Polymeric sand - Question

[119-1262545968]

I had a small paving done this past summer of 146 sq.ft. It was a grass center strip in a driveway.

Some weeks after the job was done I noticed a few spots for the jointing sand was gone or a hole.

I called the company that did the job and they dropped off a partial bag of InterLoc(I think) polymeric jointing sand.

I filled in the holes and wet the areas down with a fine spray of water. This sand is supposed to harden up when watered and dried out.

Some areas did harden, some didn't and continue not to! I noticed that when they did the job, they started with a partial bag, brushed it in, vibrated and opened a new bag. What was left they picked up and put it back in the open bag again.

They had to do a lot of cutting with a saw for my job. I wondering if with cutting the pavers and sweeping up the unused sand with all the paver dust creates a problem with the jointing sand?? I doubt if I got the same partial bag that was used on my job but they might use the same practice on all their jobs.

Come this summer, I may just purchase a new bag somewhere but 50lbs is more than I'll ever need!

Any ideas?

[mickg]

Any ideas?

get the company back what carried out the work to rectify the problem

[119-1262545968]

get the company back what carried out the work to rectify the problem

That doesn't answer my question.

[cookiewales]

get the company back what carried out the work to rectify the problem

That doesn't answer my question.

what mick was saying what they have done has failed so was not done right in the first place get them back as soon as you start messing with the job they will blame you :p :;): :;):

[Tony McC]

We don't use polymeric sand to joint block paving in Britain and Ireland because there really is no need unless the site is subject to heavy scour by wind or surface water. Polymeric sand tends to be reserved for patio flagstone joints.

However, I know it is used in N.America for reasons that have been explained to me on several occasions but have never made any sense. The 'nothing-added' dried sand we use in Europe self-seals in a matter of weeks and tends to stay in the joint unless, as I said, there is a serious problem with scour.

So, in theory, you should be able to top-up the hungry joints on your driveway with the correct grade of dried sand (assuming you can get it). As a rough guide, a 25kg bag in Britain costs around 4 quid. Unlike a polymeric, it doesn't "go off" when you open the packaging, and you can store it in the garage for topping-up any other joints that empty in the coming months.

The alternative is, as you suspect, to purchase a 50lb/25kg bag of the polymeric and use just a spadeful or so and then face having to dump the rest.

One possibility might be to keep your eyes peeled for anyone locally having their driveway paved, and see if the contractor would let you have a quarter-bag in exchange for a few beer vouchers.

[119-1262545968]

what mick was saying what they have done has failed so was not done right in the first place get them back as soon as you start messing with the job they will blame you :p :;): :;):

I didn't have to explain the whole story but did just to get my open bag theory in there. I could have said that I did the job.

It's pretty simple to use, fill a opening and wet. How can one mess up??

I'd just like to know why polymeric sand would fail to function as it's supposed to??

[cookiewales]

your not meant to wet it it setts itself when the air gets to it thats why once oppened has to be used even sealing the bag back up wont keep it alive :p ps it may have been past its sell by date by a long way :p



Edited By cookiewales on 1262704844

[lutonlagerlout]

the OP is from michigan so i take it hes in the snow belt,maybe the severe temperatures warrant a different approach .
If its really cold now bill I would wait till spring time before taking any action
cheers LLL

[119-1262545968]

Yes, I'm in Michigan with a high of 25F today and snow flurries right now! Yes, too cold to fool with this right now.

I did find some info in a search. One made the following statement.

Avoid sweeping the product over long distances so that it preserves the integrity of the mix.

I take that as meaning, picking up debris which I did see in the bag.

It also mentioned using a very fine mist to avoid flooding which can wash off the bonding agent. I "may" have been using too much water? At first I used a mist from a garden hose but on follow up tries I used a spray bottle but not really a mist!

There might be two causes here. Too much water and a questionable integrity of the mixture due to debris becasue of reclaiming of unused product.

I also noticed something else during the summer that this type of sand is supposed to reduce. I noticed ants had burrowed up through the sand in spots.

[119-1262545968]

your not meant to wet it it setts itself when the air gets to it thats why once oppened has to be used even sealing the bag back up wont keep it alive :p ps it may have been past its sell by date by a long way :p

I think that I still have the empty bag as I transfered the contents to a plastic jug. I'll see if it's date but I don't remember any caution about that on the bag.

[lutonlagerlout]

if its gone off right ants would be unable to burrow through it bill,
can I ask how wide are the joints?
most block paving in the uk has 2-5 mm joint (1/16"-3/16" )
and this size joint makes it very difficult to use polymerics successfully
regards LLL

[Bob_A]

wptski is your sand made by unilock?
http://www.vannesstone.com/unilock/poly-sand.htm
A quick google shows that in other parts of the world it's often used for drives and wetting is important. Yet the stuff intended for the UK/Eorope is normally for patios use and not wetted so the pro's on here may not have any experience of it.

Polymeric sand for stone driveway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yNAHO_Yo_o

[Tony McC]

A number of the polymerics that we use in Europe that have traditionally been applied 'dry' can actually be applied in the wet and at least one manufacturer has told me that their flagship product is proving to give even better results when washed in rather than the more usual brush-in dry and once they have verifiable data to back up the anecdotal evidence, they'll be publishing something.

Going back to Bill's problem, if the polymeric has been brushed around too much and picked up a lot of dust, that certainly would impair its setting potential, as would over-watering of *some* polymerics. The Uni-Lock stuff mentioned by Bob is popular in North America, but I'm not sure how it is affected by water. SandLock and TechniSeal are the other big sellers, but as they aren't marketed in Europe, I have to rely on feedback from contractors over the pond, which is a bit hit-and-miss, to say the least.

[119-1262545968]

if its gone off right ants would be unable to burrow through it bill,
can I ask how wide are the joints?
most block paving in the uk has 2-5 mm joint (1/16"-3/16" )
and this size joint makes it very difficult to use polymerics successfully
regards LLL

The gap is about 3/8". This was a grass strip in a driveway, so the concrete edge has a radius, so it's wider at the top.

[119-1262545968]

wptski is your sand made by unilock?
http://www.vannesstone.com/unilock/poly-sand.htm
A quick google shows that in other parts of the world it's often used for drives and wetting is important. Yet the stuff intended for the UK/Eorope is normally for patios use and not wetted so the pro's on here may not have any experience of it.

Polymeric sand for stone driveway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yNAHO_Yo_o

It's UniLock brand, UniCarePlus.

Looking at the bag again. It states that it repels water for a few minutes. Not sure what to make from that!

It's supposed to be good for up to 1/2" gap.

The point I made about the integerity of the sand was from TechniSeal.