Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 9:45 pm
I employed a contractor to lay some basic 450 x 450 concrete slabs for me in my garden. I requested a full bed of mortar and we agreed a brush in resin pointing finish.
I have read this site a fair bit bit over the years so I know the basics on paving.
The guy has laid about 50% of the slabs - in particular he has done all the complex cut cuts so although 50% of slabs are down it is probably more like 60-70% of the time has been spent on the job.
Problem is that quite a few - almost a third of slabs have some form of movement. Some are rocking quite a lot whereas others just feel a bit loose. Some of them are rock hard (as they should be).
Observing him working I don't have much confidence as he seems to be rushing and the guy that is doing his mixing is shall we say, a bit dim. I have looked at the mixes on various days when they have dried and its pretty clear the mixes are not consistent. Some go hard whilst others are much more crumbly.
Having lifted the slabs up, he has done full beds but for whatever reason the slabs have not stuck to the bed. On some occasions though they are stuck so it must be down to the mix.
I have raised this with him and to be fair he has said he will re-lay any loose ones but the ones that are not moving A LOT he says will be sorted by the pointing.
I have explained that the resin is permeable and will let water in and will then cause slabs to come off when it rains and that resin is not a structural issues.
To be honest I'd rather he just stopped and I ripped everything up but he is saying to give hi ma chance to finish and nothing will be loose when he leaves as he will fix everything before he goes and no payment til I am happy.
My concern and what I think may happen is that when we get to the end of the job, slabs will still be loose and we are going to have an argument over how it is fixed (i.e lift some slabs or rip it all off/get gets no payment).
My actual question for you though is this - when he points it all in, will loose slabs be held in place by the resin for the short term?
The issue for me is that even if I know the slabs MAY or WILL move in the future, if it is all solid a day or two after the resin has gone in he will be demanding his payment.
Any views?
I know some will say just tell him to leave but it is a bit awkward in real life. I have told him by continuing on he does so at his own risk if the slabs move.
I have read this site a fair bit bit over the years so I know the basics on paving.
The guy has laid about 50% of the slabs - in particular he has done all the complex cut cuts so although 50% of slabs are down it is probably more like 60-70% of the time has been spent on the job.
Problem is that quite a few - almost a third of slabs have some form of movement. Some are rocking quite a lot whereas others just feel a bit loose. Some of them are rock hard (as they should be).
Observing him working I don't have much confidence as he seems to be rushing and the guy that is doing his mixing is shall we say, a bit dim. I have looked at the mixes on various days when they have dried and its pretty clear the mixes are not consistent. Some go hard whilst others are much more crumbly.
Having lifted the slabs up, he has done full beds but for whatever reason the slabs have not stuck to the bed. On some occasions though they are stuck so it must be down to the mix.
I have raised this with him and to be fair he has said he will re-lay any loose ones but the ones that are not moving A LOT he says will be sorted by the pointing.
I have explained that the resin is permeable and will let water in and will then cause slabs to come off when it rains and that resin is not a structural issues.
To be honest I'd rather he just stopped and I ripped everything up but he is saying to give hi ma chance to finish and nothing will be loose when he leaves as he will fix everything before he goes and no payment til I am happy.
My concern and what I think may happen is that when we get to the end of the job, slabs will still be loose and we are going to have an argument over how it is fixed (i.e lift some slabs or rip it all off/get gets no payment).
My actual question for you though is this - when he points it all in, will loose slabs be held in place by the resin for the short term?
The issue for me is that even if I know the slabs MAY or WILL move in the future, if it is all solid a day or two after the resin has gone in he will be demanding his payment.
Any views?
I know some will say just tell him to leave but it is a bit awkward in real life. I have told him by continuing on he does so at his own risk if the slabs move.
