Grass starting to grow through travertine where sand is between tiles. Also, multiple travertine tiles sinking at the corners causing lips.

[jsradcliffe]

Have you contacted the contractor who did this work?

Yes. We have contacted them. Waiting for them to come out and take a look at it.

 

[jsradcliffe]

very nice choice on the travertine. we are going with the same thing. sorry for your issues.

how much did they compact the ground?

I don't believe the compacted the ground at all. All I saw here was them dump some kind of tan gravel and then there was sand on top of it.

 

[jsradcliffe]

I have silver travertine placed over concrete and do not have any issues, it has been installed for about 8 months. My neighbor who has rainbow over a crushed base for the same period has had people out 4 times to reset and I live in an area with hard clay.

Did they run into any ground water during the dig for the pool? just curious.

Any issue you have that is not up to your standards should be corrected. Especially if it is visible to your eye and to others that dont look at it every day. You will have to push the builder to correct it. One more question, what is the warranty on your pavers, some builders offer 1 year and even suggest they will come out after the ground has more time to settle and complete a reset. The bigger concern to me is the cracking at the corners where the tile needs to be fully replaced.

Are there any extra tiles that that have left for you to complete repairs with?

They ran into none, to be honest. They were expecting a good bit but were surprised to see none.

 

[jsradcliffe]

A few more photos. One does show the compactor, I believe.A few more photos and what looks to be a compactor

 

[DJFaninTN]

if it's failing this early on, imagine what you're going to run into in the next few years.

if it were me I'd have the installer back over and see what he has to say. would he accept this kind of work at his own house??

 

[jsradcliffe]

if it's failing this early on, imagine what you're going to run into in the next few years.

if it were me I'd have the installer back over and see what he has to say. would he accept this kind of work at his own house??

Great idea! I am still waiting for them to come back to address my concerns. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Rich D]

Correction to my previous post.

After looking at pics on the big screen..... I do see a small plate compactor (good for compacting 2-4") and it does appear that the installer used a course gravel first then set the the pavers on a thin sand bed which is the industry standard for most paver installs that do not use a concrete slab. To clarify the "gardening cloth" aka "filter fabric", some installers use this under the sand bed to keep the sand from migrating into the gravel layer below and it helps to hold sand in on the edges because they bring it up and over the spiked in paver edging. It is not for weed prevention. If you had organic matter that close to the bottom of your pavers then you would have far more issues than weeds. The gravel in the pics appears to be a crushed stone type crush r run which typically compacts very tight and will not allow the sand to migrate (this of course is dependant on moisture content when compacting) so if proper compaction methods were used then the fabric really would not be necessary .

With that said I think madtv's post says it all. Using a concrete slab is not a requirement but the plain simple fact is dirt moves. So using the slab simply adds stability to end result.

 

[jsradcliffe]

Correction to my previous post.

After looking at pics on the big screen..... I do see a small plate compactor (good for compacting 2-4") and it does appear that the installer used a course gravel first then set the the pavers on a thin sand bed which is the industry standard for most paver installs that do not use a concrete slab. To clarify the "gardening cloth" aka "filter fabric", some installers use this under the sand bed to keep the sand from migrating into the gravel layer below and it helps to hold sand in on the edges because they bring it up and over the spiked in paver edging. It is not for weed prevention. If you had organic matter that close to the bottom of your pavers then you would have far more issues than weeds. The gravel in the pics appears to be a crushed stone type crush r run which typically compacts very tight and will not allow the sand to migrate (this of course is dependant on moisture content when compacting) so if proper compaction methods were used then the fabric really would not be necessary .

With that said I think madtv's post says it all. Using a concrete slab is not a requirement but the plain simple fact is dirt moves. So using the slab simply adds stability to end result.

Thank you, Rich. I get it. I believe I am going to ask the installers to level all the tiles that have dropped and use a sand/conrete mixture as the grout so that it won't wash away and will hopefully keep the grass or weeds from growing through the grout. What are your thoughts on this? Thanks again!

 

[Rich D]

Thank you, Rich. I get it. I believe I am going to ask the installers to level all the tiles that have dropped and use a sand/conrete mixture as the grout so that it won't wash away and will hopefully keep the grass or weeds from growing through the grout. What are your thoughts on this? Thanks again!

Definitely keep having them come back as many times as it takes to get it looking as you would expect. My assumption is that the PB has not done enough of these patios to figure out he should simply explain up front the installation options and prices as well as the possible outcome with the different options.

I personally prefer the polymeric sand for grouting. It has more of a flexible finish then the sand/ concrete mix and is more uniform to get more into the tight joints as well as not relying on a unknown person to do the mixing.

 

[jsradcliffe]

Definitely keep having them come back as many times as it takes to get it looking as you would expect. My assumption is that the PB has not done enough of these patios to figure out he should simply explain up front the installation options and prices as well as the possible outcome with the different options.

I personally prefer the polymeric sand for grouting. It has more of a flexible finish then the sand/ concrete mix and is more uniform to get more into the tight joints as well as not relying on a unknown person to do the mixing.

Thanks, Rich. I will definitely do as you suggested. The pool builder did none of explaining you just did about the process and what to expect afterward. I will also ask about the polymeric sand for grouting. I'll keep you posted as to how it goes. Thanks a million for your professional advice and opinion.

 

[jsradcliffe]

So, here is the response from the pool builder in regards to the grass growing through the travertine.

In regards to the growth, that is normal with a paver deck. I have the same and occasionally use round up to stop it from growing.

Is he right? I find it hard to believe. Thank you for your input.

 

[jsradcliffe]

Definitely keep having them come back as many times as it takes to get it looking as you would expect. My assumption is that the PB has not done enough of these patios to figure out he should simply explain up front the installation options and prices as well as the possible outcome with the different options.

I personally prefer the polymeric sand for grouting. It has more of a flexible finish then the sand/ concrete mix and is more uniform to get more into the tight joints as well as not relying on a unknown person to do the mixing.

So, here is the response from the pool builder in regards to the grass growing through the travertine.

In regards to the growth, that is normal with a paver deck. I have the same and occasionally use round up to stop it from growing.

Is he right? I find it hard to believe. Thank you for your input.

 

[ajw22]

So, here is the response from the pool builder in regards to the grass growing through the travertine.

In regards to the growth, that is normal with a paver deck. I have the same and occasionally use round up to stop it from growing.

Is he right? I find it hard to believe. Thank you for your input.

He is sort of correct. It is impossible to keep stuff from taking root and growing in sand or dirt on a deck. That is the least of your problems.

 

[DJFaninTN]

he is correct but you can pick Round Up 365 and not have to deal with it so much. I'd just hit the joints.

I sprayed the ground with it before they will be installing our travertine but let's be honest, grass, weeds or whatever only needs just a few grains of sand to take root and I am overly blessed with sand here.

 

[duraleigh]

I have not read this whole thread......

For the grass.....Roundup - easy peasey

There is no grout, sanded or unsanded, used when installing pavers.