Hi
I've just finished laying my first patio and finishing the garden off. I've laid slate flags with a close joint and I'm wondering what to point it with. I have got my hands on some black sand that I think would look nice, but after sweeping some kiln dried sand in our top patio (just some cheap square slabs) it seems to have made water marks on all the joints. I think they will dry out in the hot weather but they don't seem to dry as fast as the rest of the slab. Would this happen to the slate or is it because the cheap slabs seem quite pours? Would a dry sand and cement mix be better? Any help would be great because it's the only thing left to do in the garden!
Cheers
Alex
Sweeping dry sand and cement into the gaps will fail. The pointing mix needs to be well compacted or it will just flake away in no time. What is the size of the joint?
I was going to put a gap but because there would have been a few thin bits I thought it would look better butted together. Will the sand stay wet and mark the flags when it rains?
This is the garden as it stands. Haven't got a close up pic of the joints. Sorry
Sika do a product which is made for block paving, it goes in dry, like kiln dried sand (so it will fill a tight joint) then you wet when its in. It sets very hard, probably the best product I can think of in this instance, but as the previous comments said, at least 5mm is best for a rigid joint.
Nice design by the way, well done !
