www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

Hi All,

Looking for some advise. We have had issues with our Indian sandstone patio for the past four year. It was put in by a builder who did some work on our house. They used EasyJoint to point the patio. Within a few months it started to come out and after speaking to Azpects and sending them photos they advised it was not installed correctly and we were advised to have it removed and done again.

Our builder came around and "removed" the Easyjoint and replaced it with cement but now what has started coming out.

I have been back to our builder who says he wants to repoint it, but i have also had two other builders round who say the patio should be lifted and a new base put down as we have already had a couple of slabs come loose and they are unprepared to guarantee their pointing work if it is on a base where this type of workmanship has been carried out.

I'm after advise on how Indian sandstone should be pointed with cement in regards to how it is done and how deep it should be. So i can hold a conversation with him but if needs be, escalate to Trading Standards.

Photos of the repaired jointing is below.

Really appreciate any feedback and advice.

Thanks in advance

Ross

I Diy'd my sandstone patio and pointed with nearly dry-mix of 1 parts cement to 4 part sand. Joints should be about 20-30mm deep. If the pointing is coming away then it's not adhering to the sub base or is contaminated with the old pointing. It needs a good rake out and thoroughly brushed out. SBR could also be added to the mix to make it adhere.

This is not the time for re-pointing, you need a dry spell so the slabs are not stained.

Can you take a pic or the patio a bit zoomed out.

Google "paving expert".
ah

Many thanks for your reply.

I do feel that when the builder came back he removed a small amount and pointed on top, but as it isn't deep enough it i just coming loose. My understanding (As an IT consultant!!) is that they should have removed all the old pointing and then put cement in as deep as it could go and then point it.

EasyJoint is a resin, that once it has been installed you can not put more on top. So i am thinking that as a lot of the old EasyJoint is still there that the cement won't bond to it either.

I have attached some more photos. Excuse the state of the patio, we haven't cleaned it since it was put down due to the pointing issues!

Sorry, to add i can get larger photos of the patio if needed. I'm just mindful of how large they can be on the forum.

From what I can see in the pic the patio seems fairly well laid, decent pattern. Unless there are a lot of loose slabs doesn't look like it needs pulled up. Do you know how thick the sub-base and mortar base are?

Some of the slabs look like they have mortar staining (gray/white) but that could just be dirt?

Loose slabs can be fixed by lifting them, knocking out the mortar to get at least a 30mm bed, clean up the back of the slab and apply SBR and replace.

Have you paid the builder? See sounds reasonable as he tried to fix it and willing to comeback a 2nd time. You might be better off with a 2 part pointing solution (I still prefer sand and cement) which you could do yourself. You still need to give the joints a good rake out, brush and perhaps a wash.

ah