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Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:45 pm
by sy76uk
I had a spam email from these http://www.clearancepaving.co.uk/ Anyone had any experience with them? Look's cheap but I have a feeling it's some kind of scam or they're selling seconds. Then again could be legit and worth a punt?
Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 4:52 pm
by lutonlagerlout
2 things here
"We recommend perimeter bedding with a dab in the middle. Use a mortar mix of one part cement to 6 parts building sand."
" Place of Registration:
150, Aldersgate Street, London, EC1A 4AB United Kingdom
Clearance Paving is a trading name of Brett Landscaping"
shame on you bretts advocating dobs 
LLL
Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 5:42 pm
by sy76uk
Ah, so it's bretts selling off old stock. I say this with some trepidation because from what I've gathered there are a few forum using that like using bretts products. I don't. I've had loads of problems with there CBP's. The prices do look really good though so it could be an honest option for customers to take a punt on. Spot's are dinosours. The pointing mix they recommend of 4-1 wash sand and cement doesn't sound too clever either.
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 11:18 am
by Tony McC
That site was set up by the previous management and then left to wither. It could have been a good idea but it needed nurturing, and that simply never happened for budget reasons.
I lambasted the so-called 'laying advice' in a private email at the time of publication but my comments were over-ruled by an oh-so-knowledgable sales rep, so I left them to it.....
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 5:59 pm
by sy76uk
So is it still a part of bretts Tony? I have had a few set too's with there rep's which is why I don't like using them. I've worked on 4 seperate jobs all around the Northamptonshire area where there blocks just crumbled up. The ones that were usable got laid but once they had the whacker over them most of them lost there faces. The rep came out and couldn't argue about how poor they were but rather than replacing the lot he counted out exactly how many had lost there faces or crumbled and just replaced those. I'm glad I wasn't paying for them in the first place. These were all big areas on 3 new build sites for belways and a retail park. It was all a about 3 years ago now though so if they are under new management they might have improved standards. When I started up on my own I asked one of my local builders merchants what types of blocks they stocked and the lad behind the counter replied "we can get what ever you want but we mainly supply eatons. We used to use bretts they kept losing the faces off the top of the blocks"
Back to the main point of the post. I'm now confident that the site isn't a scam so I'm going to start showing clients on tight budgets the site as a cheaper option but also tell them I can't guarantee the quality of the materials.
Thanks for the replies.
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 6:28 pm
by Tony McC
Yep, it's still Brett and I *think* the current plan is to use it to shift seconds, end-of-line stock and some of the bargain they sometimes take in as a load make-up. Expect to see a lot more natural stone in there over the coming season.
Whenever a supplier, whether it's the BM or the manufacturer, starts that owld craic of counting *exactly* how many units to replace rather than providing full packs to nearest quantity above what's required, you know you've pissed them off, and they should be swiftly removed from your supplier list. It's not simply a matter of replacing sub-standard units; it's a matter of compensating me for lost time, embarrassment in front of my client, and general pissing about.
I know there were a very small number (or I was told it was a v.small nr.) of problems with blocks from one particular machine around about the time you mention. I was assured that it had been rectified and everyone who had complained had been dealt with to their own satisfaction. I *do* know that the most recent management team (been in situ around 15 months now) have striven tyo eliminate such issues, but a few do seem to slip through, if you listen to the contractors who regularly use Brett CBPs.
Any manufacturer can have a bad batch slip through every now and again. No-one has 100% quality control, no matter what they say. It's how that manufacturer then handles the issue, and how they keep everyone sweet, that separates the wheat from the chaff.
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 6:39 pm
by lutonlagerlout
FTR i have never had any problems with their 60mm 200 by 100s
but maybe i just got lucky
LLL