The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Mon Jul 22, 2019 2:48 pm**

Hey guys, total newbie here!

I've attached a link of the paving I'm working with in my first house. I'm still currently reading everything I can on the main site, but I posted it here as I figured it was not block paving, or flag stones (though I am more than possibly wrong)

I've recently tried a self-setting sand jointing compound, simply because it was left by the previous owner, and despite being rather impressed initially, once it set and was left for a few weeks two things happed;

1) It started to crack away from the edges - which I now presume means that my paving is not solidly set and is prone to moving

2) Despite being supposedly 'No weeds guaranteed' weeds started to push their way up through it and break it up.

This has lead me to you guys! And hopefully some help.

From what I've read so far, it looks like a small gravel/splitt, around 4-6mm would be best to fill in the joints?

No idea who laid it before me or whats underneath, I think its just sand from what I can see down into the joints. If the previous owner laid it I wouldn't be surprised, Bodge the Builder was his first, middle and last name.

Cheers in advance!
TN

Patio Link: https://imgur.com/a/wlT8QL6

Posted: **Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:33 am**

The "self-setting sand jointing compound" you mention is, I suspect, a particular brand that has a reputation for not living up to the claims it makes for itself, particularly in regard to weed control.

Like most polymerics and 1-parts, these products never really form a good, effective bond to the paving itself, so you get movement and shrinkage cracks.

While loose gravel or splitt would be a suitable joint fill, it would NOT provide weed control, nor is it suitable for pavements subjected to regular power washing. It's not really a technique we recommend for any 'normal' patio project - instead, we keep it back for cottage-style paving where a degree of failure and disorder is required as part of the so-called "charm".

So: you have the usual choices - a good quality 1-part, a costly but effective 2-part, or a sand/cement mortar of some form. When you are uncertain about the build-up, and the bedding in particular, sand/cement mortars are a gamble, as they *must* have a firm substrate. Good quality 1-parts can cope with minor movement, as can the 2-parts, but it seems foolish to spend good money on a jointing medium when you don't know what lies beneath. Like spending top dollar on a lovely car re-spray without treating the rust first.

The flags in the photies aren't particularly good, so, in your position, I would have to weigh-up whether it was actually worth spending any money on trying to turn them into something vaguely decent that might tide me over for a couple of years, or whether it would be a better strategy to rip the lot out and have quality paving laid in its place, and know that the job is done for at least 10 years.

The Brew Cabin

Total newbie - jointing paving in first house