Block paving re-sanding and patio re-grouting in North Wales
Fresh sand or grout back into the joints once the surface is clean, so it stays put instead of washing out again at the first heavy rain.
Re-sanding and re-grouting are add-ons to driveway or patio cleaning. Choose the surface in the booking form, then select the joint treatment on the next step. We will check which treatment suits the paving at the visit.
Cleaning empties the joints. That is the whole problem
A proper clean lifts the dirt out of the joints, and the old jointing sand comes out with it. That is not a mistake, it is unavoidable, and it is why a drive can look superb the day it is cleaned and be growing weeds again by the following spring.
Empty joints cause three things in order: weeds, because there is now somewhere for seed to sit; block movement, because the sand is what locks the blocks against each other; and standing water, because the surface stops draining the way it was laid to.
Kiln-dried sand or a jointing compound
Kiln-dried sand is the standard refill for block paving. It is dried so it will run right down into the joint instead of bridging halfway. It is cheap, it is what the drive was laid with, and it will need doing again in a few years.
Polymeric jointing compound sets slightly once wetted. It resists weeds and washout for longer and costs more. It is worth it on a drive that keeps losing its joints, and it is unnecessary on a sheltered one.
Either way it has to go down onto a dry surface and be brushed in dry. Sand put into wet joints bridges at the top, leaves a void underneath, and washes straight back out.
Re-grouting a flagged patio is a different job
Flags are pointed with mortar rather than jointed with sand, so re-grouting means raking the failed pointing out and replacing it. It is slower than re-sanding and it is priced separately. Cracked pointing on a patio is worth dealing with, because it is how water gets under the slabs and starts lifting them.
Common questions
Do I have to have it re-sanded?
No, but on block paving it is the thing that keeps the clean looking good. Cleaning takes the old sand out, and empty joints take weeds within a season.
How soon after cleaning can it be done?
The surface has to be dry, so usually not the same day unless the weather is with us. Sand brushed into wet joints bridges at the top and washes out.
Is it the same on a patio?
Not quite. Block-paved patios are re-sanded. Flagged patios are pointed with mortar, so that is re-grouting, which is a slower and separately priced job.
Want a price for this?
Book a free quote visit. We come out, look at the job properly, and you get a real price. It costs nothing and there is no obligation.