Washing out of jointing sand

[stewart2006]

i've just had my drive done by a builder, who generally appears to have done a good job. however, two days after finishing it my husband washed the car. the water running off the car has washed a lot of the jointing sand out from between the blocks (the drive is on a slight slope). i know they used kiln dried sand which was brushed in (i don't think they used a whaker plate). is this washing out of the sand to be expected?

[Stuarty]

You do need to top up the jointing sand, as rain, wind, sweeping etc does take it out. If they didnt use a whacker plate to consolidate the drive, it may well end up uneven. I cant understand why people call in builders rather than block paving specialists. Cheapness? A friend of a friend? Id love to know.

[stewart2006]

hi stuarty,
my post was misleading about the 'builder'. i just ment that i hadn't done it myself! it was done by groundworkers who had been reccommeded to me - i am a civil/structural engineer. i realise from reading this site that there is a need to top up the jointing sand from time to time, but i hadn't realised that washing the car would cause this amount of sand to wash out and was just checking this was normal and not something they had done wrong. i'm asking them to brush some more sand into the joints as they've still got a couple of other finishing things to do anyway.
also, as an aside, i know that two drives on the road were done by a local 'block paving specialist' who has done a terrible job in my opinion!

[Ross-Paving]

Hello Stewart2006,
Check with your block supplier and see if they supply a solution to help bond the sand in place - Marshalls supply Keybond, I use it on any sloping drive and find it excellent for holding the sand in place. But if your washing your car with a pressure washer and hitting the blocks on the odd turn, maybe that is too much for anything to stand.