Builder has said that the diagonal cut in this paving slab is necessary to make it sit level with the other slabs and bricks at front.
Is it possible to level the concrete properly in the middle so that this sits perfectly without a diagonal cut?
by persiancatclaws
37 Comments
Tell me how you level a concrete brick to another concrete brick when the ground isn’t level underneath. I’m not a professional but it seems impossible without ensuring the entire area is level when it’s being done.
without pulling up at-least the brick and possibly the other slab it’s going to be what it is. If this is all new work done by the same contractor that’s a different story.
Builder is correct
The brick is not level with the paving slabs, it slopes downward toward the right. There is no way for a flat square to be level in this situation, you have three level edges and one sloping.
This looks like a clever and aesthetically-pleasing way to have dealt with a potential tripping hazard that wouldn’t have been able to be fixed without grinding that corner down, which would have worked, but not looked nearly as nice and intentional as this.
This is something you should be happy about. Many other contractors would have done a worse job with this situation and you’d be stuck with it.
Looks like they did good work. They’re sloping the paver to match with the brick. Otherwise there’d be a lip to trip over.
Looks like shit, they took the easy way and didn’t prep enough room and dont want or know how to fix. A proper inital grading ensuring all correct slope, full debris and rock removal, fresh soil, probably no fabric. I could do it this way (your builders) for my clients and make more profit, or charge less. Its worth it to do properly.
At this point it is still fixable but now you’re talking money since the works been done. Just possible you could remove only a few, regrade and do better.
So my guess is they leveled it to the otherside and this ide of brick sank more. So only way to have everything at the same height is this or fixing the dip in the bricks
It must suck to be OCD
Builder is right. Builder did a great job too.
To answer your question, yes, you could level the concrete slab they sit on first. But you’d have to level it from one end to another, so that it’s flat and doesn’t slope to either side where it meets the brick part. Otherwise, they’ve done a good job to prevent trip hazards.
The world is usually curved in three dimensions, which builders have been cheating slightly to align with for thousands of years. This is an elegant way to transition to correct grading.
Tell them to rip up the bricks and fix those too, and when they get to the street, completely redo the driveway. That will show them! Lol
As a hardscape pro, I’m constantly surprised by how many contractors have little to no conceptual understanding of proper layout and prep.
Find your fixed points, your run, your elevation change and plot it out. Use math. Use measurements. Tell the client if something can’t be done – before digging. Everything should be sloped or pitched correctly, level as needed, and always away from the building foundation, and meeting flush with fixed points.
All of this can and should be done before the installers start their own prep, layout, and excavation.
Don’t have fancy measurement tools? Use string and math.
The builders here are incorrect. Their solution wasn’t terrible, looks okay, but they are wrong in presenting this as the only option.
Is this all one new install or are the slab pavers being added on after the fact to the bricks? If after the fact the contractor did good. If its all new then they fucked something up and are fixing it their way which you have to decide if you find it acceptable.
You would normally use that block to add handprints or a date to so it looks more like a novelty block more than something to fix elevation.
You may be a bit late to do that though 🤔
Thanks for all of your replies, they’re not going to re-lay the concrete base layer all the way along; I’m not even going to ask.
If it was as simple as just leveling the concrete base layer under that slab I’d do it myself.
I think I’ll just try filling in the gap with something as they have already done.
Everyone here who hasn’t done this before just took note.
They could slope that whole row. But whether that creates another problem or not depends on what’s on the other end of that row
Builder be like 🙄🤨
I don’t think “level” is the right word. “Even”
Even he was wrong, which I don’t think he is, who the hell cares?
Brick porn
I’m guessing the pad that the walkway abuts to is sloping to the right in the image which is why the paver had to be spliced. In other words, the pad that the walkway is meeting is not perfectly level.
That is unacceptable.
Si
Yeah I don’t think anyone but you would give it a second glance.
Doctors says you’ve got a cold…
They’re essentially created a very small hipped roof, good for drainage and good for leveling.
Just get something straight perpendicular to the diagonal cut and you will see how big a trip hazard you would have had
jfc
How big was the lip? If it was marginal you could’ve easily adjusted the patio slightly to avoid this ugly cut. I only would’ve done this if it was absolutely necessary.
I mean, you could try bending one of those tiles….
Well done. Honestly what kind of person would someone need to be to not like that solution.
Op is a micromanager
Damn right people are going to step on the corner.
And the builder is right but it’s funny when ppl trust Reddit more than