Pointing up

[sy76uk]

Who prefers what and for what reason.
Old school 3/1 with trowels and irons.
Resin based jointing compounds
or a gun.

I've never used a gun.
I prefer a proper mortar joint but jointing compounds quicker and easier.

[lutonlagerlout]

guns are great if you can get the gear right
because the mix is wetter it fills all of the joint

however the need for cleanliness is paramount

365 is probably the best polymeric and is decent enough

however mortar is the tried and tested technology

LLL

[sy76uk]

I totally agree that cleanliness is very important when pointing up and I also use weatherpoint when using a jointing compound.

It doesn't look as good as a well polished mortar joint though.

[r896neo]

I use larsen FJM which is a cement based grout compound. Its similar to flow point.

Its really cheap compared to resin mortars but gives me confidence as its still cement based. It does create a little havoc in that you need to catch the run off somewhere but its suitable for most jobs and gives a nice flush joint as it doesn't need ironed.

Gun is good for a small area but its so slow on anything other than big flags with fewer joints.

[DempseyLiverpool]

Big fan of the gun since I've got the mix right. And even bigger fan since i got me a paddle mixer

[lutonlagerlout]

3 man team flat out can point 50-80M2 a day
1 knocking up with the paddle
1 squirting
1 striking
bleedin hard work though
LLL



Edited By lutonlagerlout on 1403643908

[Bob_A]

Big fan of the gun since I've got the mix right. And even bigger fan since i got me a paddle mixer

What mix do you use?

[sy76uk]

Pointing's got to be the fiddlyest job in paving and one of the hardest to get right. As I said above I've never used a gun but I might give one a go on a circle I'll be laying next week.

By getting the mix right I assume it's got to be really wet?

[DNgroundworks]

Ive used gtfk's two part slurry mortars a fair bit and although they are great and it makes the job super easy i much prefer a "struck" joint so now i have reverted back to easipoint - or just standard mortar either or suits me.

I just think the rough textured finish of the resins is well....a bit rough looking lol

[lutonlagerlout]

same here dan
with easipoint the colour is assured ( i like sandstone) and it goes off fairly quick in the joint (you can strike after 20-35minutes)
its all very well using normal sand and cement but i have been waiting 3-4 hours sometimes to strike
LLL

[johnty]

i use a pointing gun i modified myself so it can carry much much cement than the standard guns which allows me to point say 50 metres in a day quite easy , if i want the mix to set faster i will add a excellerator or a higher content of river sand,
but as a general rule of thumb if i point approx 15 to 20 metres then mark up from the beginning then i dont have any problems or waiting around time and see no point what so ever in going to the expense of paying for easipoint or similar products myself

cheers john

[sy76uk]

How did you mod your gun John?

[johnty]

hi sy76uk

what i did was extend the overall length of it from approx 18 inch long to about 40 inches, this involved taking the trigger mechanism out of the gun and putting into a longer body, the tube the cement goes threw is every day downspout so extending that was simple enough , i also replaced the plastic nozzle with a steel one with a higher flow rate and jobs a good one

cheers john

[lutonlagerlout]

depends on the job johnty

if it is a budget job then just normal sand and cement

but for premium finish i like easipoint

Cheers LLL

(did you see what i did there :;): )

[sy76uk]

Thanks Johnty.

I take it that easipoint strikes better than weatherpoint then?