Have I employed a Cowboy???...advice please (laying slabs).

[DragynzDen]

Hi,

I'm a female about to have a path laid tomorrow and I have a feeling I've employed a cowboy. It's an 8m2 path. The original price he said was "ALL IN" but I have now found myself buying the following:

40 X 450mm x 450mm Slabs
50 x 50mm Pavers
Jumbo Bag Stone Dust
150kg Rugby Cement

Are they supplying any materials or have I supplied them all? He dug the grass out last Saturday, he's left me a week and says they (2 men) will finish the job tomorrow but some forums I've seen said that pointing needs to be done 24 hours later?

Please can I have some advice before they arrive tomorrow so they don't treat me like a dumb woman. I've already been to the tip and found out that a transit van with 250kg rubbish is only £20 and it's £0 for a car but he's charging me £100 for the waste of 8m2 grass (you can see the waste on the right in the photo) - I suspect he didn't bet on me making enquiries myself?

I've added a photo of what they did last Saturday and put a line around the path area.

What will they be doing tomorrow? ...and do they have to return to do the pointing?

I have a feeling it's people like him that give the decent tradesmen a bad name.

Cheers for any advice...

Cardiff

 

[Bonni]

Paths should have a minimum 100mm (four inch) of sub base whacked in. Do not use crushed concrete/brick hardcore, it's crap.

http://www.pavingexpert.com/subbase.htm

If the flags are contained between fixed pavers, walls, pin kerbs etc.. they can be laid on 35mm to 55mm deep sharp sand.

If they laid on hardcore and not held together by pavers, walls, pin kerbs etc.. they are laid on cement 25mm to 50mm deep. I always use 1 cement to 3 building sand.

http://www.pavingexpert.com/pccflag1.htm

The pavers should be laid on 100mm to 150mm C20 concrete and haunched on the outside. Scroll down on this link to the diagram.

http://www.pavingexpert.com/blocks.htm

If they don't do the above, they're cowboys.

Your path should be dug out by 7 to 8 inch deep.

 

[Notch7]

you should have agreed to the job with a written quotation -an email quote would be sufficient.

'all in' to me sounds like labour and materials.

skip costs are high, your job would need a 4 yarder at £150 or so -theyve only dug out a small amount so far.

how did you hear about them -checkatrade?

what has been dug out is not suitable for putting a sub base on -its just top soil

 

[IT Minion]

If you're buying materials then it's clearly not all in.

I'd hit the brakes now and not let them do any more work until you've got the details nailed down in writing. Did you pay up front?

 

[DragynzDen]

Thank you so much for your advice so far. The impression I got was that it was dug out and ready as he said "there's a slope on it see luv for drainage" - although of course I may be wrong?

They arrived at 9:40am last Sat and were gone by 11:55am. He asked for £200 to pay his labourer and materials. I stupidly gave it to him.

How long should this job to take to finish properly from what people can see?

Thanks so much everyone.

 

[KenGMac]

DragynzDen

Below are some costings that "could" be used to give an estimate of costs. [Sorry if they are "slightly" building jargon orientated]

Bed Under Hard standings, - Excavate oversite by hand n.e 300mm deep, remove soil, level and consolidate surface, (Measured by the surface area to be stripped) (Removal of spoil not included)
Sq Metre
£27.39

As for an Hourly Rate? short answer is as far as the "tradesman" is concerned as much as you think you can "grab"

An hourly rate of between £ 15 / £ 25 / hr is fairly common for a well established Building Company who have overheads and a small office Etc. Etc.

I would suggest a FULL STOP on work until you get a fully annotated set of costs.

As for the "All In" to me that "implies" time and material.

Ken

 

[DragynzDen]

Thanks so much! They took the waste from digging out the grass in black bags so I suspect he took that in his car to the local tip free of charge and it wasn't actually 'paid for'.

Am I right in thinking he still has to supply sand?

Thanks again so much!

 

[KenGMac]

DragynzDen

Sorry but there is no meaningful answer to your last post.

if your builder has given a so called"all in cost" his Idea of "All In" may differ from what you and [Dare I say it] my grasp of the English language and meanings are?

There is a huge volume above of [albeit] somewhat "technical" building information contained within the various posts .

On the face of things right here right now,
1/. STOP any further work.
2/. Get a written costed DETAILED description of what the builder proposes.
3/. Come back in to this Forum and using the various links above, compare what is proposed with what is accepted best practice

Apologies if this is brutal? but I for one do not like what I am reading, my opinion is [and everyone is entitled to an opinion] this smells like a rip off.

Ken

 

[Notch7]

Thanks so much! They took the waste from digging out the grass in black bags so I suspect he took that in his car to the local tip free of charge and it wasn't actually 'paid for'.

Am I right in thinking he still has to supply sand?

Thanks again so much!

No pro builder or landscaper takes waste away in black bags.

Is this a real story or are you a troll having a laugh - no offense intended.

 

[Ian H]

No pro builder or landscaper takes waste away in black bags.

I put all my waste in my left over Travis Perkins aggregate bags then load it into a skip at our yard.


How much was the ‘ALL IN’ price?

 

[DragynzDen]

No I'm not a troll, I'm being completely honest when I say they took the waste away in black bags, it's a genuine thread. I'm off to bed now, ready to see what the morning brings, I will let you all know how it goes. Thanks so much for all the advice...

 

[Psmk222]

Any update on this

 

[conny]

I think they have not turned up again, she has been ripped off and is now to embarrassed to post.
Sad that this type of thing is happening every day.

 

[plastic_peanut]

It would be interesting to know how many member have less than 10 posts. I imagine a lot of people join the forum to post one question and then disappear never to be heard from again

 

[KenGMac]

Do not think so?

If you check the OPs activity you will see that [shall I call it] some adverse comments?? [I believe Troll was mentioned?] has caused total inactivity on this forum by the OP since 13/12/2019?

To verify? suggest trying?

Right click on the OPs name, the last date that this OP was seen can be seen.

Ken