Clean or relay first

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lemoncurd1702
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Post: # 95069Post lemoncurd1702

I will be doing a block paved lift and re-lay and cleaning of the same drive (not one of mine by the way).
The main area not to bad so will only be reinstating the ruts.
My thought is to clean the paving first and then re-lay. The thinking being that the blocks will be easier to relay having all the crap washed off them and also the other way around I will blast any replaced jointing sand back out.
One other reason is, I want to kick this in one day, so as one is working his way down drive with washer us other two can start repairing the cleaned area.

Comments, advice appreciated.
Cheers
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Lemoncurd

lutonlagerlout
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Post: # 95072Post lutonlagerlout

IME spot relaying is a fail
unless its a horrific rut > 50mm
LLL
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Tony McC
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Post: # 95075Post Tony McC

Yeah, you need to go at least half-a-metre either side of the rut to get a proper fix.

If you clean the blocks first, you run the risk of saturating the laying course. However, as the laying course should be replaced as shown on the Refurb Project (2nd posting of that link this morning!) the fact that the original is sopping wet isn't a problem. Pre-cleaning does allow you to blast out some of the jointing to ease removal of the blocks. Cleaning post-repair risks losing some of the fresh jointing but that's easily replaced once the scrub-up is complete.

So: it's personal choice. On the aforementioned refurb project we cleaned after repair mainly becauise the repairs were minimal and by leaving the cleaning until after they'd been done, it allowed us to ensure any mess generated by the remedial work was cleaned away before we move on to applying the sealant.

Cleaning the old jointing sand from the sides of the blocks is just as important, but scraping with the blade of a trowel is adequate - no need to add yet more water to the job.
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lemoncurd1702
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Post: # 95101Post lemoncurd1702

Thanks guys I will consider the options and let you know.

LLL the drive has tramline ruts which are maybe not 50mm but enough to offend the eye, I have done these relays before where there's less than a 25mm rut with satisfactory results. I would say anything more than 10mm will stick out like a sore thumb unless its just a localized spot.
Cheers
Lemoncurd

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