The Brew Cabin

Hi Tony,

I'm in the middle of laying 30m2 of Rumblestone block paving using the 'flexible' method. All is going well, but the weather is going to get rainy before I finish. (I knew October was a bad month to start this job!)

My question is, can I delay the application of the jointing sand until the weather dries out without ruining the pavement? The area will only be lightly trafficked, and is foot traffic only.

Also, should I still run the wacker plate over the paving to level it when complete, even though the jointing sand will not be there?

I hate winter!

Thankyou...

Johnny

(Edited by Johnny R at 8:34 pm on Oct. 27, 2003)

The jointing sand is an absolutely vital component of the complete pavement. It generates the interlock that fgives the structure its strength and keeps the pavement functioning, so it's absolutely essential that you get some jointing sand into the joints as soon as possible.

If the weather is damp, then scatter the dried sand and brush it in as far as it goes. Every couple of days, brush it around again and, bit by bit, the joints will fill. It might take a couple of weeks, but, eventually, you'll get there.

Leaving the joints open for any prolonged period just means they will fill with all sorts of undesirable crap, ranging from dust and leaf litter to fag ends and god knows what else. Get the sand jointing in ASAP, and then compact the lot with the vib plate. You'll probably have to repeat the compacting after a week or two, but as long as the sand is in the joints, no real harm will come to the paving.

Thanks for the help Tony... all understood.

Hopefully I'll get it all done before the real rain sets in :)

Come on.....how did you get on?

we have a large gas canister with a roofers trident blower on it and we can dry 30m2 in about 20 mins to kiln and consilidate, so maybe u can hire or borrow one to finish it.

Thanks for the help guys.

Got it all finished a while ago - I'll put some piccies up as soon as I clear all the leaves away that fell on it as soon as I finished! :)