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Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2005 10:42 pm
by TBB
I am really struggling with a pointing mix I am happy with when laying slabs. At the moment we use a mix of building sand and cement mixed without much water. But I would like to try to get a more polished finish.
How do I do this? Someone suggested using plasterers sand, shold I use plasma in the mix. If I was to colour the pointing mix how to I ensure the colour is constant.
How do others manage?
Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 9:27 am
by SUE @ EASIPOINT
Hi Tony
We suply mortar in a range of 10 standard colours guaranteed to be consistent. The mortar is dry packed in 25kg sacks - all you need to add is water. It's designed to be pumped into the joint using a skeleton gun and is very quick to apply.
For more info our web site is www.easipoint.co.uk or give us a call on 01257 224900.
Sue
Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 8:13 pm
by TBB
Thanks Sue
I have requested a call via your website
Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 12:12 am
by Tony McC
The key to a 'polished' finish is the sand. Rather than accepting the local building sand, you will probably need to source a finer-grained sand from a specialist supplier, and you can guarantee that you won't be able to buy it for a quid a bag!
Plasterers' sand is a bit of a mystery. It seems to be amazingly similar to normal building or soft sand, but at a higher price. A plasterer colleague told me that "proper" plastering sand had a slightly higher clay content and a finer grading envelope than building sand, but a mate who ran a BM yard for several years told me they just bagged up normal building sand, added ten bob to the price, and flogged it to gormless plasterers who ought to have known better.
Once you've sorted out the sand, you need to consider your cement. It may be that a cement/PFA mix gives you the sort of finish you require, or you might need to add lime. If you;re after a coloured mortar, it's usually best to buy in pre-mix if you have a large job and need to ensure colour consistency, but for smaller jobs, it's a matter of experimenting with various dyes, both liquid and powder form, and then determining which plasticisers work best with your other ingredients.
'Best' is a subjective term. What you might consider to be the 'best' mortar for your work might seem like a right load of crap to another tradesman. Only by experimenting, by copious trial and error, can you find the blend that works for you.
Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 9:01 pm
by specialbranch
2 river sand 2 soft Grey 2OP cement, wet mix. We've spent a fortune on trying to find a quicker neater way to point. 200quid on easipoint guns and mix only managed 2 flags before i realised it was extremely slow. Geofix, dreadful. Cementone wide joint compound, not too bad but very expensive. Ive now come to the conclusion you cant beat proper pointing get on your knees and pack it in there's nothing better or quicker. Its a ball ache but worth it!
First post done!been a fan for a while but never posted, Top site!!
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 3:59 pm
by Tony McC
Congrats on completing your first post and joining the ranks of the Brew Cabin Irregulars - it wasn't too painful, was it? :;):
Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 5:11 pm
by paultaylor
Our Website
Hi guys, I've been waiting all day on-site today to post a reply to the Easipoint issue. I partake a role of Site Superior in our family landscaping business...Im the clever clogs!! I actually had an identical problem to Special Branch the first time I used Easipoint. The guns ceased, it spilt everywhere, it was going off too quick, too slow, until ofcourse I expressed my concerns to Sue. She and her partner in crime, the lovely Peter came to one of my sites to show me how to use it correctly, since then, I am extremely keen to use it on ALL my installations. The finished effect is amazing. True pointing tackle. It sets to something silly like 70nms, which for a patio installation, is amazing. I guarantee, using this stuff, I will never have to go back to another job again after 5yrs or so because frost has got to the pointing!
There are two critical aspects of flagging in my experience, often overlooked on cheaper installations. Laid on a full bed of mortar, and pointed with Easipoint. I just wished I discovered Easipoint, before Easipoint did. I would be a very rich man!!!
Paul Taylor
Taylor Bros
Edited by TMc to remove email address - never, EVER post your email address to a message board unless you really love spam. If you want to publish your address, then munge it, as in..
paul AT ourdomain DOT co DOT uk
...so that the spambots can't harvest it.
Edited By Tony McC on 1132011983