The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:53 pm**

About 15 months ago, we had our car park (holding up to 8 cards) retarmaced, doing all the right things (getting 10-year guarantee, checking references etc.). The job looked fine at the beginning (we were told it would take a while to settle down), but after we had paid, we noticed that items as light as a garden hose sank into the tarmac. We complained, and the contractor initially got in contact with his supplier, saying the material was bad. When he did not get the result he wanted, he came around to spray the parking lot with something. It's now a little harder and less sticky, but the imprints of hoses, bins etc. are still clearly visible, and everything is covered in little black "drops". We wrote to the contractor on several occasions, he kept saying he would come to check it again, and yesterday he told us to sue him, he feels he is not to blame because the material provided by his supplier was bad. Huge patches of tarmac are now coming off the parking lot, and he blames it on some oil stains (I was told that whilst oil is definitely not good for the tarmac, it will not cause it to dissolve all the way down to the original surface - and there are not even oil stains where the tarmac comes off). We are now trying to sue him, but are not able to afford a surveyor. Any ideas?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Regards,

Petra

Posted: **Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:46 am**

Sue him, then. It's up to the contractor to prove his case, that he was supplied bad material. All you have to be able to do is show that the surface is sub-standard and not of an acceptable finish.

You will definitely need a survey, and it won't be cheap. A typical written report on a bitmac surface costs around 600-800 quid and involves taking core samples from the surface, which, in itself, is destructive. If you were to take this to the small claims court, you wopuld simply be instructed to arrange for a 'joint expert' to produce a report. The court is very, very unlikely to come to a decision based simply on what you say and what the contractors says.

The Brew Cabin

Cowboy builder - Any ideas?