To be annoyed that my new garden isn’t flat?

[CatchingBabies]

In the process of buying a new build, all the site plans, street view diagrams, promotional photos and artist drawings of how it will look ALL show the rear garden being flat. Never has it been mentioned that the garden will not be flat.

It’s finally almost finished and we went to have a look, the rear garden has a significant incline and is fenced on an angle to accommodate this. Even worse is that it doesn’t slope down or away from the house like I’ve seen most sloped gardens but it slopes from right to left so the left side of the fence is higher than the right and the back fence goes up at an angle. They have installed the patio on this slope meaning that I have a patio that is basically a ramp from one side of the house to another and couldn’t actually be used for garden furniture as it’s too steep a slope.

Looking into next doors garden there’s slopes back down the opposite way, the front of the house on the street is flat so it isn’t like it’s a house on a hill where there is no choice. I don’t understand why they have done this and it means the garden isn’t usable as I imagined. They say it’s too late to change and they never said the garden would be flat, they never said it wouldn’t be either however.

AIBU to be making a fuss over this and saying it needs solving?

i need to see a picture of this patio ramp please.

That's annoying - definitely push for it to be changed.

They never said it would be flat but do the drawings hold any sway at all? Or have they got some kind of artists impession small print? I’d be pissed off too.

We bought a new build, been there a year. During the reservation process the sales advisor showed us numerous plans including one that showed the gradient of the back garden.

I’m trying to think of what the official name she referred to it as but it was done on a sort of ratio. They were very clear about the plots that would have slipped gardens.

Maybe ask to see these if they are available?

Obviously I mean sloped not slipped. They were technical drawings and not just artist impressions or promotional material

It can be leveled, they just don't want to pay for it.

I know zero about property law but I would be working on the assumption that a garden is flat unless told otherwise. If the photos and drawings show it being flat then surely you would have a good case against them to rectify it?

I’d be annoyed too. A patio is an odd thing to put on an obvious slope, at least decking would be easier to level. Don’t imagine you get decking in new builds though?

I think you may need specialist advice from someone who can go through your documents. Keep it an open dispute/complaint until you’ve done that.

Kick up a fuss - we were showed that ours had a gradient and given the rough size.

Go on Twitter/FB go crazy!

Patios are supposed to be laid horizontal, with a very small incline down away from buildings for drainage and to allow for run-off. You don't put one on a slope, that's idiotic.

They need to put that right.

I wouldn't accept this. A slight slope in the lawn I'd take on the chin but a patio sloping as you describe isn't acceptable. Assuming it's a national builder tell the area manager to sort it otherwise you'll escalate up the company. The big builders do things cheaply to a poor standard knowing that a lot if people won't complain.

That sounds bizarre if it's not on a natural hill.

I didn’t take photos at the time as my phone battery had gone but it’s similar to this photo, if you look at the brick patio at the front of the photo that’s how mine has been laid. I’ve said I want it flattened and she said it’s unlikely to be able to be but she’ll get back to me about it. They are closed until tomorrow so hoping for good news then.

Have I understood it correctly that your garden and next doors are similar to a pitched roof with the fence along the ridge?

No I wouldn't be happy with that, especially as it sounds as though it is possible to level it. Go back to your solicitor and the description given for the garden.

That’s the diagram I was given when I ordered and paid for the extra patio stones, nothing to indicate it would be sloped.

Exactly Bella so my back fence goes like / and there goes like \ just not as steep as that obviously.

I should say next door isn’t sold yet so it isn’t the owners of that house stopping it being corrected.

That is ridiculous and I would definitely kick up a fuss about that.

The example in your picture would only be acceptable if the paved area were a driveway or some sort of access to the property.

God that's awful Op. I moved into a new build last year and unfortunately the missives are all heavily in favour of the builders and even if plans do change the ball is in their court. In our case we have a steep incline which we knew about but they changed the plans from it being terraced with steps in the middle to nothing (obviously not wanting to spend the extra money). We lost 1m at the bottom of our garden too (so 10m from the whole garden). At the end of the day, we wanted the house despite these changes. Ours was the only one left on the estate of this style so we didn't have a lot of bargaining power but did get them to throw in some of our extras for free and it ended up costing us a lot to get someone in to landscape it afterwards. I know my neighbour who was in a similar position managed to negotiate a reduction in his sale price of a few thousand pounds in compensation as there were several of his houses left so he was in a better position to bargain/threaten them with a loss of sale. What does your lawyer say?

Contact Trading Standards and ask them what they think.

I've never heard of a sloping patio before.

A patio has to be flat! Not much use otherwise.

Trading standards seems a good idea. And your lawyer.

If you're in the process of buying, I'd stick to my guns on this one and say you won't be buying if it's not sorted. Not reasonable!

It seems so odd to slope a patio! How does that even work, why not just make one end higher which would presumably have been easier than laying slabs up a hill. The mind boggles

I bet they also haven't told you that under a couple of inches of top soil you will likely find several inches of building rubble. Good luck getting rid of that. My friend is still digging it out of her garden several years after she moved in. I wouldn't accept a slanting patio either, its ridiculous.

They need to fix it as it’s not fit for purpose!