How to politely tell the builder that the new patio isn't level

[Queenie8]

Hi, we're currently having our garden completely redone. Our builders are very hit and miss with turning up to do some work - that's a whole other thread!

Part of the patio was laid on Friday, it's fairly sloped, one end of the garden is approx 2ft higher than the other end.

The patio section that has been laid slopes down towards the middle of the garden, which we always knew, but the slabs don't slope evenly.... Please help me to calmly tell the builder my concern?

Can the slabs be lifted without breaking? We've had black limestone tiles laid.

How has he laid them? Mucked in? If so, then probably not. If it’s just on whacked sand with cement dust then probably can, but it’s a pain. How big are your slabs?

hidden it's approx 30sqm, patio packs, biggest tiles are 600 x 600, smallest 200 x 200, various sizes in between.

It's been mucked in.....

Theres another 55sqm to be laid 😢

Well if he’s fucked up hes fucked up. No point paying the bloke for a job you aren’t happy with. If he was mucking then in then has absolutely no excuse for not making them level (although they should have a slight fall to make the water run the appropriate direction). If he’s putting slabs on a bed of muck then he should have had a line in to guide him and it’s easy to use a rubber mallet to make it lay the way you want.

You’ll have to explain calmly your concerns and ask him to rectify it- it’s his problem (unless it’s a day-rate job). You’ve still got to pay him so he needs to do a job you’re happy with. If you’re not happy you don’t pay.

hidden my builder has subbed the patio laying. The bloke who laid it did use a spirit level and soft mallet, but no line. It has a patch in the middle that is like a divot.

I've paid him 2/3rds of the quote so far, and he's asking for another 6th, which I've not paid, nor intend to yet. But we paid for the slabs......

I guess tomorrow is going to be a firm but tough and polite conversation

Well happily then you can simply tell the builder your not happy with it and it’s up to him to have the awkward conversation with the patio layer. Good luck! Confrontation sucks.

Thank you for your advice Hidden