What sand should i use to lay a patio

If your pavers are installed in a such a way that the notches touch the next paver, polymeric sand will not work well. Some pavers are made with a false joint. These false joints can successfully be filled with sand and hold up well when done properly see section below on false joints.

The first thing you need to do is remove ALL of the existing sand down to the bottom of the paver. Polymeric sand works best when used at full depth. A pressure washer works well or you can get down on your hands and knees and use some sort of tool that will dislodge the sand. This will get you wet and dirty. If large quantities of weeds have taken up residence in the joints, you may want to begin this entire project by declaring war on them. Before you remove any of the old sand, apply a non-selective herbicide.

You will need to let this sit a few days before you can continue. The difficulty with weeds is that simply pulling them out may not eliminate them. Weeds often have strong roots that travel below the pavers. Things like Bermuda grass form a whole colony making it tough to eliminate.

The weed killer will not only kill what you see on the surface but put a hurting on what is still underground. If you have a serious weed problem, you may want to pick up some of your pavers and see if there is an extensive mat of weed roots underneath. If this is the case, it is very likely that in time the weeds will reappear. Since weeds will grow through concrete in time, there is very little chance that a polymeric sand will stop them in an area with a high infestation.

Under normal weed conditions, one here and there, the process of removing the old sand will eliminate most of the weeds and deter them from returning. The biggest challenge you will face is how to avoid staining.

Every polymeric sand that I know of will stain under the right conditions. There are two keys to success here. The first is to make sure the pavers are dry. Not just the surface but most of the way through. The water will wick up through the pavers and cause stains. The same applies if you need to use a pressure washer to remove the sand that is left from the original installation.

They will stain no matter what you do. The second thing that is important is to remove ALL of the dust created when you put the sand down. After you have swept everything that you can into the joints, a leaf blower set on low and held at about a degree angle will gently remove excess dust. This dust is what causes the stains once it is wet. The process of placing the sand also requires attention to detail. Pour the sand onto the pavers and sweep it into the joints. Using a broom handle or some other blunt object, tap on the pavers.

Then tip in the sub-base, raking it into a consistent depth of mm. Prepare a concrete mix of three parts sand and one part cement, adding water to create a doughy consistency.

You can use a cement mixer, or a large tub or bucket. To check the mix is thick enough, pick some up and mould into a ball. When you let go, it should retain its shape without oozing water or falling apart. Then, lower your first paving slab into position. Nationwide Delivery. Dedicated Account Manager. Visit Our Showroom. Free samples available. Honed Black Sandstone Paving. Start with the Correct Preparation Make sure to identify a suitable area for your new patio. Erect the Frame Trust us — you want to make sure you get your edges right with this one.

Whatever patio supplies, aggregates, and paving you need, our RF Paving team have the solution. Trade Accounts Ask us about our trade accounts today!

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We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. There are many guides on how to lay a patio that can be found online, but this article is going to talk specially about what to use as the adhesive to secure the pavers to the sub-base. This is not a guide on how to lay paving slabs on sand, because long story short, you shouldn't! Adhesive, or mortar as it is commonly named, is an absolute must in every patio installation.

Simply laying on building sand is going to be a nightmare. Slabs are heavy items, but the pure weight of them are not going to be enough the help them bed down and stay put. You need a substance that is really going to get the slabs to bond with the ground and stay where they are. We highly recommend that cement is always added to the mortar mix to help with adhesion, strength and longevity of your patio. This will give your patio slabs enough to grip onto the base - laying without it means the slabs will come flying out of the ground at the first sign of bad weather.

To start with let us investigate the finer details of what cement is and why we feel cement is a must during patio installation. Cement is a binder, a dust like product that sets, harden and adheres to other materials to bind them together.

Cement is one of the worlds most used products and can be traced back as early as Roman times. Cement is very rarely used on its own - it is most commonly combined with either Sand or Gravel or in some instances both. When used with sand, the by-product produced is commonly known as mortar - the perfect substance for binding your patio with the ground.

Once you have mortar, you need to add water; without water cement will not set and you will be left with a fragile mortar which isn't useful for much.

Please continue reading below as we discuss in greater details the required quantities of each of the above to create the perfect mortar mix. So how much cement, sand and water do we need and what is the best way to mix the 3 materials?