WINK Investigates Reporter Olivia Jean, Assistant Chief Photographer Matthew Hensley
•6/22/2026
CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK) — What started as a painful injury days after moving into a new home has turned into a nearly two-year dispute between a Cape Coral homeowner and one of the nation's largest concrete and cement product manufacturers.
Homeowner Scott Pipal says metal fragments embedded inside pavers around his Cape Coral home injured his foot, have caused ongoing deterioration throughout his property and may have contributed to injuries suffered by his dog.
Now, after years of complaints and competing explanations over what caused the damage, Pipal says he is still fighting to have the pavers replaced.
Pipal and his wife moved into their newly built Cape Coral home in July 2024.
Within days of arriving, Pipal says he stepped on a sharp metal fragment protruding from a paver near his pool deck.
"We were here basically a week when I came out on our pool deck and I stepped on an embedded nail into the paver," Pipal told WINK Investigates.
He says the puncture wound required medical treatment, including a tetanus shot.
"It was very painful. Like a 10," he said.
Pipal says the incident led him to inspect other pavers around the property, where he found additional pieces of metal embedded in the concrete.
According to Pipal, he believes metal bristles became embedded in the concrete during the manufacturing process.
The pavers were manufactured by Flagstone Pavers, a company owned by Quikrete.
Documents reviewed by WINK Investigates show the company was notified in late 2024 about metal pieces found in the pavers. Company records indicate replacement pavers were supplied after approximately 80 pavers were identified as allegedly defective. The company provided one pallet containing 220 replacement pavers.
Following the replacement of some pavers, Pipal says the problems continued.
"This house isn't 20 years old. It's three years old. This driveway looks like it's been here for 20 years," Pipal said.
While giving WINK Investigates a tour of his property, he pointed to rust-colored spots, chipping, discoloration and other signs of deterioration throughout portions of the driveway, pool deck and walkways.
Pipal also says his dog has suffered paw injuries from the pavers and now limps.
"My dog is limping because of it," he said. "They're just not willing to stand behind their product."
Flagstone and Quikrete dispute the homeowner's conclusions.
In an April 17, 2026 letter to Pipal following a site visit, the The Quikrete Companies Senior Corporate Counsel, Kathleen Barron, said rust spots along the driveway are unlikely to be caused by defective pavers.
Instead, Barron suggested the marks may be the result of lawn equipment because the spots were concentrated near the grass border.
The company also attributed deterioration and staining around portions of the pool deck to drainage issues that may allow water to collect beneath the pavers, leading to staining, spalling and chipping.
Barron wrote that such conditions are not covered under its warranty.
The company also noted that replacement pavers had already been supplied in 2024.
The dispute escalated after the site visit.
In the same April 17 letter, the company stated that one paver containing a pock mark qualified for warranty consideration.
Rather than replacing the paver, the company elected to refund what it identified as the purchase price of that individual paver.
The amount: $3.60.
"Pretty much they gave us the middle finger," Pipal said.
After Pipal provided documentation showing he received a tetanus shot following the puncture wound, the company made a second offer.
An email reviewed by WINK Investigates shows the company's counsel later offered $500 in exchange for a full and final release of all claims related to the alleged product defects and injury.
Pipal rejected the offer.
"It was my wife and I's first home. We sacrificed for years to get this place, and now this is what I get. That's not cool," he said.
Earlier this year, Pipal hired several contractors to inspect the property.
One contractor, Uliani Brick Paver Specialists, concluded on March 31st that numerous pavers throughout the property contain embedded metallic material protruding from the surface, creating what the company described as a "potential safety hazard for individuals walking on the surface."
The contractor wrote that the condition appeared systemic and was not consistent with normal wear on a two-year-old home, environmental conditions or maintenance-related issues. The company recommended complete removal and replacement of the paver system, estimating the cost at $34,650.
Jonathan Busbin, with Lombardo Landscaping, concluded, "After a detailed inspection, it appears the existing pavers originate from a defective batch."
Busbin went on to say, "We recommend a full replacement of all affected materials. A partial replacement is not advised, as the existing pavers cannot be reliably matched due to the extent of the contamination. Selectively replacing areas would likely result in ongoing visual and material discrepancies."
Elizabeth Saucedo, with Saucedo Pavers, told Pipal, "At this stage, the level of deterioration observed is unacceptable for work of this age. The pavers are exhibiting premature failure, including visible chipping, a protruding wire and surface degradation in multiple areas. This extent of wear is not consistent with reasonable expectations for durability and quality."
"This is a bad batch, and this needs to be completely replaced," Pipal said.
Pipal's general contractor, Torsten Kraul, also disputes Flagstone's conclusion that the issues are related to lawn equipment and drainage.
In a statement to WINK Investigates, Kraul said a Flagstone representative visited the property shortly after the Pipals moved in and acknowledged what he described as a product defect.
According to Kraul, the representative explained the issue was linked to a manufacturing problem and provided replacement pavers as an initial remedy.
"Their own representative did a site visit not too long after the Pipals had moved in and not only acknowledged the product defect, but provided a brief explanation regarding the particular product mishandling during the manufacturing process and provided two cubes of replacement pavers and compensation for the labor portion as an immediate remedy," Kraul wrote to WINK Investigates.
Kraul said he understood at the time that additional assistance would be provided if future problems developed.
"Beyond that it was acknowledged that should further need arise, Flagstone Pavers would step up their game and provide additional relief as needed," he wrote.
Kraul said he was disappointed by what he described as the company's response after new issues surfaced.
"Flagstone has since chosen to not only completely ignore Scott's foot injury as well as their dog's paw injury, but insulted the Pipal family with a $3.60 offer for compensation and left them with a product that's deteriorating prematurely," Kraul wrote. "It's wrong on all ends and they would have done better not to communicate at all rather than waste time on an insult."
Kraul also questioned why a company the size of Quikrete would not simply replace the pavers saying, "It is especially disappointing that they chose not to provide adequate remedy given that Flagstone Pavers is a Quikrete company; a multi-billion dollar privately held family business built on relatable and respectable values," he wrote. "One would think they'd pride themselves in doing the right thing, but apparently they'd rather pay a legal team — perhaps multiples of what it would cost for them to just fix the issue at hand."
WINK Investigates repeatedly contacted Quikrete and Flagstone seeking answers.
Patrick Lenow, Quikrete's vice president of marketing and communication, initially responded and said he would try to assist.
WINK Investigates provided Quikrete with detailed questions about the homeowner's allegations, including what caused the metal fragments found in the pavers, whether the company believes the issue could extend beyond a single home, and how it handles customer complaints involving alleged product defects and injuries. Despite multiple follow-up emails and phone calls, the company declined to answer those questions or participate in an interview.
After four follow-up emails since May 4th, and multiple phone calls, Lenow told WINK Investigates by phone that the company would not participate in an interview or provide additional comment.
"We are not going to be responding," Lenow said via phone.
When asked to elaborate on why, Lenow did not provide a reason.
For now, Pipal says he is left with what he believes are unsafe pavers, repair estimates approaching $40,000 and a dispute that remains unresolved nearly two years after it began.
"If they would have came in here and just said, 'Hey, let's fix this whole darn thing,' we would not be having this conversation," Pipal said.
