The contractor used a Portland lime & sand mortar beige color by Spec Mix between the stones. This is a BAD thing. What is the best way to get the cracks between the flagstones sealed? You can use stone dust in wider joints.Ive done so, once or twice and whereas I wasnt super happy about the way it looked, it did end up functioning well. work the soil to a depth of approximately 5 to 6 inches, How To Keep Gravel In Place In A Driveway. You are so kind to answer so quickly and for the method link. Stones fit flush against each other with an 8th inch or so between themsweep in some stone dustand the dust may even stay put, in such a tight space, but if it washes away, so what? The original plan to use the polymeric sand to seal the joints is long jettisoned after reading your blog here and others how it destroys the shine and luster of the native rock. (a careful pass with the pressure washer shouldnt damage the stones. Thanks again! Polymeric sand, in the above scenario, will either crack up, or, worse yet, it may stay solid on top, leaving that void beneath, causing more problems until the poly sand finally does crack up. The 2nd link has what theyre calling decomposed granite, but given my calling around locally, I question if thats the same stuff as what you specify. I have been struggling to find information on Breeze vs Polymeric Sand to put in the 1 grout lines. Or falling matter from nearby trees can help cause that. Polymeric sand makes people think that they can cheat, that they can get away with wider joints than they would otherwise. Anyway, after its gone just sweep in screeinings and be happy. And thank you for bringing me 1/2 to 3/4 stone joints. Most of the patio is in a high sun area, so moss (which I love) is out of the question I think. Any ideas? I used the granite sand as my leveling layer, too. Is the patio pitched in the right direction, and pitched consistently? Quick question: in cases where the polymeric sand has left a white haze on the slate as you mentioned, what is the best way to remove the haze? The house is in Los Angeles, California. What I was wondering was if you could spray a water proofing like what is used on cement to settle the dust and smaller stones down and and keep them in place. Good luck with your flagstone project! To be fair Ive seen exceptions! All the local supply places are pushing the polymeric sand (gator dust) but the 2 contractors I am considering dont seem to know much about using it. Good luck! Gaps are approxly one inch. Pea gravel comes loose and gets everywhere, so Id avoid that. Im glad that you appreciate my work. We have bright red Adirondack Chairs. And yes, I do prefer tighter joints, but dg should work for 2 joints. Hi Devin. Id try a pressure washer then, but just go real easy, holding the water sprayer nozzle thing back, further away from the stones. We dont want to worry about spilled water when gardening, so permeable is good. I have a dry laid flagstone patio in the backyard, and am exploring some joint filler options. As mentioned in the article right above..I go with screenings. So good job. To decrease the gravel carried away by any runoff, you can also add drainage trenches to your pea gravel installation. Okay, so Ive never seen decomposed granite sold anywhere in south eastern PAand I lived in Montgomery County for years. Since the stones fit back nicely into place, only the seal between the mortar and the stone has brokenI recommend using pl loctite premium: https://amzn.to/3z9FWTi They sell it at depot and lowes, in the caulk isle. Thanks for the quick reply. A professional, who will talk with you on the phone, and walk you through the process of laying flagstone, repairing flagstone, or any other such situation? Anyway, Id re-fit the stones. Anywayssince you just used local soil, and built it yourself rather than hiring a mason, we can pretty much just say Well, it may not be perfect, but its got heart!. It is a mixture of Portland or other cements, water and aggregates: sand, gravel, or crushed stone. Each unit of our concrete block is approximately 3,000 lb in weight and 5' x 2'-5" x 2'-6" in dimensions. I recently laid down a flagstone patio in sand and used sand to fill the joints. If you set your flagstones upon a gravel foundation/on a bed of sand or stone dustthen fill your joints with stone dust. also can i just use decomposed granite to level and build the basketball court? Good. Deep bow of thanks for all of the wisdom youve shared here with your article and the comment section. Theres a lot of different ways to go about getting a flagstone stable. Send photos and info to devin@devineescapes.com. Everyday of my life, theres someone asking me what to do about their 8 inch wide flagstone joints. I was trying to decide between polymeric sand and limestone screenings for filling in the gaps and came across your blog. Hello Chris. test area because it may stain the flagstones too. The previous comment about the smaller stones becoming loose made me wonder if using the red steppers will work. Truthfully our joints are a bit wider than you suggest. I then will use the 1/8 to 1/4 between the joints as advised. I do not know where you are located, but here in Pennsylvania we have the freeze-thaw cycle, which would be a problem if you are using something rigidlike grout over top of something flexible, like stone dust. Now I am stuck with what is the best material to fill the cracks. I want to re-fill the joints of my existing dry laid bluestone patio. Will screening be all over patio? I want to use it in a few places and if it had a light blue blume, that would work, too. Having said that, its a gamblesometimes you can lay a few flagstones on sand and not have them taken over by ants.so such a small amount of sand in between your flagstones may not be an issue. How to use polymeric sand: Don't cheap out on sand. Given how unpleasant it is to walk on screenings with bare feet, what would your suggestion be for spaces that are greater than 3? After reading your article, Im confused.. Is polymeric dust the same thing as screening? Very helpful, thanks. I have old flagstone with sand in between. Fact is that you simply can not use polymeric sand as a replacement for taking your time and doing the job right. Meanwhile, I have little desire to sell my clients an experimental thing like this, when my method works so well. It will crack. I think Ill try the screening stuff. see if it works. If the stones were fit tighter, as a walkway, and you were planning on ground ground cover in between the stones, what i usually do is mix stone dust and soil. If you want individual advice beyond that, I also offer phone consultations! I am Gonna use the bluestone dust we got from the quarry. Either pour or sprinkle the binding solution over the pea gravel in even and light layers. And as it is not outside, we are not getting natural rain/drizzle/snow which might more effectively harden up the joint areas. I have been thinking of taking the pressure washer and blasting out all the soil, and replacing it with screening i think it will look better, and am hoping it will stay clean longer. Will smaller flagstones be stable, or do you need to use larger slabs? the concrete is cracking, stones around the edges appear to lifting. So Id pop up a stone first and see whats underneath, before committing to a mortared repair. Ive never known a patio to be be pressure washed more often then maybe once a decade or soMost home owners never once pressure wash their flagstones, so it is usually a non-issue. If the patio is dry laid, on a sand/gravel or stone dust foundation..then theres should not be anything portland cement based in the joints. Theres also some mention of stabilized decomposed granite. I believe there are different kinds of sand and one of them might work. Polymeric sand will crack, over time. 1. We were also going to lay a screen to prevent weeds from growing through (I think below the sand, is this right?) Wide flagstone joints are okay.if you plan on planting say irish moss or clover or something. Im not sure what to do about the wasps so much maybe if you got the Moss firmly established it would stop looking like a good place for the wasps. Google patio floor drain choose a decent looking one, read their instructions.Im available for consultations if you wish for individualized guidance on this project. What do you suggest or have you had these problems also? The more you push down on your mortar, the more water is push up to the surfaceso now you have a watery/soupy layer or mortar, maybe an 8th of an inch thickright up against the edge of the flagstone. stone sphere sculpture in Walnutport Pennsylvania, built September 2020. Take your time planning.consider taking a workshop if theres one available in your area. Im glad I read this and plan to steer well clear of polymeric sand. I do think I may need to cut a center trench prior to adding the sand and screening to add a drainage pipe in case of future settling? This can make the stone slippery and change its appearancewithout providing any benefit. When using a hand tamper on decomposed granite, it will stick to the bottom of the hand tamper in clumps. How much foot traffic are we expecting? Some areas are shaded by tress, and some by the house, which I think contributes to algae growth. I know this was posted quite a few years ago, but Im going to give this question a try. Theres household cleaners out there, they sell them at the big box stores, probably grocery stores too maybe idk, but its a citrus extract and you have to be careful when cleaning with it because it dissolves some types of plastic. It is washing out. More info: Taking care of your stone patio, A flagstone patios joints can never be truly flush with the top of the stone. It got cut off mid-sentence and Id hate to miss anything important. Is that just the nature of stone dust? The cobblestones..1 inch gap sounds large. You can choose from various materials like plastic edging or metal borders. I would of course not recommend it, for reasons outlined in the article above.well, it wouldnt be my first recommendation anyway. 888-929-8973; . I a, not sure what or how the original owners did the flagstone patio. We bought pea gravel at a local landscape supply company in some 5 gallon buckets for a couple of dollars each. 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For bringing me 1/2 to 3/4 stone joints polymeric sand of the wisdom youve shared here with article!

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