Has my concrete job been bodged???

[ripperuk]

hi, thanks for your reply guys...i will have to sort this guy out...but i'll leave it for now due to winter.

I will rip the whole concrete out again in spring and get him to redo it, whilst my cousin (who's a builder) will watch over him.

many thanks again

 

[2scoops0406]

Obviously your choice to leave it until spring, but there's plenty of time to do it before inclement weather prevents it, also the longer you leave it, the more problems you're going to have if the guy refuses to come back and sort it out, as your delay in getting rectified could be seen as accepting the work.

a PITA, but I'd get in sorted soonest.

 

[oilman]

only one problem...and i am about this...i've paid him on the side...

...I just need the concrete to last me a couple of years and then i'm gonna move..do you think it'll last that long?

How you paid him is irrelevant. If he does not pay his taxes then it's his problem not yours.

Even better, threaten to report him the HMR&C for tax evasion if he does not put it right - that will get him moving for sure.

It may last, but what will the prospective buyer think .... Don't like it, no sale? Asking price reduction?

I think a court might take a different view, such as "Since you chose to go outside the law, paying cash and no invoice, don't expect the law to protect you".

There is a moral here for others who want a cheap cash job, can you tell what it is yet?

 

[Thermo]

whilst i agree with your moral of the story oilman, he still will have the same rights. I was listening to a local radio programme the other day and they had a women from trading standards, who said exactly that. Just because youve paid him cash doesnt mean you dont know if hes paid the vat or not.

 

[htgeng]

I just laid a 2cubic metre volume slab (100mm depth) to protect some drains underneath a new driveway. Had it done by readymix and the guy recommended a C30 mix. Boy did that stuff go rock hard! Put a sample in a marg tub and cant even scrape it

Cost was £200, but the guy laughed when I said I had considered mixing it in my belle.

Whats the opinion about using something like this mix on top of his existing base?

 

[2scoops0406]

I just laid a 2cubic metre volume slab (100mm depth) to protect some drains underneath a new driveway. Had it done by readymix and the guy recommended a C30 mix. Boy did that stuff go rock hard! Put a sample in a marg tub and cant even scrape it

Cost was £200, but the guy laughed when I said I had considered mixing it in my belle.

Whats the opinion about using something like this mix on top of his existing base?

Cost and workability. C30 is a 1:1:2 mix so from the original example above you would require 60 bags of cement. I'd also guess it's overkill.

 

[Thermo]

would be overkill at that strength. Also a risk of cracking if the sub base is not up to it. Doesnt really say what the concrete is used for though.

I always prefer to use the ready mix or the ones who mix it up for you at site. Cheaper, cleaner and better mix.

 

[^woody^]

I think a court might take a different view, such as "Since you chose to go outside the law, paying cash and no invoice, don't expect the law to protect you".

There is a moral here for others who want a cheap cash job, can you tell what it is yet?

Are we talking about the same law?

What law states that you can't pay someone in cash? What law states that you must ask for a receipt or invoice? What law states that you must ensure that anyone you pay then pays his taxes?

The area of law I was refering to was that a business declares earnings and pays tax on earnings.

And the moral is not to employ incompetant and untrustworthy people. There is absolutely no connection between paying cash and quality of work.

 

[WabbitPoo]

thanks woody...i understand what your saying mate, but it was a big headache ripping up the old concrete when i moved into this house and I just don't want to have to do it all over again.

Don't forget, you wouldn't have to take it up again - he would. And that you paid in cash is not relevant. Cash is as legal as a cheque. What he does with it is his business.

Please don't let him get away with this. I know its stressful to have to confront him but get a solicitor to write to him if that'll make it easier.


As a side issue, what on earth were you doing getting it concreted?!? What family is gonna want to buy a property with that out back?!?


I spend a lot of time removing the stuff from gardens.

 

[Thermo]

me too, bane of my life. I removed one from a garden last week, 3 inches thick, and we got it up with a pry bar. the week before a path laid in the 70s from a back dorr to a garage. 10 inches thick! My large kango bounced all over the place in the end we had to hire out a hydraulic road breaker to do it....what a job.

Would be good to see the pictures of it

 

[ModernMaterials]

I'm betting loads of diyers have made this mistake, too weak a mix basically but also it has been quite hot this summer and i know that concrete does better in cooler times.
My question, bearing in mind you aint taking him to court etc, is: has it cracked yet? and if it hasnt get the **** ahem guy to pave over the top of it with something that will make your house more saleable than concrete.
To answer your question. screed is a thinner layer of mix spread over the top and in construction it would be at least 3 inches deep. So in this case, dont bother, cus a 2 inch pre cast slap or paver would be stronger.
Failing that just bang some pea gravel over it...

 

[bris]

It will only make good blinding for paving. if you don't want to replace it the only other option you have is to pave over.

 

[joe-90]

I agree with those that say that the next owners will dig it up. Why not get your landscaper to construct a couple of raised beds with sleepers just to sell the place? Then the next owner can trash the lot.

 

[Steve]

pave sections, and put a grassed area and a bit of a flowerbed (pots) to sell the place. Then when they come to sell, the next owners get a nasty surprise when they "makeover" the garden