Pointing disaster

[jamie Smith]

I successfully laid some flagstones a couple of weeks back, barring a few I’ve had to lift and re-set, but my pointing didn’t go anywhere near as smoothly. I looked around at the various bits of advice on the forum and decided to go for a 3:1 building sand to cement, brushed dry into the joints. I then dampened the mix and kept it damp throughout a hot day. It set hard, but it didn’t seem to stick to the flags at all. It sounded hollow when I tapped it and when I dug a screwdriver in, I found I was able to lift out the entire fill around each stone. What did I do wrong? Should I have packed it down tightly then applied more? Either way, I’ve ripped it all out (boy that was demoralising) and now I have to do the job again tomorrow.

Grateful for any tips.

 

[noseall]

read here.//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=83495&highlight=pointig+joints

brushed-in-pointing is total and utter shoite.

 

[Thermo]

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=85985


that should tell you all you need to know

 

[jamie Smith]

Thermo and others - thanks for the advice as usual, I have learned my lesson the hard way over the last few weeks, as I had to drag out all the rubbish pointing from 40 sq. m of patio and have now done it the proper way.

If i do say so myself, I had done a nice job on the patio, so i didn't want to mess up the finishing touches. It looks a picture now and no hollow noises when I tap the joints!

We live and learn, eh?