If I am honest
If I am honest, this was an awful situation, which has costed us in excess of £10,000. We placed an order with We Like Stone of £2500 worth of sandstone. They held this sandstone for a number of weeks, until we could take delivery. Once the sandstone was delivered, my landscapers arrived to start the work. The landscapers confirmed that the sandstone was exceptionally poor quality, with the final crate (£500 worth), being completely cracked. But because it was past the 14 days, We Like Stone refused to do anything. We ordered 5 crates, by the 5th crate the landscapers had already been working for 2 weeks. This was the first issue.
The sandstone was incredibly poor, I pulled one slab out the crate, and this cracked on me, just pulling it out gently. This is how brittle the slabs were. However, with credit attributed to landscapers, they managed to work with it. However, we were a few slabs short which we then had to place another order, but this order came completely cracked on the pallet. We Like Stone did collect this and redeliver a new pack. The landscapers managed to then finish the garden.
8 weeks later,
The sandstone is now pitting, with holes appearing in the slabs, this has happened to 7 slabs so far. I have taken the issue to We Like Stone, who initially stated this was normal for sandstone. However, upon 4 landscapers checking the stone, they have confirmed that this is because the sandstone is of poor quality. We Like Stone have offered £200 plus 7 slabs to address the issue. However, replacing the 7 slabs would cost £700, and actually the landscapers said it’s going to be a continued problem throughout the stones life course. Mark from We Like Stone continually stated that it’s normal and natural! However, he is the only one to say that. If we could afford it, we would get new slabs for all of the garden. The sandstone looks like it’s 5 odd years old, when it was laid 6 weeks ago.
I would consider long and hard when choosing the supplier, as this has been an awful experience for us which will have costed us dearly. Visa will step in, they will likely force a refund, however, it is unlikely we are going to be able to afford to relay new slabs. This is a costly awful situation. We Like Stone are clearly very small so can’t sort big problems out, they also refused to consult with their insurers, or survey the slabs for their own records.