[bob123]

I just had a patio installed about 4 days ago and the guy used concrete edging instead of plastic. The concrete has already began to crack and the pavers near the edges have come loose.

My question is if it is to late to replace this concrete with plastic edging. If i do use the plastic edging will i be able to avoid having to rent a tamper to recompact the patio once the edging is in place, since he already compacted the patio and its only been 4 days.

Also if i replace the concrete with plastic edging i will need to extend the base material out a few inches and compact that in order to have a solid base to drive the spikes in. Is a power tamper necessary or can i use a hand tamper to compact the base. Thanks.

[Raj Venugopal]

what happened to the contractor?
is he off your hook?

[Doug70]

Have your contractor use plastic edging secured into a properly compacted base or build a proper curb. Powered compactor is necessary for paver bases including the edge restraint areas.

Now ask us some questions about consumer protection law, contracts, warranties, business licensing, liability and workers' compensation insurance. Why should you, I and board members be fixing your patio instead of fixing your contractor?

[bob123]

thanks for the reply. He doesn't return my phone calls and for about $150 (what it cost me for plastic edging and spikes) it wasn't worth going after i just wanted it fixed before it got worse. Other than the edging the guy did a great job and at a good price $3.70 sq foot plus cost of pavers. I used a hand tamper and sweeping sand and it still seems a little loose around the edge but i assume if i keep adding a little sand every time it settles it will be good.