The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Wed May 23, 2007 10:07 pm**

I'm a newbie to hard landscaping. My forte is interior renovation.

However, having moved recently, the existing patio needed replacing as the "crazy paving" was past its sell-by date, had subsided and all the pointing had disappeared.

Following all the advice on this web site I relaid the patio using a Tudor Pattern of paving slabs.

I was getting paranoid about the pointing as it appears that so much can go wrong and spoil the overall look, especially with staining if a dye is used.

However, in Axminster Tools catalogue I found a "Pointing and Grouting Gun" - an over-size, extra-heavy duty mastic gun. I decided to invest in one (only Â£29.55) and what an amazing tool it is.

As long as you get the mortar mixture correct, with plasticiser to ensure a smooth, even flow, you just cannot go wrong. The mortar flowed evenly, it was easy to adjust the flow for depth or width of the gap to be filled, and after a short drying off period I used a Brick Jointer to smooth the mortar and a soft brush to clean up the joint. And the icing on the cake was there was not a single stain on the slabs - and that was an area of 30 sq metres!! Also it was so quick - it only took me about 7 hours to complete the pointing - something I've never had experience of before.

If you haven't tried one of these tools then I thoroughly recommend it. Easy to use even for an amateur like me and SO clean. Why aren't they more widely advertised??!!!

Posted: **Wed May 23, 2007 10:12 pm**

Getting the mix right is the key!

Posted: **Wed May 23, 2007 11:22 pm**

probably because a lot of lads are using polymeric mortars quicker and easier still
cheers LLL

Posted: **Thu May 24, 2007 10:36 pm**

What's a polymeric mortar?

Posted: **Thu May 24, 2007 10:51 pm**

what mix where you using alan cos i have had lots of probs with it

andy

Posted: **Sat May 26, 2007 1:44 pm**

They tend not to be used by the trade because, in a word, they're crap.

Too slow, too back-breaking, too much effing about getting mortar into the damned thing, plus the cleaning. You admit to it taking 7 hours to point 30mÂ². I can hand point that area in around 2 hours using just two trowels and a pointing iron. With a polymeric, I can do the lot in 30 minutes ... so why would I want to look like a right twunt using a nonsense "Innovations Catalogue" pointing gun?

The only time pointing guns are of use is when they are used with a specially prepared high-flow mortar. Using them with a site-batched sand/cement mix is never successful.

Posted: **Sat May 26, 2007 5:06 pm**

*innovations"?? didn't they get fined for marketing a mosquito repellent that actually attracted the little critters?
LLL ???

Posted: **Mon May 28, 2007 1:19 pm**

Well, thanks Tony for making a "newbie" feel so unwelcome in this forum. It's clearly a place for self-important, self-appointed egotists who look down and sneer on us amateurs. I was trying to make a point that, for those of us without the expertise of you professionals, this item worked well for me.

Clearly I won't bother to state my point of view again in case I get referred to as a "twunt" in the future!!

Posted: **Mon May 28, 2007 2:54 pm**

You asked for an opinion - you got one. Don't be so bloody precious!

What did you want me to do? Say they're wonderful when they're not? Tell you that the trade loves 'em, when we don't? I explained why I (and thousands of other professionals) don't like them, which was an attempt at answering the question you posed regarding their advertising. They sell to DIYers and jobbing builders that lay a couple of patios a year, at most.

And I did not refer to you as a twunt. I said that *I* would look like a twunt if I used one, and that's because I'm a professional pavior, one that is supoosed to be able to undertake the work without the need for such items. You would look like what you are - a DIYer using a gadget that you feel helps you. There's nowt wrong with that, and I never said there was.

I don't feel the need to descend to personal attacks, but it obviously makes you feel better, and that sort of attitude is not encouraged here.

Posted: **Mon May 28, 2007 8:30 pm**

you cant enter a professional site (where we try to help diyers) and tell us your recommendations. we buy tools that are going to save us time and make us a few bob. gadgets like that have been tried, tested and failed miserably. the reason they arent advertised on a large scale is because they don't sell enough to warrant that, it isn't viable. they are task specific tools.

Posted: **Mon May 28, 2007 9:12 pm**

i used to fantasize about a cordless battery operated pointing gun (i used to point houses at the weekends) and when one came out i thought hallelujah ! sadly it was no good at all and died within a week,I'm sure easipoints system works but it is a special mortar they supply
on the whole its the good old trowel and jointing iron just like it was 400 years ago

there are no egos here Alan,just honest realistic advice
cheers LLL

Posted: **Tue May 29, 2007 11:54 am**

That first post looked almost like an advert...javascript: InstaSmilie()
javascript: InstaSmilie().hmmmmmm!:rock:

The Brew Cabin

Pointing - Using a pointing gun