Joint sand stabiliser
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JS99
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Mon May 21, 2018 4:14 pm
- Location: South Wales
Are there any sealers / stabilisers that can be applied to joints / blocks that are damp ? I have Forterra Chartres paving on a sloped driveway and am suffering from joint washout from rain run off around the cars. Unfortunatley, due to the drive being mainly in the shade the blocks rarely completely dry out. Therefore most sealers are not suitable. I like the natural look of the pavers but wouldnr be averse to a low sheen sealer if it meant stabilising the joints. Any suggestions ?
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Tony McC
- Site Admin
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- Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2004 7:27 pm
- Location: Warrington, People's Republic of South Lancashire
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Not a "good quality" sealant, or none as far as I know. All of the water-based sealants for block paving I have seen in the last 30-odd years have been a severe disappointment. Every couple of years, someone contacts me about a "revolutionary" eco-friendly water-based organic vegetarian woke sealant that turns out to be little more than dilute PVA. Useless!
There *are* jointing stabilisers that are water-soluble, Marshalls used to do one by the name of Keybond, which was highly effective, but never sold all that well, so it was quietly dropped some years ago. I'm not sure if they still provide it for their commercial projects.
Regardless, the secrete behind Keybond is that it was (is?) a dilute form of our old friend, SBR!
I can't precisely recall the dilution rate (it was summat like 20:1) but the result was a very watery, vaguely white loquid that was applied via a watering can fitted with a sprinkler rose to cover ALL of the paving (not just the joints!).
The 'liquid' dried fairly quickly and left a strange purple-tinged film on the surface but this rapidly (a day or two) wore off and diosappeared, leaving the jointing sand 'glued' into the joints but still flexible (due to SBR being a glorified rubber/latex product).
Somewhere in the archives, there'll be a Technical Data Sheet for Keybond but I'd need incentivising to summion up the strength to go and look for it. However, again from memory, I think the paving had to be dry when applied - the advice was (ISTR) to apply immediately after jointing, which sort of implies a dry surface was required.
For a sealant that achieves incredible joint stabilisation, Resiblock is the preferred choice. It does have a low, matt-like sheen for the first 12 months or so, but after that, you wouldn't know it was there....until you checked the jointing, which would be flexible but solid.
There *are* jointing stabilisers that are water-soluble, Marshalls used to do one by the name of Keybond, which was highly effective, but never sold all that well, so it was quietly dropped some years ago. I'm not sure if they still provide it for their commercial projects.
Regardless, the secrete behind Keybond is that it was (is?) a dilute form of our old friend, SBR!
I can't precisely recall the dilution rate (it was summat like 20:1) but the result was a very watery, vaguely white loquid that was applied via a watering can fitted with a sprinkler rose to cover ALL of the paving (not just the joints!).
The 'liquid' dried fairly quickly and left a strange purple-tinged film on the surface but this rapidly (a day or two) wore off and diosappeared, leaving the jointing sand 'glued' into the joints but still flexible (due to SBR being a glorified rubber/latex product).
Somewhere in the archives, there'll be a Technical Data Sheet for Keybond but I'd need incentivising to summion up the strength to go and look for it. However, again from memory, I think the paving had to be dry when applied - the advice was (ISTR) to apply immediately after jointing, which sort of implies a dry surface was required.
For a sealant that achieves incredible joint stabilisation, Resiblock is the preferred choice. It does have a low, matt-like sheen for the first 12 months or so, but after that, you wouldn't know it was there....until you checked the jointing, which would be flexible but solid.
Site Agent - Pavingexpert
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JS99
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Mon May 21, 2018 4:14 pm
- Location: South Wales
Thanks for the reply Tony
Like I said, the main problem is my driveway is rarely totally dry enough to apply these quality sealers as per manufacturers guidelines. I'm reluctant to spend north of 300 quid to ruin it
Makes me wonder how these are used commercially given the fact the blocks should be left for a few months before sealing, then getting the right conditions
regards
J
Like I said, the main problem is my driveway is rarely totally dry enough to apply these quality sealers as per manufacturers guidelines. I'm reluctant to spend north of 300 quid to ruin it
Makes me wonder how these are used commercially given the fact the blocks should be left for a few months before sealing, then getting the right conditions
regards
J
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Tony McC
- Site Admin
- Posts: 8346
- Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2004 7:27 pm
- Location: Warrington, People's Republic of South Lancashire
- Contact:
The sealant installers have a relatively short but intensely busy working season!
There is a HUGE anmount of work going on to find a high-performance, reliable sealant that can be used in damp conditions. the biggest problem is that the starting point is a water-based product and they, at least for now, never seem to be quite as good as solvent-based products.
The company that cracks that particular nut can practically print their own money!
There is a HUGE anmount of work going on to find a high-performance, reliable sealant that can be used in damp conditions. the biggest problem is that the starting point is a water-based product and they, at least for now, never seem to be quite as good as solvent-based products.
The company that cracks that particular nut can practically print their own money!
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