New patio build. The polymeric sand has not been poured yet (until tomorrow). I have no idea if these little inconsistencies are serious or not. Any advice is welcome
Is this bad? Maybe it’s the lighting. Any experts out there?
I’d be pissed if I did this myself. And I’m just a simple desk jockey.
As a pro, two possibilities immediately spring to mind:
these are cheap pavers with inconsistencies in their casting; I've run into this with shitty Home Depot pavers that the homeowner insisted we use
the first thing you do on sand day is compact the entire patio, which usually flattens out any bricks sitting proud of the surface, and OP said they didn't do sand yet, so they obviously haven't compacted it yet. and it seems nobody here knows that as you sweep the sand around you continuously run the compactor to vibrate the sand down into the joints, which helps to further settle any pavers that sit high
that said, this does look kinda whack for this stage of construction, so idk, maybe these guys aren't as good as they claimed to be
The pavers should still be pretty damn close to level (well, with a pitch obviously) and flat even before compacting the patio a final time with sand (alligator sand)...
That being said, there has to be something else we aren't thinking about. Those aren't cheap pavers to begin with.. The job LOOKS good aside from the pavers not being level and sloped as they should be...
Idk what we are missing but if we are not missing anything, that is NOT going to turn out good at all. Especially if water ever gets on it.
Edit: Actually, looking at it now.. I think what they still have to do is individually get them all level. Usually I get them as close as possible when I lay them but that's because lifting them after setting them is not fun. However, if they have a thing to lift them out (can't remember the name of the tool).. then it's likely they're just at a point where they laid them out and they still have to level and compact/sand.
Anyway I've ever done pavers you level the stone underneath 1st, then lay the pavers and tap them down with a rubber mallet so they sit perfectly flush. I'm by no means a pro hardscaper, just had to help the hardscape crew over the years..
I'd be SUPER hesitant running a compactor over those sliver pavers, or even tapping them in. Odd paver design, not cool with the uneven heights, but I like the look- in theory
I wonder if they are planning to lay something like plywood down and use a plate compactor on that to flatten everything on down.
I use eco mats. Large plastic mats. Works a treat.
Plywood? Have never seen or heard of that being used tht way, does it actually work?
I thought it was a Sims 3 screenshot at first, there's a tile floor that looks a by similar in the game.. :D
Did you hire Q-bert for this?
Just throwing the q-Bert reference out there hoping another semi old person bites. Bold strategy, cotton!
$&?*@#
Why would you need to be old to appreciate a reference to a game that only came out 20 years ago in the 1980s?
I’m not going to say, you say it.
Maybe lowering taxes for schools was a mistake?
20 years? What Era did I wake up in today?
You woke up 10 years in the past....it's the 90s.
It wasn't that long ago.... OH LAWD!
Let's see if it works out for him.
Lol. I would say semi-old is for your Dodgeball quote and qbert is for marginally-old people.
@!#?#!
MC Escher
Well...now I want this floor.
you sir win.
Are those tiles not at all flat/at the same level?
Did you do this yourself? If you paid someone: they can redo it correctly now on their dime or after someone injures themself and sues for gross negligence.
I hired a contractor to do it. Some of them are different levels. That’s what I’m asking. If this is normal/acceptable?
Very very very...... Very non acceptable.
Unless OP hired them to build a boobytrap. Then it’s great!!
Looks like there is probably a pit of alligators below and when you walk on them, they’ll collapse and you’ll get eaten.
Bonus points if they drop out one at a time to give you a chance to jump to a stable tile. Only for that tile to begin shaking then drop out and you have to continue to find stable tiles or you die.
I tripped just looking at that..
Only people who already have had their front teeth knocked out are allowed to walk there.
Patios are normally flat.
your floor shouldnt have shadows, definitely not normal.
this is the heart of the matter right here, well said
Man that's one Saturday night away from a broken face
Unacceptable No 4 corners touching No super small pieces Not even close to level No lines longer than 48 to 56 inch’s No using the same size stones next to the same size stone you can off set them like on going north to south with one then another going east to west but never in a straight line I’d be fired if my boss shown up to see it
Good looking product but they way it is installed to me looks like shit to me 20 + years landscaping at this point your have to decide how much you want to fight the company over
Looks like the "contractor" didn't use anything (sand, pea gravel, a roller, a rake?) to level out the ground before laying the pavers. Then, didn't bother to pull the high ones and remove dirt to level. They created a trip hazard, not acceptable work for a pro to call complete.
That is so not normal that it’s only a matter of time before someone trips over it and sues you. I hope you haven’t given this person a single penny.
Holy crap this is bad OP… There’s no way that contractor was CPI Certified with the CMHA. If he was you should report his ass to get that certification revoked. These were obviously not compacted after laying and I can’t see a speck of joint sand. This is unacceptable.
That’s because there using poly sand and you can’t have any sand in the joint until your ready to use the poly sand he mentioned there about to install the sand soon
This isn't normal. You shouldn't have a tripping hazard after you pay someone to install a patio for you. -source 10 year landscaper-
This looks like old-school thief protection via stumbling blocks
They gotta fix it before adding poly sand. I’m on a paver patio build right now where the base settled some due to rain after pavers were installed but before sand and the bricks became uneven. The guys had to pull up bricks individually and add/ remove sand then replace. They are good experienced installers and were caught off guard by how unevenly it settled but did the right thing and fixed it. It’s painstaking but it should be do able in a few hours.
The pattern is way off too, by adding small pieces to make up large gaps.
No bueno. I used to landscape, our boss would sign us up for projects just like this that were beyond our skills and the results would be similar. You need someone qualified.
Did the contractor even bother to compact the soil or the sand under the tiles? Did the contractor bother to check that the base was level before laying the tiles? Because that's a huge issue to have those pavers at uneven levels like that.
It looks awesome! But that’s a broken bone waiting to happen
This is actually unbelievable. I thought it was photoshopped!
It looks like an AI generated photo
When you say AI you mean amateur installers , right?
It looks like it would look great, if it didn’t look so bad.
Do they consider it done or have they compacted it yet? The last step before polymeric is to compact and that will even it out some although there's some pretty large differences there. The difference between walking on it before the compaction and after is pretty dramatic in my experience.
This is 100% the answer. However, the base should still be almost 100% level before installation.
I always figure that you can do about as flat as half the largest base rock and the sand then allows you to get rid of that tolerance. The tougher thing is that the smaller pieces naturally go further into the sand because of the smaller surface area. I've always done better in matching height than this before compaction but the compaction and being tied together evens that out a lot.
Not even that, there are some very long seams which is bad for the integrity and longevity of the patio. Those slivers done belong anywhere and the pad is not square. This is a horrible job!! I’ve been doing this for many years
Yea don’t give this guy false hope. This will not improve much
And a really strange decision on pattern. Seems like it is completely haphazard. Which could be a choice, but.....
I zoomed in and some tiles are not even parallel so he has pie shaped wedges filling in.
Did you see examples of his work before hiring, because I am getting the vibe of a first timer with this?
Yup and tons of joints with all 4 corners meeting
Yea I don’t know much about this kind of work, but to me it looks like he started on both sides of the patio then decided to try filling it in the middle section but it wasn’t even with the two sides and not as even so they had to shove in random tiles to get it all to work.
I like the pattern, or lack thereof
I hope you haven’t paid in full yet. This is very unacceptable, and will not age well.
This is terrible. Send him this picture
I do this for a living, and if I showed up and someone asked me to fix it.. I'd tell them they're basically gonna have to start over.
I think either they started laying from two points and met in the middle, which is why there are shitty angled sliver cuts.
The cuts themselves are complete shit too.
Yeah for leveling they can beat it down with dead blows to make it better and adjust but those tiny slivers are completely unacceptable. Laid pavers for years and I would make the guys pick that shit up and fix it, I don't fucking care if you have to pick up 800 sq ft. If you didn't want to do it twice, do it right the first time.
Indiana Jones wouldn’t be able to pass this without dying.
It's 3d
Its the fucking Death Star lol
This is a 3 piece pattern and I don't understand the odd slivers it doesn't make sense. The pavers should be pretty darn close to level with each other before the poly sand and plate compactor come into play. 3 piece pattern looks like this and not the old Quebert video game. https://imgur.com/a/faalX4X
I do this for work, among other landscape and softscape things. Compaction will correct most small hight issues. But this is pretty rough, I'd suspect water pooling issues after packing and sanding. It's a random lay (non pattern). From the photo, it looks like the lines may not be straight either from spots that have pie shaped gaps. Take a long string, tie it to a stick, push the string with stick in a notch between two pavers, pull the string in the other direction across patio with some tension and see how straight the lines are. That's how we do it to make sure we stay on track with visual straightness. Lastly, your not supposed to walk on unfinished (not compacted) pavers, which clearly has been done with the wheelbarrow and tools on the patio. Also great way to scratch the surface of new pavers, putting metal tools on it.
It kind of looks cool but i can’t imagine this being functional.
This pattern is bizarre and not how these pavers are supposed to fit together wth.
You paid someone to do this type of work correctly. It's so out of square that have 12 in slices at 2 inches wide to a quarter in wide. That's not even close to acceptable. Not even discussing the unevenness. Did they even tsmp it after it was laid?
Do some research online to see what is acceptable and realize your contractors faults and make him fix it. This is garbage.
End of discussion
Not good
It’s bad. They probably didn’t properly grade and compact using the new aggregates. They may have not compacted the top of the pavers with the vibratory plate yet…or is the project 100% done in the picture?
Landscape/Hardscape business owner here….there’s a chance that they finished for the day and they may still have to run a tamper over the pavers, which will level them out. I don’t love that they are that uneven, but a plate compactor will take care of the uneven pavers.
I’m more concerned with the small, cut slivers in the middle and that the pavers are clearly not square between the step on the left & the wall on the right of the photo. That should be addressed immediately
What in the name of fuck
Not only is it not flat, it looks to dip in the middle, which means water will pool there. Those random slivers in the middle which are not part of the pattern. Why would they do that? Did they start from each end and finish in the middle? Bizarre way of laying pavers.
Grab yourself a 4 ft level and drop it down on this job and show them the gaps in the daylight.
That’s 100% what looks like to me to, they started on each end and finished in middle and just saw it didn’t even out correctly but just left it at that. The ends both seem better done than the middle section.
That's a tripping hazard, and that's a tripping hazard... And that's a tripping hazard...
With wheel barrel and bobcat seen in picture I am going to hazard that they haven’t finished the job yet and will be coming back to compact. It doesn’t even look sanded yet.
Yikes.. that looks awful honestly. Those random cuts in the center, the pattern or lack there of and obviously it was not prepped correctly. I would not let them lock this in without fixing it. If this was one of my jobs all of that would be coming back up and getting re laid.
I could not walk away from that job. Rip em out, re screed your grade, and relay without stepping on your grade. Edit: What was the price per f2?
Funny how nobody noticed that the job isn’t done. They will tamp it down when they fill in the joints.
If you did it yrself then not bad. If you're paying a professional absolutely unacceptable.
Some variance in the thickness of paver is normal (according to manufacturer). However if they’re installed on a sand screed and then tamped they should level to flush. The worst part is the sliver cuts added to the interior, it shows me that the pattern wasn’t laid parallel to the house and started to become out of square (use sting lines!!!)
Ask them if they plan to run a plate compactor over the patio before sweeping sand into gaps....
Inconsistency like this is fairly normal before they are tamped down, however a few seem pretty high. Likely exaggerated by the lights. The tamping helps to even up any lippy pavers and vibrate the sand into the gaps.
This looks like a pretty high end project, I would hope they know what they are doing.
It should be fine , because when the put the sand in and run the ramp over it it SHOULD smooth it out
Not bad at all.
Typically, material information sheets like cut sheets or installation instructions will state the allowed lippage between tiles. For most tiles, we use the 2 credit card limit: if you put 3 cards down and the upper one does not slide over, the lippage is out of tolerance and does not meet specified installation requirements
It’s bad. You may not have even noticed it if it weren’t for the lighting.
If you step on the raised ones in the right order…..a secret treasure passage will open up
There shouldn't be any deviation in height between newly placed blocks. You should not see any shadows. This needs to be redone properly.
If it's mortar on a concrete slab, the original contractor should be fired and someone who knows that they are doing needs to come in and redo it.
It also looks like someone tried to do a random pattern and failed miserably. There shouldn't be any oddball slivers of pavers like that. There should be no cuts except around the edged and to get around other obstacles.
Are you sure they’re done? They may just need to run the plate compactor over this and add the joint sand.
Even with that done though those prices in the middle that were awkwardly cut to fix mistakes is what I would be focused on. They also didn’t do the pattern correctly on the 4/5 piece set or whatever that is.
Toe stabbers, they’re called
Not normal, not acceptable. Where is the consistency, literally anywhere here besides using the same tile? I would request they redo on their dime, respectfully.
If you are looking for an interesting, multi-dimensional surface that you will almost certainly trip over constantly, it's perfect.
If it was good the lighting wouldn’t matter.
This is so bad that you could convince me this is (not) functional art😀
Yeah that’s fucked.
Yes it’s bad
GC in South Florida building high-end homes.
The lippage is bad. We try to keep it less than a credit card thickness.
Are these sand set? I can’t imagine a mortar set job looking like this.
Ive done paver patios in the past at scale…. High $ university 1000’ jobs. While that was individual bricks that were all the same size, we found as long as the sand base (over concrete slab) was at least 1.5”, the inconsistencies would level out when doing the polymeric sand.
The only downside to being this off level procompaction stage, is in order to level the 2 together ether the low block will not have as well compacted as a base, or the base sand under the high block will ride partially up the joint between high and low block. This will leave a shallow joint that won’t give enough depth for the polymer sand. Might not be an issue until years down the road when want to pressure wash.
I would wait to see final product and judge then.
Horrible job, I’d be finding out what steps they took to build their base and why it isn’t level. Shouldn’t have any shadows
Grab Polly sand , a tamp (covered with sweat shirt to not break the pavers) and a broom (to spread poly sand) this should fix it if the base layer was made correctly in my honest opinion it looks 95% complete just needs final touches if u have any questions I was a mason for 8 years lmk
Not acceptable. Does your homeowners’ insurance have a high limit for people who get hurt at your house? 😳
What do you think will happen if you try to sell your house with that situation?
It is possible that the installers will level it before the sand, without you saying a word. Just in case, put a big “X” over it with blue painter’s tape. 😁
Some of the joints are twice as wide as others, and there are a few long, continuous joints. Why are there skinny pieces only in the middle? One is a wedge. Granted, once the polymeric sand is done, it won’t be noticeable.
I’m sure the lighting really accentuates it but it’s pretty bad.
Don't let them pour the polymetric sand yet.
Not Good at all. Ask them to fix that before sand. Not acceptable if you hired someone to do that
This looks like it has just been laid out for fit vs set. Note nothing between stone slabs
Completely unacceptable. This needs to be redone
That's a tripping Baxter hazard, and definitely not normal. Hard to believe they left it like this unless they know a trick with with a compactor I don't know.
Yeah those aren’t flat there bud
Looks like they didn't run a compactor the pavers.
It’s good if you want to stay agile. You have lots of practice catching yourself after nearly tripping.
I tripped over just looking at it.
That's bad, my first summer doing patios knowing absolutely nothing I wouldn't produce something like this. Unacceptable. Don't pay, do anything besides accept that. If you watched a YouTube video on how to do this, you could do 1000% better than what they did.
He's got lines running for miles!! I've only been doing this shit for 2 years and could kay better than that, plus I would've can with softer warmer lights myself.
If you step on the wrong tile, it triggers a trap door below.
I stubbed my pinky toe looking at this
Oh geez… I’m getting this installed at my house currently. I didn’t think I’d have something to be concerned about once they are finished. This isn’t good.
Drop a straight edge on it
Tripping hazard
Maybe it is an Art Installation? I mean it’s 3D …
If they are not flat and someone trips on them not being level you will most likely have law suit.no shit job must have been done by blind Freddy
Pattern looks horrible and uneven
👀
Wtf kinda pattern is this? I think your contractors employees are on drugs.
🤢🤢🤢🤢
Oh no…..
Warranty??????????
Most company’s warranty their work for a year or more this is insanity
Oh my god the lines aren’t even straight
This isn’t even amateur this is some idiot who has no idea what’s going on..
I’m sorry this has happened but this is absolutely incomplete work…
Call a lawyer this makes Me so angry I’m a Licensed landscaper in Canada and I can’t get over it
Lots of toe stubbers there
Terrible
Is it bad? It looks like shit from here.
Suckers this photoshop bait.
Wooooow! I ‘screen-shotted’ this because it’s amazingly terrible.
This is going to be a TON of work to fix. DO NOT LET THEM POUR THE SAND! It’ll just harden everything and make things worse.
They can save the pavers and just need to rip it all out NOW and focus on that sub base. I’m not even a pro and I can’t even do something this poorly done.
Inception?
Grandma is NOT invited over
absolutely brutal job whats with all the sliver pieces and no amount of tamping will make this right rip it up and get someone to reinstall that knows what the hell they are doing
One stubbed toe, and someone is getting new teeth and a nose job from the fall!
You have too many running lines, so many small slivers they cut to fit in there and by all the hight variances, it’s definitely not level and probably not pitched correctly away from the dwelling.
I would 100% not pay him until he fixes it. If he puts sand in it now, it’ll forever look terrible. - I sell hardscape supplies for a living.
You obviously have a 3 piece design paver system. The cut pieces should always be on the edges of the patio. Not in the middle.
You got hosed rule 1 no 4 corners Rule 2 no super small pieces Rule 3 48 to 56 inch lines max Rule 4 no multiple use of the same stone right next to the same style stone don’t care if that’s the pattern from the factory looks awful Rule 5 use an 8-10 ft level on fixxed points to stop the multilevel flat surface
This patio is only a set up from home owner skill level 20 years + skill level my boss would fire me on the spot if he showed up to a patio that looked like this
It looks like one of those things, if you step on the wrong tile, it just falls apart, and there's spikes under.
Anything you walk on should be flat. Unless it's stairs.
It looks like one of those things, if you step on the wrong tile, it just falls apart, and there's spikes under.
Anything you walk on should be flat. Unless it's stairs.
Damn that is talent on another level , this individual shouldn’t be in this business at all
This is the worst un even patio I ever seen … tell the contractor to redo it
This is the worst un even patio I ever seen … tell the contractor to redo it
A million little tripping hazards?
Built paver patios for a while. No, this isn’t okay. Even if they run a compactor over that, I HIGHLY doubt it’ll be level.
A million little tripping hazards?
Built paver patios for a while. No, this isn’t okay. Even if they run a compactor over that, I HIGHLY doubt it’ll be level.
This is a huge trip hazard.
Installed by Fentanyl & Sons
I thought the upside down wheel barrow was a person in an orange sweatshirt squatting to get in the shot.
This is actually dangerous. Most people assume a floor or patio is level. People will get hurt walking on this. There is absolutely no way this is acceptable. If they are set in sand or crushed stone it is fixable, if it is cemented it all needs to come up.
Pretend that’s tile in your house..would you consider it bad?
This is absolutely the wrong way to do things. The cuts should never be through the center of the patio. It looks like they laid the patio from the outside and met in the middle. There are reasons this isn't done. The first is that the cuts are placed in a focal point. It's best to sort of his them out of line of sight. The other is that the seams aren't lining up across the patio. This makes for a very sloppy look. It also leaves very weird gaps in the other axis point as you can see in the picture. He's just filling it with sand as calling it good enough.
On top of that, the pavers are meant to be flat. I'm betting this guy is hoping that they flatten out when he puts the poly sand in and runs a tamper across the top. It will help, but your patio surface will have waves in it.
I would bet my left nut that this guy is self-taught has never worked under another hardscaper or mason in his life. He should absolutely fix this because it is wrong but I don't know that he can.
Yeah that's shit work. I do it for a living and wouldn't dream of putting a patio in like this. That won't even out with a compactor like some have said
I see stubbed toes and hear curse words from the future
No good operator
Is it possible he was just laying them out to test the design?
It’s very bad.
To start, even if it was leveled it’s still very bad. Nothing is square. 3 piece pattern is wrong. Slivers cut into the main field of the pavers!? There’s so much wrong.
As a professional I am so scared of what the site prep and base was. You need to vault construction while you seriously consider cutting your losses. Depending on what pavers you’re using and who they get there product from you could get some help fighting this from the manufacturer or supplier.
Wait and see until it is done. It is not a great projects. But finishing with a rolling compactor could fix all the problems
What cold hardiness zone are you in. If you are in midwest or north east I would be more concerned. But in south I would be less concerned
Sometimes before poly sand we use a rubber mat tamper and it compacts everything together but if contractor doesn’t plan to do any of that then you should ask them to re lay the uneven area. Shouldn’t have dropped that much that quickly, do you know what material they used under patio? Gravel or sand?
Nice steps
It's definitely not art though?
Hahahah this is awful how do you need validation for this
Horrific
They should be flush with one another any raised edge is a trip hazard
They didn’t achieve proper compaction ratio before installing pavers
Nah, it's perfe trip
It does not look complete. I am assuming it will be adjusted and swept in?
I feel a toe stubbing contest in the future.
hello Mr. George...
I actually kind of like it, from an art-deco sort of perspective 🤔
User deleted comment
15d
Its fine if you like
Tripping and breaking your arms
And wrists constantly
- t20six
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Needs tamped possibly. Are they done?
It is the lighting.
Thank GOD you have this low-angle lighting to expose what a shit show this is. As if the little filler strip pieces weren’t enough.
Beyond bad
It is bad. Also looks like there is a depression in the middle.
So many questions.
Biggest yikes is all the sliver cuts that aren’t straight at all… WHY
Did you have MC Escher do it?
Ask your level
Brother don’t wear flip flops your gunna end up breaking a toe not to mention the dangerous trip hazard that might result in a broke neck. It’s a fucking stair case ffs. What a cowboy
Awful
So many things wrong.
B A D they didn’t compact the ground or something like that
Have they sanded and tampered yet?
I tripped just looking at this.
Wedges down the middle of a pattern is bullshit
If you did it yourself, i think it looks wonderful, but if you paid more than a case of beer, then I would ask for my money back
that's a tripping hazard. they better be fixing that shit before the sand is poored or they don't get the remainder of payment. get some more photos in case you have to sue them to fix it.
They look like lego tiles that never seem to get even
General contractor here; absolutely would not pay that invoice until it is was all taken out and reinstalled correctly. Unless you specifically wanted that it’s unacceptable. Some cobblestone type hardscapes are expected to have variations as that’s part of the character and they have softened edges to avoid them becoming a tripping hazards but not this. Thats rectified manufactured stone and is never intended to look like that
With those raking lights there, you will need a floor that is flat as glass. If that's not bad enough to walk on, reconsider the lights. Or, fix/change the flooring.
It’s bad. No ifs ands or buts about it. Hope they have at least 1 competent employee to redo this correctly.
Has a bobcat but no spirit level?
What's going on with the pattern at the center of the photo? Wedges? Is the pattern not orthogonal/squared up?? I wouldn't pay them.
Hell no man this is really bad. That middle with the random uneven slivers of pavers is ridiculous
If one tile creates a shadow on another tile, that's probably not a good sign.