Patio Pavers Tumbled Too Much?

[One4uTwo4me]

I just had a $23k patio installed with high quality, tumbled, 4-sized, stone pavers. I love the old look and expected jagged edges but did not expect to have some pavers with such harshly rounded corners. Many (but not all) of the largest pavers have one very round corner that creates a large trianglar-shaped hole and when filled with sand, the gaps can measure up to 2.5" x 1" x 1". Is it possible that pavers can be tumbled too much and should not have passed quality control? I have contacted the manufacturer and they are going to come to the site to take a look. There are probably more than 40 of these large pavers with heavy rounded corners and the total project is just under 1,000 sq ft.. I would like outside opinions as to whether you would consider gaps of this size to be normal and acceptable for tumbled stone pavers.

 

[Greenman]

That's a tough call. When does rustic cross over into defectave?
My hunch is the manufacturer will have a written description or specs on what constitutes tumbled vs defective.

What you're calling "tumbled" we call "seconds" around here. I can buy them cheap direct from the manufacturer.

 

[One4uTwo4me]

Here is a photo of the same product that I found on the manufacturers website. This is what I expected.

 

[Micrornd]

Did you watch them being laid?
How far was the pallet from the patio?
That same type of damage can be caused by a laborer taking them off the pallet and throwing them in a wheelbarrow and then dumping them out by the patio.

 

[One4uTwo4me]

Thank you everyone for your opinions and replies.

I spoke to the Belgard Representative and he said that having spaces this large is normal for the Dublin Cobble and any product that leaves the factory has been inspected to meet specs so that the installers don't have to weed through bad batches. He had no concern that I was extremely unhappy and that the Belgard cataglog and online photos that were presented to me during the sale did not have any square pavers with one corner being considerably rounder than the other 3 corners. He also was not interested in coming out to take a look at my project. It was quiet shocking at his lack of interest in helping an unsatisfied customer. Belgard is suppose to be the highest quality and best in the industry. I even paid more money to get their product over the other brand. Where did I go wrong?

I know, it is difficult to determine what is distressed/old/rustic versus defective. The Belgard description of this product is "Its gently distressed surface and antiqued edges give Dublin Cobble pavers a quiet sophistication.....a casually elegant, timeworn look recalling the hand-laid cobblestone of centuries old Mediterranean villas".

There is still a pallet of pavers on my driveway and a few of them have the same issue so I do not think the pavers were damaged by the installers.

Thank goodness for System Pavers, who installed the project. There are more than willing to replace the problem pavers. They are highly customer satisfaction driven and want me to be 100% happy. My sales guy said that they recently had another customer complain about the same thing and they had to replace the bad pavers. Overall, System Pavers did an excellent job with the installation, especially the mortared edge, and the overall look of the patio is fantastic. I do feel, however, that Belgard should take responsibility for their fair share though so that System Pavers doesn't have to take the entire cost hit.

Thank you in advance for your additional ideas, thoughts and opinions.

 

[BoomerD]

Good to near the contractor was willing to make it right. Not at all surprised that the manufacturer did nothing. Too many possibilities for damage after they leave their control.

 

[Gardener]

I'd say there is a difference between tumbled/distressed versus having an entire corner chipped off, the entire thickness of the paver. This is where you would take a look at the pallet at the yard before ordering and calculate a certain amount of waste, or buy something else. Its also why I never buy tumbled product, just let it weather, those edges soften over time. Glad your contractor fixed it.

 

[Greenman]

Good to near the contractor was willing to make it right. Not at all surprised that the manufacturer did nothing. Too many possibilities for damage after they leave their control.

The contractor charged premium money for the job, and should supply premium service. Even after the repairs, they're turning a profit.