The Brew Cabin

Help.

I have recently tried to joint a riven patio with a dry pointing mix but with poor results. It was done before Xmas and it may have been that the sand was not dry enough for this method.

My client has contacted me to ask if I could go back to repair the problem, which I have agreed to with out any hesitation.

What is my best approach for repointing? Should I rake out the joints totally, and if so how?

See my reply to George (Galley Rat) in the adjacent post - this is why I'm not a big fan of dry mortar jointing. It just doesn't work unless it's swept into joints that have just been buttered with a wet mortar.

A stick with a big nail in it will probably rake out the loose jointing, or you could use a roofer's hammer that has a pick end. A Nanagle grinder will do it, too, but will spray the resulting dust everywhere and you;ll spend as long cleaning up as you did cutting out. :(

Rake out as much as poss, sweep out as much of the loose material as is feasible, and then follow the advice given to George. I really do believe that traditional mortar pointing is the best jointing method for these riven patio flags, especially the ones with 'fettled' edges.