Page 2 | Quote for paving slabs

SpunkyPombear · 2025-08-07T14:34:16+00:00

Ive been quoted £3600-£6500 for paving slabs in my back garden. The higher quotes were for a different type but I don't think it would have bumped it up that much. Council pavers v Indian stone. How on earth do you choose? The in the middle quite at £5600 isn't getting back with a date. The £3600 (would cost £4k with my preferred black paving type paving) seemed ok. English guy, 40s, a couple of good reviews on Facebook - but can't find much else. Thoughts? It's 35 m square. Will require leveling of.

TheStateofRoads · 08/08/2025 09:43

If it's just grass you should expect good foundations which means removing soil so it's not above your damp proof course.
The cost of skips is expensive, grab removal has a cost too.

Are the quotes detailed on the base material depth?

Original poster

SpunkyPombear · 08/08/2025 09:50

GRex · 08/08/2025 09:31

Not correct, you have the same recourse from the retailer as buying any other goods, plus save paying the tradesman the 20% or so sourcing and handling cost. I am suggesting that you consider what materials you want used in your own garden, you can still pay the tradesman extra to buy them if you prefer, but it seems wild to me not to even look at what the actual options are before they are paid for and cemented into your garden. I'm not sure why it's making you aggressive to be honest, so I'll leave you to it.

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Errrr if you have issues with the pavers your contractor has laid than you only have recourse with the contractor for the work he's done, not materials he's laid.

Therefore make the contractor responsible for all the items and provide everything.

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Original poster

SpunkyPombear · 08/08/2025 09:50

TheStateofRoads · 08/08/2025 09:43

If it's just grass you should expect good foundations which means removing soil so it's not above your damp proof course.
The cost of skips is expensive, grab removal has a cost too.

Are the quotes detailed on the base material depth?

It's not grass

OP posts:

Original poster

SpunkyPombear · 08/08/2025 09:52

Concrete slabs aren't £15 square meter, more like £30

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Original poster

SpunkyPombear · 08/08/2025 09:53

GRex · 08/08/2025 09:31

Not correct, you have the same recourse from the retailer as buying any other goods, plus save paying the tradesman the 20% or so sourcing and handling cost. I am suggesting that you consider what materials you want used in your own garden, you can still pay the tradesman extra to buy them if you prefer, but it seems wild to me not to even look at what the actual options are before they are paid for and cemented into your garden. I'm not sure why it's making you aggressive to be honest, so I'll leave you to it.

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You make a lot of assumptions and it's the cost of doing business. Like going to a restaurant and providing your own steak and being annoyed when they say no or that you claim you should be getting everything at cost.

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TheStateofRoads · 08/08/2025 10:09

SpunkyPombear · 08/08/2025 09:50

It's not grass

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Soil? Concrete? Old paving slabs (Don't let them bin them offer them to the local Facebook group. Someone will have them. )

It'll all need removing and proper foundation layers putting in place.

Original poster

SpunkyPombear · 08/08/2025 10:20

TheStateofRoads · 08/08/2025 10:09

Soil? Concrete? Old paving slabs (Don't let them bin them offer them to the local Facebook group. Someone will have them. )

It'll all need removing and proper foundation layers putting in place.

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The area is already cleared.

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TheStateofRoads · 08/08/2025 10:23

SpunkyPombear · 08/08/2025 10:20

The area is already cleared.

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prepared to the right depth and with suitable layers of materials and weed membranes?

Original poster

SpunkyPombear · 08/08/2025 10:24

TheStateofRoads · 08/08/2025 10:23

prepared to the right depth and with suitable layers of materials and weed membranes?

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You are making things up. Stop confusing yourself.

The ground will need preparing. I don't need to worry about the disposal of the old slabs

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CheshireDing · 08/08/2025 10:50

Sorry I didn't word mine very well (typo) I meant you can get council pavers in yellow and white (people usually lay them alternating) or pink and white (alternating), or obviously just all white. Either way it will look nowhere near as nice and expensive as the Indian Stone, although the council pavers would be quicker to lay if your Indian Stone are different sizes.

Just bear in mind whether it may be slippy in the winter too, our back garden is north facing so we have to have a tile with a rough surface, if we have porcelain and smooth it would be slippy in the rain and with moss etc on it. When we moved in there was decking and it was lethal !

Original poster

SpunkyPombear · 08/08/2025 10:51

CheshireDing · 08/08/2025 10:50

Sorry I didn't word mine very well (typo) I meant you can get council pavers in yellow and white (people usually lay them alternating) or pink and white (alternating), or obviously just all white. Either way it will look nowhere near as nice and expensive as the Indian Stone, although the council pavers would be quicker to lay if your Indian Stone are different sizes.

Just bear in mind whether it may be slippy in the winter too, our back garden is north facing so we have to have a tile with a rough surface, if we have porcelain and smooth it would be slippy in the rain and with moss etc on it. When we moved in there was decking and it was lethal !

Than they aren't council pavers. The council pavers are always grey and a certain thickness.

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Original poster

SpunkyPombear · 08/08/2025 11:06

CheshireDing · 08/08/2025 10:50

Sorry I didn't word mine very well (typo) I meant you can get council pavers in yellow and white (people usually lay them alternating) or pink and white (alternating), or obviously just all white. Either way it will look nowhere near as nice and expensive as the Indian Stone, although the council pavers would be quicker to lay if your Indian Stone are different sizes.

Just bear in mind whether it may be slippy in the winter too, our back garden is north facing so we have to have a tile with a rough surface, if we have porcelain and smooth it would be slippy in the rain and with moss etc on it. When we moved in there was decking and it was lethal !

Porcelain is supposed to be used in wet surfaces and has a slip rating

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Orders76 · 08/08/2025 23:51

Ok, my low price quote was getting the materials myself and laying in a pre existing concrete substrate.
As long as you order materials on credit card you have recourse if they fail, and still some guarantee if not credit.
If you ask the contractor to order they will always markup and why shouldn't they for their own time, understanding you and ordering/ risk.

Original poster

SpunkyPombear · 09/08/2025 10:25

Orders76 · 08/08/2025 23:51

Ok, my low price quote was getting the materials myself and laying in a pre existing concrete substrate.
As long as you order materials on credit card you have recourse if they fail, and still some guarantee if not credit.
If you ask the contractor to order they will always markup and why shouldn't they for their own time, understanding you and ordering/ risk.

That's not how it works. Any issues with the materials are one and I wouldn't have recourse with the person fitting it, so what's the point, there is none. Let him supply everything and you have fullr recourse for the whole job

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Roseblooms7 · 09/08/2025 10:26

Lemonadeat8 · 08/08/2025 09:01

My friend has his own landscaping business and paving can cost his customers thousands!

Hope he is English though!

Original poster

SpunkyPombear · 09/08/2025 10:59

Roseblooms7 · 09/08/2025 10:26

Hope he is English though!

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Haha I don't know why I wrote that, but he is local

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lisatucker29 · 02/04/2026 06:43

I had a very similar experience last year when we got our back garden done. Ended up getting three quotes and the prices varied wildly too. The cheapest one seemed decent but I was nervous about the quality and whether they'd do a proper job on the levelling.

In the end we went with a proper paving company in West London and they helped a lot with our Garden Paving.

ThatMintLeader · 20/09/2026 17:15

Honestly, that price range makes sense once you factor in the material difference. Council pavers (concrete) and Indian stone are worlds apart in cost per m², so the £3600 vs £6500 gap isn't unusual, especially with 35m² and levelling work involved.

A few thoughts:

The £5600 quote going quiet is a red flag in itself. If a contractor can't be bothered to confirm a date after quoting, that's often a sign of how communication will go once they've got your deposit.
On the £3600/£4k guy: a couple of good reviews is a start, but with a job this size (35m² plus levelling), I'd want to see more. Ask for photos of recent, similar-sized jobs, and ideally an address or two you could drive past. Also worth asking if he's insured and whether the quote includes muck-away/disposal of soil from levelling, that's often where "cheap" quotes get topped up later.
Get a written quote breakdown (materials, labour, sub-base/levelling, edging, disposal) rather than just a total figure. Levelling a 35m² garden can vary a lot depending on how uneven it currently is, so make sure that's clearly scoped, not an "if needed" add-on.

I had a similar situation a while back and ended up going with a paving contractor in Enfield who'd done a mate's driveway, glad I got a proper breakdown first as the levelling turned into a bigger job than expected. Might be worth getting one more quote just so you've got a fair comparison before deciding.

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