[Closed] Patio jointing compound

Only ever used sand and cement. More money left over for beer.

The guys whom laid our flags enthused about the magic jointing compound they had. It lasted a year before it went soft and weeds grew in it. Maybe they did it wrong, and maybe there are better compounds. I raked it out and put sand cement in.

My next door neighbour had a patio professionally laid which had epoxy joint mix. It was universally crap - broke up and weedfest. He’s a bit OCD on technical things like that (retired structural engineer) and so then repointed it himself using a similar product, applied exactly to spec. Same thing happened and he’s now repointed with sand and cement.

I have not personally come across anyone who rates the stuff - except contractors who use it and then move on to the next project...

4 shovels of sharp sand, 1 shovel of cement, mix in wheelbarrow with a bit of water.

The Fast fix is easy to use , but it’s expensive and your gaps/slab edges need to be quite uniform. We’ve got the India slabs with irregular edges and as a result penetration is variable and we have one or two hairline cracks after a very short period. Only time will tell if this will become a problem.

Just pointed some flags up this week. Neighbour, who's into DIY,said use a dryish sharp sand / cement mix.Should have ignored him as the flags pulled all the moisture out of the mortar leaving the joints just full of powder.
Next time normal consistency and watered along the joints with a watering can before I started.As the mortar started to go off I sponged it with clean water to smooth it and clean the edges up.
A squirt of washing up liquid into the mortar makes it a bit smoother.

Just done mine with fast fix. It was easy Nd looks OK. Time will tell if it lasts longer than the tarmac weed free one thar lasted 6 months previously.

I'm in the same situation and for anything paving related I consult https://www.pavingexpert.com/

I was going to follow the advice from there for wet cement and sand mortar, 3 SOFT/BUILDING sand to 1 cement, plus plasticiser. This is a stronger mix than normal bricklaying mortar. However at the last minute I did a bit more research and have gone for Rompox Easy, same price as the Sika.

https://www.pavedirect.co.uk/romex-rompox-easy-pointing-mortar-neutral-15kg.html

(Applying it this week)

Romex have been doing epoxy jointing for a long time https://www.pavingexpert.com/point_romex01
I found it recommended elsewhere first, then found it on paving expert.

Our window cleaner recommended Marshalls Weatherpoint 365, but I'd already bought the Rompox. He said his had been down a good few years and had survived jet washing.

A squirt of washing up liquid into the mortar makes it a bit smoother.

Actual plasticiser liquid is cheaper than washing up liquid and won't weaken your mortar.

I used rompox easy on our indian sandstone patio 3 years ago, I definitely recommend it, it has held perfectly and still looks great. I'd use it again for sure.

Over the weekend I used the Rompox Easy, and it was easy. Looks good and is a far neater job than I could hope to do with cement mortar. The instructions say just to brush it in, but I used a tuck pointer to press it into the joints to check they were fully filled. In some places it needed topping up, but in general it filled the joints well. It was probably my initial technique that left some bits less filled. Lots of water helps to move the stuff around.

Only time will tell if it lasts now, but in the commercial world this stuff seems to be used quite a lot.

The instructions say just to brush it in,

I'm surprised it doesn't stick to the slabs / paviers?

I’m surprised it doesn’t stick to the slabs / paviers?

That's why you need plenty of water as it prevents the curing process starting, or slows/halts it. The stuff comes in a vacuum sealed bag and starts to cure on contact with oxygen.

You can keep what's left over in the bucket as long as it's covered in water. You can't pickup and reuse what already been put onto the slabs though.