repointing patios

[muttley9050]

I always use 2 Leighton Sharp sand ,1 soft sand to 1 cement. dry mix. You want it just wet enough so that if you grab it in your hand and squeeze it, it holds its shape. That way it won't stain the slabs. Slabs need to be dry though.

Brush it in and compact it with a rubbing iron. The reason it fails is because people brush it in and don't compact it enough. I brush in. compact, and repeat twice on each joint. Compact it well it won't fail. If it's a dry day I must spray it afterwards. Much cheaper and always got the materials on site already.

Forgot to say. Glug of sbr in the mix to.

 

 

[richardwale]

2 hours ago, Mortimer Firewood said:

4inch 

I've used hundreds of tubs of Geofix and never had a problem with any of it. If used to manufactures guide lines it's faultless. 

 

Any of the resin bonded grouts will only fail if used with out solid beds. 

So have I. Brilliant stuff, use it all the time. You need to strike it well but it's never ever failed to set granite hard

[Mortimer Firewood]

40 minutes ago, richardwale said:

So have I. Brilliant stuff, use it all the time. You need to strike it well but it's never ever failed to set granite hard

All the jobs I've done I've never struck it in swept looks better IMO never had a problem 

[forestboy1978]

On 26/11/2017 at 17:53, tree-fancier123 said:

thanks for replies guys - i wish i'd kept my mouth shut and stuck with his trees and hedges, said i could do it for £100 - thought a couple of sacks of mortar mix at a £10 tops, looks like if it needs two tubs I'll be doing the job for £30, or less if I use up a diamond wheel or whatever on the angle grinder, still be a learner job. never imagined to regrout a patio of say 25m2 would be so dear. Sounds like a pro quote would be over £200 if a tub only does 7.5m2, I wont walk now ive said a price, but seems like ive messed up badly, or actually I may try to wriggle out of it - havent been to do trees and hedges yet so may have to separate that part - discretion the better part of valor and all that

 

 

Walk away from it. I'm a landscaper and I flat out refuse to repoint a patio unless I've done it. If I've done it, it wont need repointing for the rest of my career so I refuse to re point a patio;-)

 

If you hand joint and make mixes up yourself it's tedious, needs to be measured precisely to keep tone the same and is entirely weather dependent. If it rains within 18 ish hours the patio will stain and you'll need to get a professional in who may not be able to get rid of the staining. The mix has to be the correct dampness to strike in properly or it wont fuse correctly. Too damp and it'll stain. Not recommended unless you are experienced. It also takes an age unless  you have a lot of experience. 

 

Easyjoint - IF the bedding layer under the patio is spot bedded or just not done correctly you'll be spending more than you charged on easyjoint to fill in the voids. 

 

IF the bedding of the patio is concrete as opposed to grit sand mortar mix you'll burn through diamond disks fast and spend more than you charged on discs raking it out. 

 

Re jointing a patio correctly costs a lot of money. It's tedious work and can take a long time. 

 

Don't mean to be cynical or anything just sharing what I know. 

[Vespasian]

 

I re-pointed a small Patio last year, my back was wrecking with all the bending down and on my knees chiseling the old grout out..   never again..

[Matthew Storrs]

Not directed necessarily at the OP, I’m sure we’ve all done it but there is an awful lot to be said for just sticking to your guns and with   what you know and do well/regularly, iv nearly always found that every time I take on either a job I’m not familiar with or a one off type job it bites me in the behind and usually the wallet too. Stick with what you know and do it well- turn down the unfamiliar jobs and save yourself the grief!

[tree-fancier123]

3 hours ago, Matthew Storrs said:

Not directed necessarily at the OP, I’m sure we’ve all done it but there is an awful lot to be said for just sticking to your guns and with   what you know and do well/regularly, iv nearly always found that every time I take on either a job I’m not familiar with or a one off type job it bites me in the behind and usually the wallet too. Stick with what you know and do it well- turn down the unfamiliar jobs and save yourself the grief!

yeah - jack of all trades and a master of none - I get that, but I do get satisfaction from learning new stuff, I'm not particularly good at any one trade, but like to try my hand at different things, even plastering and car mechanics. There isn't enough time in one life to have a go at all the things people do for a living. I'll probably never get a chance to earn a few quid clipping poodles or shearing sheep.

 

I asked the guy for extra as I didn't realise the materials costs of the sweep in grout, so up to £160 from £100. I will lose money on the job, but I often see reasonable patios in need of tlc, if I can get the hang of it I feel it would be a good service, maybe not as profitable as tree and hedge work, but I do get satisfaction from doing landscaping stuff, even just putting up a few fence panels, or laying a few turfs. @forestboy1978 I appreciate your choice not to repoint others work as you dont know if the slabs were on a solid bed or not. This particular patio is not real expensive stone, its the concrete slabs.

I've invested in a few bits of kit for this upcoming job, hopefully this gear will do if I ever veer into the brick repointing malarky.

 

https://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/Festool-Ctm-36-E-Ac-Hd-4014549206577-240V-Cleantec-36L-M-Class-Mobile-Dust-Extractor?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrrC_2pjW2AIVhLDtCh1D9wSlEAQYBSABEgJ3gfD_BwE

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Makita-SJS-II-5-Angle-Grinder-w-Tuck-Point-Guard-GA5040X1-new/391449860928?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D49131%26meid%3De238ee586544451bbf10a084b3ffcba4%26pid%3D100623%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D172218479346&_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1

 

 

[tree-fancier123]

On 07/12/2017 at 16:44, muttley9050 said:

Forgot to say. Glug of sbr in the mix to.

a glug - that means an exact number of millilitres per kg of dry mortar mix

[forestboy1978]

8 hours ago, tree-fancier123 said:

yeah - jack of all trades and a master of none - I get that, but I do get satisfaction from learning new stuff, I'm not particularly good at any one trade, but like to try my hand at different things, even plastering and car mechanics. There isn't enough time in one life to have a go at all the things people do for a living. I'll probably never get a chance to earn a few quid clipping poodles or shearing sheep.

 

I asked the guy for extra as I didn't realise the materials costs of the sweep in grout, so up to £160 from £100. I will lose money on the job, but I often see reasonable patios in need of tlc, if I can get the hang of it I feel it would be a good service, maybe not as profitable as tree and hedge work, but I do get satisfaction from doing landscaping stuff, even just putting up a few fence panels, or laying a few turfs. @forestboy1978 I appreciate your choice not to repoint others work as you dont know if the slabs were on a solid bed or not. This particular patio is not real expensive stone, its the concrete slabs.

I've invested in a few bits of kit for this upcoming job, hopefully this gear will do if I ever veer into the brick repointing malarky.

 

https://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/Festool-Ctm-36-E-Ac-Hd-4014549206577-240V-Cleantec-36L-M-Class-Mobile-Dust-Extractor?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrrC_2pjW2AIVhLDtCh1D9wSlEAQYBSABEgJ3gfD_BwE

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Makita-SJS-II-5-Angle-Grinder-w-Tuck-Point-Guard-GA5040X1-new/391449860928?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D49131%26meid%3De238ee586544451bbf10a084b3ffcba4%26pid%3D100623%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D172218479346&_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1

 

 

Ouch...

 

Why? Are you planning on going into landscaping? Unless you're a builder you don't need a tuckpoint. I have a cordless makita 5 inch grinder that is soo versatile and with a steady hand is fine on ground work. Tuck point is needed for brickwork only. Unless you're planning on being a bricky then it's a waste of money.

 

That hoover..... just get a beat up old henry like every other builder lol... 

 

Brutal honesty... you're over spending, even if you were fully in the trade. If you've got the money to burn however, sure, go for it.

[muttley9050]

a glug - that means an exact number of millilitres per kg of dry mortar mix

A good glug has always done for me.