What's best?

[MrData]

Can someone advise the best way to seal the grey india stone slabs that I'm having layed as a patio/path?

Also, they will be filled with something called Geofix, but I'm concerned by some of the posts I've read that this is not a good idea. I've spoken with the bloke laying the slabs and he says that he has used Geofix for years without any problems.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[alan ditchfield]

The only advice i would give you is avoid Geofix, it looks great when it is first put in, it is easy to use, it does not stain but it doesnot last. In my experience it does last longer if it is sealed soon after it has cured, but it has a nasty habit of attracting dirt and rapidly deteriorating. The best sealant i have used is Richard Rogers stone sealant from Cumbria. (R.R. Stone Seal)

[MrData]

Thanks for the reply Alan.

Does the sealant you mention stain the stone or make the surface slippy? Only in some back posts I've seen this mentioned but I cannot recollect which product it was. How far done one of the cans cover as I'm having 100 square meters laid?

Under what weather conditions should the sealant not be used? I'm concerned that this is not the ideal time of year to have a patio laid.

Also, I've an old patio area done in some concrete stuff called caulder brown. Do you know if the Geofix (grey) will match in with this? The bloke laying the new flags seems to think it will be OK, but I'm not sure?

Have to admit that the work he has done so far seems pretty good to me.

Thanks

[alan ditchfield]

The sealant which has no specific coverage as in ltr/mtr2 on the tin but they will tell you if you contact them will make the surface appear slightly glazed but not shiny as for slippy it is the water that makes the surface slippy not the sealant, and the better the sealant the more water retention therefore the slippier surface, As for the weather conditions the flags need to be dry as this is an oil based sealant not acrylic, the calder brown are part of the marshalls heritage range and they tend to go with any colour of pointing but you seem to have skipped the fact that you dont want to use Geofix. Trust me this is a bad idea, if you opt for the Geo please let us know your progress in 18 months.

[Tony McC]

The RR Stone website will answer your questions regarding the Indian Stone Sealant.

As for the GeoFix, if your contractor swears by it, then you have to decide whether to follow their advice or opt for traditional sand and cement jointing. When it comes to GeoFix, my severe reservations regarding its use for joints more than 5mm in width have been documented previously. I know from the emails sent in to the website that it is used by some less skilled tradesmen to create a job that looks great for a few weeks, usually long enough for the cheque to clear, and then it starts to fall apart. It's used because there's no cement staining, and for those not as skillful as they should be with a pointing tool, it seems like an ideal fix for the cack-handedness.

However, it is just a joint filler. It bonds only to itself, and not to the edges of the flags, and so it doesn't improve the overal strucure of the paving, as does a traditional mortar, which fills the joints and bonds itself to the paving.

The Calder Brown are part of the Marshalls' Heritage range of wet cast riven-effect paving. My personal taste would be to use a dark or black mortar to point them.

[alan ditchfield]

Geofix is advertised as a wide jointing compound only to be used with joints over 20mm in width, in my opinion the width makes no difference as the stuff just does not work. geofix is a good idea not because i am a bad tradesmen but due to efficiencey = profit as in any business, the way we lay flags the tend to bond to the bedding material therfore the pointing becomes more of an asthetic point not a structural necessity. as for the geo, if it worked i would use it. but as like most landscapers i am well skilled with a pointing tool i opt for a mortar mix. Like i said in my previous posts avoid geofix and i would recommend rr stone seal. regards

[MrData]

Thanks for all your replies. Looks like Geofix is out the window.

[the manager]

Geofix is ok for a quick job which your landscaper wants but wont last .we used it at the glee show on our stand but only for quickness i also brushed our dye into it which works well