Some strange markings appeared on my granite paving slabs a few weeks after they were laid.
I've looked at the FAQ and the thing there they resemble the closest is reflective staining. But they're strange shapes, not circles or blobs, so I'm not at all sure. They look like something has been splashed across the slabs.
Some of the marks are really big. There are also smaller solid grey patches that have appeared on some of the slabs. Some of these can be seen in the bottom 3 pictures.
Can anyone give any advice on what these marks might be?
That looks very much like natural quartz veining in the granite.
It's not usually that wide or that noticeable, but as prices for granite paving are driven ever downward, stone that once would have been sent to the crusher is now being sold as flagstone.
The seller suggested it was some sort of natural phenomenon, but he also said he'd never seen anything as bad as this and neither had the landscapers.
The slabs seem to have been discontinued, so if I want to replace them I have to get rid of the whole lot and pay someone to do it all over again.
Do I have a claim against the seller or the manufacturer? It seems like these are poor quality and I have a dozen or more that have developed massive blotches.
It's unlikely you would have any success in suing the supplier. They can easily (and justifiably) claim it is normal variation in the stone and as a natural product, such variation is to be expected.....and so and so forth.
If you had a brochure which showed flags that are significantly different, then you'd have a chance, but, to be honest, your best bet is to make a nuisance of yourself with the supplier in the hope that they'll swap the flags just to be shut of you.
Even with that, it leaves you with the probelem of who is going to lift and re-lay the affected flags.
I think you've been unlucky. A "Big Name" supplier would swap those for you without batting an eyelid, as it's not worth the adverse publiscity, but for smaller suppliers, particularly those selling at the bargain end of the trade, they make next to nowt on what they sell and their whole business model is founded on selling slightly-less-then-ideal products at a lower cost.
As it looks like I may have to replace the slabs, would you recommend porcelain paving? I have seen some which are manufactured in Poland, but am not sure if they would be of a good standard. Do you have any experience of these?
There is some decent porcelain coming from Poland, but too much of what is landing on these shores from East European countries is manufactured to a proce point rather than a quality threshold.
Having been stung once, I'd be very wary about looking for another alleged bargain. You really do tend to get what you pay for!
