patio slabs

Hi, wonder if anyone can advise me please. I have had work done in the garden 40m of fencing, relevel my garden, and 100 extra patio slabs around the existing patio. The problem I have now is the slabs he layed are coming loose, its only been 4 weeks.
The original patio has been down for 2.5 years and only 1 loose?.
He removed some garden with a machine to accomodate the extra patio slabs, and has layed the slabs using a five point method.
Can anyone tell me if the method he used will result in my new slabs all coming loose?

 

Hi thanks for reply
I have taken 1 slab up to take pic

 

Oh dear, I do hope you get it sorted OK!!

Val

 

I agree with JWK and loking at the photo they have been laid with no base. The best way is to use a dry sand and cement mix and and lay on this. I have always laid slabs this way and have never had any trouble. Get the guy back in to sort it out or come next year they will be all over the place.

Rusty

 

I hate to say it, but that cement looks like my first ever attempt at mixing cement. It also looks like it hasn't fully dried.

One dollop of cement for each corner, and one for the middle of the slab, so that the slab is held up on 5 points (4 corners plus middle).

I read about that technique before I did my patio. The main advantage is that you use less cement, but I didn't like the idea, and it couldn't work for mine anyway because I used irregular shaped broken patio stones. I went for the option of laying a decent foundation of broken bricks/roof tiles and stone chippings, whacked it down as best I could without a whacker (the lad and I had fun jumping up and down all over it over the course of a couple of nights). I then put a layer of cement on, working a bit at a time, and tapped the stones down into position.

That was a DIY job and its lasted at least 12 months without any sign of movement.

 

Hi thanks for all the feedback.
Looks like im going to have a problem either way. Think im best off contacting trading standards

 

I'd contact the chap first. Not all tradesmen are dodgy. He might simply have had a bad day, he might have sent his inexperienced junior to do the job, or any number of things. He might be as keen to put it right as you are.

I have a mate who made himself quite well off with his own landscaping firm. Word got round that they were good. He once told me that occasionally things went wrong, that's life, but that if his customers phoned him to tell him, he'd go straight back round at the earliest chance, usually within a day or two, to put any problems right at his own expense. That way he maintained his excellent reputation, which meant new work kept coming in.

 

I have had him back once for the fence, It was really bad, he told me he had never seen this before in 25 years of doing this,however I was a chippy years ago and know he had messed it all up. He did all the work here and had a digger driver in

 

Good luck welsh, let us know how you get on!!

Val

 

As shiney said the whole patio needs relaying on a proper base . That is a complete rework so he will not want to do it. Looks like you have a fight on your hands...............