessible. It can't stay as it is, it's just hideous.
Rich H,
Thanks, I see now, I thought you were talking about the small gap? Do they just fill it with sand then? Also, i was wondering about the blocks that are nearest the fence in the picture below. Will they need to be cemented in or something to stop everything moving? I was under the impression there had to be a solid edge to hold it all together? The blocks nearest the fence are just free standing, although they do appear to be pretty difficult to move.
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:12 pm
by msh paving
Next doors job is robbery in the daylight hours,7k for that 
how do people pay for shit like that where are all the quality pavoirs in your area?
The pointing on your job is a disgrace,why did they not raise the stopcock lid up 4 screws to undo then the top section slides up 10min job,why did they pull the waste pipe apart? the block paving around the gate post why not cut around it I expect they will shove some cement around it, the corner gap why not space the blocks 2 mm on each joint to lose it?,
Don't pay them a penny till they improve it ,next call would be local trading standards,
Sorry to be blunt but it had to be said, trading standards like to hear off jobs like this MSH 
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:15 pm
by msh paving
The paving along the fence could have been tight against the gravel board,no good reason too leave it like it is now MSH
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:21 pm
by davelad
The 7k was for their entire back garden, drive, side of the house and front garden to be dug out and then redone, it's quite a big area, maybe 2-3 times the size of mine.
I'll tell you what mate, I was weary by the time I'd finished looking for someone to do this job, one bloke turned up with a wheel on a stick and was measuring up and saying how accurate it was compared to a tape measure, and then he said..."yep, that's 87 square metres", "so it'll be X thousand pounds" I knew for a fact it was around 52, and he wasn't having any of it that his wheel on a stick was wrong.
Had high pressure sales berks as well. I really do think it's a minefield
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:24 pm
by davelad
I've just had a look and i can poke my finger through next to the fence into daylight on the other side. If I prod with my finger, all the sand falls away, so maybe that's why he's left it away from the fence? maybe going to put some kind of edging in?
/wishful thinking
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:24 pm
by mickg
*cough*
I use a wheel on a stick but I have mine calibrated every week 
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:30 pm
by mickg
I think you will find he is going to fill that gap with sand and cement to save doing cuts down the entire length of the fence what will vary in width due to the base panels and fencing not being perfectly straight
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:30 pm
by msh paving
i have been using a measuring wheel for 15 years now,never had any problems,it's down to the man not being able to do simple maths,or is trying to rip people off.
that gravel board it concrete so how can you poke a finger through it?
MSH
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:34 pm
by msh paving
If that was the case off cuts all the way down, a 30mm gap would be enough and point it with coloured sand cement to match the blocks going by his standard so far i dont hold much hope out MSH
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:39 pm
by ambient
davelad wrote:Rich H wrote:davelad, that price is amazingly cheap. I'd be looking at very very roughly £80/m for the indian stone and then £60/m for non-vehicular block paving: £3500 or so. Of course it depends on access, waste disposal volume, current conditions, etc. £1100 isn't possible!! The stone should be about £420 and the block paving £310 = £730. MOT @ £18/t x 50mm (that's not really enough) x 52m2 = £108 + 5t sand @ £25/t = £125. Cement @ £4/bag x 20 = £80. So just the basic materials = £1043
That doesn't include waste disposal (skips, etc), plant hire, labour or profit!!!
The going rate round here seems to be around £35 per square metre for block paving - Originally he priced the job up at £1350 including a step at the front door and that was block paving right the way through, including the patio, so I asked how much extra it would be to have the patio area done in Indian stone and he said £200 extra on top, so £1550 all in.
One odd thing that I found when I was getting quote was that they all said that the digging out was the big part of the labour, yet when I suggested that I do the digging out and removal of all the old flags/cinders etc, the price only came down by £200 tops.
Another thing I've just spotted under the tarpauling was some of the stones have large green fossils on...I was a bit horrified at first, but i quite like them now...one other odd thing was that a few of the stones looked to be stained with white emulsion, but I'm happy to say that this all came off with a stiff brush and water.
the going rate in your area for a good contractor is £55 a metre for block and £80 for indian there are plenty of good pavers in your area where did you find these clowns any chance of name and shame
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 2:30 pm
by davelad
msh paving wrote:i have been using a measuring wheel for 15 years now,never had any problems,it's down to the man not being able to do simple maths,or is trying to rip people off.
that gravel board it concrete so how can you poke a finger through it?
MSH
The gap between the black blocks and the concrete part of the fence is covered in that grit sand or whatever it's called. Next door's garden is lower than mine, but the fence is at the same level as me, so there's a space under the fence that he's put the sand stuff on top of, so if I poke it with something, it fall away into next doors garden.
I'll do a pic, back in a few mins.
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 2:40 pm
by davelad
It's difficult to get it in a photo, but see here, you can almost see into next door, if you press down further, the sand runs away like an egg timer
:0
