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Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 10:03 am
by deanos
Hi Folks Had my block paying down a couple of days, the chaps did an excellent job
But the blocks all look like sort of sandy , i have washed them but its reappeared, im pretty sure its not efflorescence as the spares are not like this
Have included a picture , will this go away , the leftover blocks don't look like this at all
Thanks for looking
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 10:27 am
by lutonlagerlout
looks OK from here
they havent done inboard cutting but it looks neat enough
where the weather is damp the sand has clumped up a little
it will be fine from the look of that photo
see here for the correct cutting technique
cheers LLL
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 10:33 am
by deanos
thank you for the reassurance, will the sandy sort of look disappear, like i mentioned the spares are not like this 
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 10:54 am
by Dave_L
It'll be fine; wait until the warm dry weather and seal them, will look lovely then.
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 11:44 am
by deanos
brilliant many thanks 
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2013 11:26 am
by Tony McC
As otheres have said, it's just surface dust and it will weather away. Some of the blocks look as though they;ve had sand or stone stored on top of them, which has rendered them dirtier than some of the others, but still nowt to fret over.
Cuts are neat but wrong - should never have pieces with only 3 edges. Again, it's not the end of the world, but one of the indictors I use to separate the classy contractor from the run-of-the-mill.
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2013 7:49 pm
by deanos
cheers, they were off new pallets, i guess its the kiln dried sand but i cant seem to shift it with a hose , a friend mentioned it will stay like that until totally dry and will brush off, apparently they has a similar problem,
Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2013 8:06 pm
by r896neo
it looks to me like cutting dust which once wet can be a pig to shift. Did they cut any on the drive or do cuts elsewhere and did they use water suppression
Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 8:10 am
by RAPressureWashing
deanos wrote:cheers, they were off new pallets, i guess its the kiln dried sand but i cant seem to shift it with a hose , a friend mentioned it will stay like that until totally dry and will brush off, apparently they has a similar problem,
If you get a dry day at this time of year then with a stiff broom, it should all come off, failing that let the winter throw it's worse at it, then clean the paving in spring, use a light bleach wash, as you will most probably have a bit of algae starting to appear, then you should have the finish you are after, just remember to re-sand when paving is dry if using a pressure washer, job done.
Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 6:04 pm
by jedi
Had this look on part of our drive, It was down to cement dust, being dropped on the blocks when a garden post was replaced, also if they`ve been cutting brick, the dust gives a similar look, a year on and its gone away...
Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 9:33 pm
by mickg
I agree with r896neo its cutting dust and should of been removed before final compaction with the vibrating plate
and yep its a pig to shift now, leave it till March/April and hope the winter frost, snow wind and the rain shifts some of it or you will have to power wash it off
Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 9:17 am
by Edgar
I know that inboard cutting has mechanical advantages but from an aesthetic point of view the dart way looks better - particularly with narrow paths. The OP's path looks very nice from my inexpert point of view.
I'd be pleased with it.
Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 9:39 am
by Tony McC
But with most narrow paths, you should be able to set out so that darts and slips are avoided.
I know customers often insist upon it, but I never liked the use of 45° herringbone on narrow paths. It's so labour intensive and so wasteful. A bit of deterrent pricing can often persuade them to switch for 90° HB or even a simple transverse stretcher. If you;re charging, say, 70 quid a metre for normal driveway/courtyard areas, then 120 quid/m² for paths less than 1200mm in width seems reasonable.
Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 7:33 pm
by williams
45 degree paths are ridiculous. I've had them not even one full block width after borders iykwim, and that's with darts and slips!
Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 9:04 pm
by lutonlagerlout
same here
the little 600 strips around bay windows are a nightmare!
LLL :;):