Ecofil grout - Anyone used it

[higgness]

i was on the site yesterday and clicked on an ad for charles tennat. had an Ecofil paving grout advertised.
has anyone used or heard of it?

[Tony McC]

Is it that recycled sand nonsense?

[higgness]

not sure
website is charlestennant.com
it came up as a google add on this site
seems to be similiar to the likes of rompox etc

[Pablo]

It's a dry brush in product so it'll be crap. You're in Ireland give these products a go the Poly mortar is about £8+vat a bag and most of the paving in Belfast and Dublin city centres has been done with it and is standing up very well. The reports on the gun mortar is also very good and I'm hoping to trial it if the weather lets me.
slurry pointing



Edited By Pablo on 1348589243

[Tony McC]

You're confusifying me, Pablo (not that it takes much!)

Do you mean the Ecofill is crap BUT have a look at these decent products from Larsen? Or are you saying that Larsen retail the EcoFill?

As far as I'm concerned, any jointing product that limits its uses/suitability to paths, patios and driveways is more-or-less guaranteed to be useless.

If I'm thinking of the same thing, the Ecofill is/was a jointing sand with a percentage of reclaimed/recycled sand which means it can't be used on BS-compliant jobs because the resulting sand doesn't meet the grading and grain shape requirements. So: patios/paths/driveways yet again!

[Pablo]

Ecofil is crap Larsen FJM isn't and the pricing is a very good and a serious alternative to standard pointing. The Gun mortar is £9.50+vat a bag. If I really wanted to confuse you I'd show you a couple of Irish longtails and ask you to take your pick.

[r896neo]

You reckon the larsen is worth a go pablo?

I just re-pointed 45m of donegal quartz crazy paving and ended up slurry pointing with standard mortar. It did a good job but was a ball-ache to clean up.

Who do you get it from and what stone have you used it on?

[Tony McC]

If you bought the Donegal Quartz, how come McMonagles let you go without flogging you the Romex to go with it? Not like them to miss a trick!

[r896neo]

No its been down about 10 years i think. Round the front is about 30m of Riven sandstone laid upside down. Its a shame as the design and layout of both paved areas is very good just not brilliantly executed.

[Pablo]

Is that house a large Victorian semi in Holywood Simon if so I know the very place. The Larsen FJM is available from the Trade counter at their warehouse just opposite the Stena Liverpool terminal in the docks. I used it again today to do some flags it's really quick and works on all types of paving the best part is that the cleaning is one pass instead of several with normal slurry. 25kg does between 8 and 10m2 of random sandstone.

[r896neo]

Yes it is just beside Sullivan school and Prep, were you involved with the original scheme? I really like it as i said, its one of my favourite larger gardens. Very good use of pergola/trellis on the approach to the rear access where the only shame is the upside down flags.

The quartz too fits. I dislike crazy paving in general but it's less rigid and suits the curves well with a good reclaimed brick edging to pick up the house brick.

Don't tell me it was you planting up that bed recently.

Also definately don't tell me it was you who laid that stone upside-down??

[Pablo]

calm down dear i was there 3 or 4 years ago doing some thinning and cutting back. The flags were laid by the fella who built the extension and he also hadn't connected any of the acco's. When i was there she hadn't paid in full and i mentioned she should get him to post it but she got very flustered so i left it at that. The garden was built by Trevor ford when he worked for Camerons but he was never happy with the pointing. I did a small extension of quartz by the front door I'm hoping you didn't have to repoint that. No new planting just moved a couple of things about and put in a hedge to screen the new builds. It was massively overplanted but that's always the way when designers are involved.



Edited By Pablo on 1348765435

[r896neo]

No your pointing was still looking good. The bamboo has gone a bit 'off the reservation' down the bottom but all in all it looks pretty good. The driveway bed certainly is over-planted but the beds around the front door and the quartz are much less cluttered.

Will give the larsen a go. What's it like to clean up? Cheers

[Pablo]

The driveway bed certainly is over-planted but the beds around the front door and the quartz are much less cluttered.

that's because I took 4 12 x 6 trailer loads of crap out of them. The FJM is very easy to clean with either a hose or pressure washer from a distance. Only one pass needed but like slurry you need to wait until the joint is firmish to touch. Squeege as much as you can off then leave it for 30mins ish but make sure the flags don't dry out or they'll stain so mist them when needed.