Granite jointing advice needed - Best option with no staining

[westham]

Hi, the forum and website are a great source of information but I now seem to have too many potential options for joining/grouting for our new Marshalls Eclipse Granite Patio and hope for some advice as to the best option to use.

Our patio is mainly made up of the light grey granite slabs on a type 1 MOT base with a full bed of mortar. Slabs look great with 6mm joints between so thoughts now turn to grouting. For the installers a gun-applied mix is preferred.

Tried Marshalls who just send you off to potential suppliers of joining suppliers without recommending anyone. The ones I have narrowed it down to are as follows so what is the preference here for the best finish and one that will not stain the granite? Realise that this is not the best time of the year to seal the slabs so this will probably have to wait for next year. Options found so far are:

* BAL Superflex Wide Joint: Seems to tick all the right boxes but BAL advise this is not recommended for gun-application. I have heard others use it this way though with success. BAL think gun-application may cause the mix to separate.

* Easyjoint: Again seems OK with lots of discussion here although not sure if we have the right base for this

* Larsen Gun Point Mortar: Made for gun-application but can't find much about this one used with granite and possible staining

* VDW 815 Plus: OK not for gun-application but seems to be easy to apply. Bit of a worry though with the method of application for possible staining?

So any thoughts as to best option or method of application please? Keen to get this done asap!

[Pablo]

Any good quality slurry type pointing is your best bet at this time of year and with those narrow joints.
Staining isn't a problem if your contractor knows his onions, it's really down to what colour and finish you like best. Once you know that then they'll sort the rest, it sounds like you're over thinking things a bit.
The only thing I'd not recommend is the tile grout, it looks great but isn't intended for deep joints and is a serious pain to clean off textured flags. You could slurry it in though.

[westham]

Thanks Pablo - yes perhaps over-thinking but the patio was a big investment for us so want to be sure. Lots of reports around about staining etc., so best to do the research before applying.

We have looked at the wet slurry type such as Tufftop http://www.steintec.co.uk/products/bound-construction/tufftop/ and will look further. Patio has Aco drain at the edge so need to ensure application can work with the slimline drains too.

[Azpects]

Hi, the forum and website are a great source of information but I now seem to have too many potential options for joining/grouting for our new Marshalls Eclipse Granite Patio and hope for some advice as to the best option to use.

Our patio is mainly made up of the light grey granite slabs on a type 1 MOT base with a full bed of mortar. Slabs look great with 6mm joints between so thoughts now turn to grouting. For the installers a gun-applied mix is preferred.

Tried Marshalls who just send you off to potential suppliers of joining suppliers without recommending anyone. The ones I have narrowed it down to are as follows so what is the preference here for the best finish and one that will not stain the granite? Realise that this is not the best time of the year to seal the slabs so this will probably have to wait for next year. Options found so far are:

* BAL Superflex Wide Joint: Seems to tick all the right boxes but BAL advise this is not recommended for gun-application. I have heard others use it this way though with success. BAL think gun-application may cause the mix to separate.

* Easyjoint: Again seems OK with lots of discussion here although not sure if we have the right base for this

* Larsen Gun Point Mortar: Made for gun-application but can't find much about this one used with granite and possible staining

* VDW 815 Plus: OK not for gun-application but seems to be easy to apply. Bit of a worry though with the method of application for possible staining?

So any thoughts as to best option or method of application please? Keen to get this done asap!

What did you use in the end?

You can apply EASYJoint dry or almost dry but it must be sealed prior to application, granite is notoriously porous, there have even be cases where sand from beneath the paving has been sucked up through it

[westham]

Hi, thanks for asking - we went with the BAL Superflex Wide Joint and this was applied by gun. All seemed OK but the weather let us down and it started raining meaning the whole thing has been put on hold. What was done looks good. Feedback from the guys doing it is that they may resort to trowel etc., to apply as it was too fiddly with the gun but we will see.

Now we have the weather to contend with and it is too cold to apply right now (can't be applied with temperature less than 5degrees). Next week looks better so a couple of days set aside then. Will put some photos up when done.

[Azpects]

Hi, thanks for asking - we went with the BAL Superflex Wide Joint and this was applied by gun. All seemed OK but the weather let us down and it started raining meaning the whole thing has been put on hold. What was done looks good. Feedback from the guys doing it is that they may resort to trowel etc., to apply as it was too fiddly with the gun but we will see.

Now we have the weather to contend with and it is too cold to apply right now (can't be applied with temperature less than 5degrees). Next week looks better so a couple of days set aside then. Will put some photos up when done.

That's alright, fingers crossed the weather holds out

We are the manufacturers of EASYJoint so always try to give advice when we can

[westham]

Hi, thanks for asking - we went with the BAL Superflex Wide Joint and this was applied by gun. All seemed OK but the weather let us down and it started raining meaning the whole thing has been put on hold. What was done looks good. Feedback from the guys doing it is that they may resort to trowel etc., to apply as it was too fiddly with the gun but we will see.

Now we have the weather to contend with and it is too cold to apply right now (can't be applied with temperature less than 5degrees). Next week looks better so a couple of days set aside then. Will put some photos up when done.

That's alright, fingers crossed the weather holds out

We are the manufacturers of EASYJoint so always try to give advice when we can

Thanks again - we did look at yours closely but, again, wrong time of the year to get the granite properly sealed. One of those things - we started way back in May with an extension and the patio came right at the end!