Sand types - Joinying sand - kiln dried sand

[Newbie900]

Is jointing sand the same as kiln dried sand.

I have block paving and need to refill joints after cleaning.

[Tony McC]

Usually, yes, but not always. If you ask your BM for "kiln dried sand for jointing block paving", it should be right. There are certain coarse jointing sands, more often known as 'splitt', that are used for setts or flags that wouldn't work with most block paving.

[Newbie900]

Thanks Tony.

I have some Kiln Dried Sand from B&Q which should do the job nicely.

Cheers .....

[sucker69]

What about M joint from Marshalls ?
Is it ok for their Drivesett Tegula ?

[Tony McC]

Not really. It's a polymeric intended for flags with joints of 5mm or wider, not for blocks.

[babycakes]

Does the kiln dried sand go hard by itself or do you need to mix it in with hardener? How long should it take to set?

[Rich H]

It doesn't harden or set in any way. It's just very very fine dry sand. You brush it into dry block paving. Job done.

[babycakes]

My flags are 450x450 and have the gaps between the flags is about 15mm and have been filled with kiln dried sand to prevent marking the slabs with mortar. Will this kiln dried sand stay loose? Should I get my builder to add dried cement to it to harden it?

Incidentally my block paving (done years ago) the sand is hard in it - but the gaps are small so I do not think that it was filled with mortar.

Excuse my ignorance but all this is new to me.

[Tony McC]

How would this "builder" go about adding "dried cement" to the sand?

As all this is new to you, have a look at the main website, where all is revealed in glorious technicolour, as they used to say!

[babycakes]

Aha! I found this:

http://www.pavingexpert.com/pointing.htm

So it looks like the kiln dried sand will mix with detritus to form a hard surface. I still must confess that I find that amazing considering how freely this stuff moves when you finger it.

Reading another page on this website, it mentions "dry mix" which is kiln dried sand and cement mixed dry and then used to fill the gaps. So I am still somewhat confused but I will wait and see if it hardens up over time.

[matt h]

most things do i find:D

[Rich H]

15mm gaps are much too big for kiln dried sand. It's only suitable for slabs/blocks butted together. Your slabs need pointing properly.

Does it really say to mix KDS with cement? Sure it's not silver sand? Anyhow, this is really a DIY type of pointing and I'm surprised a builder is trying to get away with it. It'll look ok, but it's not really long lasting.