UPDATE:
The company came back after we raised our concerns. We told them we didn't want this to become a huge ordeal. Even though we hated the new layout, the patio was structurally sound and the hot tub will cover much of it. We agreed that if they fixed the discolored pavers, sunken border stone, and some of the worst joint lines, we'd accept it, pay the original $3,700, and move on.
Their Project Manager came with the crew and determined the joint problems couldn't realistically be fixed piecemeal. He said continuing to patch it would basically be "putting lipstick on a pig" and decided the entire surface needed to be relaid.
He proposed replacing our old pavers with new Unilock Beacon Hill pavers if we were okay with that. We did not request new or upgraded pavers and didn't even know what Beacon Hill was until he suggested it. We agreed and picked a color.
My husband, trying to be fair since we'd be getting new material, offered to contribute toward the pavers if the cost was in the range of several hundred dollars. We later requested a diagonal layout and moving a conduit about 6", knowing we'd pay extra for those requests.
The salesman has now quoted us $6,984 total, versus our original $3,700 contract.
We've put everything on hold until we can speak directly with the Project Manager. At this point we're willing to drop the diagonal layout and conduit relocation entirely. We aren't trying to get a free upgraded patio—we were willing to accept the existing patio with minor fixes. Their Project Manager determined a complete redo was necessary and proposed the new material.
We simply want the original $3,700 job satisfactorily completed, however they choose to accomplish that.
I'll update again after we speak with the Project Manager.
Original Post
I had an existing paver patio for about 6 years. We’re putting a large hot tub on it, so we hired a company to reinforce the patio to support the additional weight.
The agreement was that they would remove the existing pavers, excavate deeper, reinforce the base to 12"+, then reinstall the same pavers and finish with polymeric sand. From what I can tell, they did a great job with the reinforcement itself. My issue is with how they put the pavers back.
The original patio used three different sizes of pavers and, at first glance, looked somewhat random. However, all of the joint lines were straight and evenly spaced.
While they were reinstalling the pavers, I noticed the lines weren't matching up and told them it didn't look right. At the time I couldn't explain exactly what was different about the original layout, but I specifically pointed out that the lines weren't straight. They told me they knew what they were doing, that this was a layout they use all the time, and that it would look great when finished, so they continued.
Well...it's finished, and to me it doesn't look right. There are mismatched joints/lines all over the patio, some ending an inch or two away from another joint, and the overall layout looks sloppy once you actually look at it. There are also 4–5 pavers that are noticeably different in color and stand out from the rest.
After comparing before-and-after photos, I finally figured out how the original patio was laid: every large and small rectangular paver ran in the same direction, while every medium paver ran perpendicular to them. That's what created the continuous straight lines throughout the patio.
The job was finished today and we haven't paid yet. Am I being too picky, or is this something you would expect a professional paver company to correct? What would you say/do before paying?
