Paving slabs and tiles are heavy construction materials, and occasional breakage can occur during pallet handling and transport. Most orders arrive without significant problems, but small chips or a limited number of damaged pieces are an understood risk when transporting stone and porcelain products.
This guide explains how transport damage is assessed and when a refund, replacement or other resolution may apply.
Why Can Paving Slabs Break During Delivery?
Natural stone paving and porcelain paving are normally transported on heavy pallets through freight, depot and final-delivery networks. Handling at different stages can occasionally result in chipped edges, cracked slabs or breakage.
This does not necessarily indicate poor product quality. Outdoor paving is manufactured to provide an appropriate balance of strength, weight and practicality for its intended use.
How Much Extra Paving Should Be Ordered?
Customers should normally allow around 10%–15% additional material above the measured project area. This allowance covers cutting, fitting, layout selection, natural variation and occasional transport breakage.
Ordering exactly the measured area can create a shortage even where only a small number of slabs need to be cut or cannot be used in prominent positions.
How Is Transport Damage Assessed?
Damage is assessed across the complete order rather than by considering one individual slab in isolation.
Under our transport damage policy, damage of up to 7% of the total order is treated as the normal transport allowance and is not normally compensated. Where damage exceeds 7% but does not exceed 20%, compensation may apply to the proportion above 7%.
Where total confirmed damage exceeds 20%, replacement may be considered, subject to clear photographic evidence showing the quantity and extent of the damage.
Refund or Replacement?
For a limited number of damaged slabs, a refund or proportional adjustment will usually be more practical than sending replacement pieces.
Paving products require pallet transport rather than normal parcel delivery, so sending a small number of slabs can involve a delivery cost similar to transporting a much larger quantity.
Minor Damage and Unusable Products
A small edge or corner chip does not automatically make a paving slab unusable. Affected pieces may sometimes be incorporated into cuts, edges or less prominent areas of the project.
A slab that is substantially broken or cannot reasonably be used is different and should be included as damaged material when submitting a claim.
What Evidence Is Needed?
Customers should provide the order number, product name, quantity affected and clear photographs showing the damaged material.
Photographs should show both the individual damage and, where practical, all affected slabs together so that the proportion of the order can be assessed accurately.
Check the Delivery Before Installation
Products should be checked before installation wherever practical. If significant damage is identified, retain the affected material and contact the supplier before disposing of, cutting or installing it.
Natural stone should also be blended from different packs during installation to distribute colour and texture across the completed project.
Damage, Refund and Replacement: General Principle
The appropriate resolution depends on the extent of genuine damage across the complete order. Minor transport damage may fall within the normal allowance, while more substantial confirmed damage may qualify for proportional compensation or replacement under the applicable policy.
Full details of thresholds and claim procedures are available in the Transport Damage Claims Policy.
We encourage customers to compare damage, refund and replacement policies across the paving industry before ordering. You can review wider industry practice by searching Paving Stone Replacement Refund Policy on Google.
This guidance does not remove or restrict any statutory rights that may apply to customers under UK law, including rights relating to goods that are faulty, not as described or not fit for purpose.