Geofix - Geofix problems

[Gardenco]

We are a very well respected, medium-sized landscape company and BALI memmber operating in south east England. We lay many patios each year.

Last year we decided to trial Geofix on a few of our jobs.

We were initially impressed with the ease of use and the look of the finished product but then along came the winter and the problems started. In essence we have identified two issues which affected the patios we laid with Geofix, these are:

1. Geofix is hard when dry but becomes soft and 'soggy' when wet for prolonged periods. This softness allows erosion of the pointing when exposed to the elements (let alone pressure washers!) identifiable by a light dusting of sand in areas where water tends to collect. Over time the level of the pointing drops further and further below the finished patio level.

2. Geofix is porous so tends to absorb dirt and discolour. In some instances, depending upon location, it also absorbs spores (?) which tend to give a pinky/red colour to the pointing. The passage of water through the pointing also creates a crust of dirt on the surface which is unsightly.

The second of these issues alone may not constitute a reason for replacing the Geofix but the first issue clearly does. In our opinion we need to re-visit and repoint the affected patios.

Obviously we have discussed these issues with producers of Geofix. The object of this post is to see whether any other landscapers (or builders) have been down this same route and if so, what was their outcome?

Regards,

Gardenco (apologies for remaining anonymous on a public forum)

[bobhughes]

If you do a search you will fing almost unanimous agreement with your views (Including the "Boss")

Don't worry about being anonymous - remeber you are not allowed to advertise anyway.

Be interested to see what Geofix had to say.

[lutonlagerlout]

i cannot understand how they can still sell this crap
it is absolute rubbish and has cost me a lot of time,money and goodwill
like yourselves the initial results looked very good,so good i even used it at home, doh!
about 4-5 months later the calls started
pointing has broken up,its gone a dirty brown colour etc etc
we had 2 reps out from degussa,pair of absolute bullshitters,tried to pin the blame on us saying that the installation was wrong blah blah blah
finally they gave us a £100 credit for degussa products but without admitting any liability
thats was nice considering it took 3 of us 1 day to rake out and repoint a large patio NOT
i know john from aintree paving recommends terrace but after geofix ,i am once bitten twice shy
most goods that you buy are covered by an automatic 1 year warranty but this doesn't seem to apply to sub standard building materials
mind you my local merchants have a pallet that has remained untouched snce xmas
geofix
[/I]cavaet emptor
regards tony

[Dave_L]

Sounds like a thumbs down for Geofix all round!

[Suggers]

Never heard a good word for Geofix -
On the other hand, never heard a bad word said about Romex -
Gonna give it a go on next job if budget allows.....

[Suggers]

Cheers for advice John.