I might have damaged my drive - please advice !

[geek84]

Hi Folks

I decided to wash the front of my drive the other day with a pressure washer. My drive is not tarmaced but instead it is tiled - the same colour as bricks (sorry I don't know the official name for them).

After I finished washing all the drive, a guy who lives a few doors down my street came out and said it wasn't a good idea to wash the drive!! He said the water would have got underneath the tiles via the joints and into the sand. He went on to say that over the next few years, the sand would start moving underneath and the tiles would become disjointed, and I would have to replace the sand by having all the tiles removed first and that this could cost a few hundred pounds. He said it is far better to leave the drive as it is for a few years, and when it gets really dirty, just to have a new drive put down instead!!

Can you please advice on this of how much truth is in that?

Thank You.

 

[wotan]

Just buy more jointing sand, and with a stiff yard brush, brush in into the joints, pressure jetting will displace sand, but I would not worry too much about replacing the whole drive.

By the way they are called pavers.

Wotan

 

[SimonH2]

Yes, your washing is no worse than heavy rain - yes it will go down the gaps, but it will also drain away from underneath. The big issue is that you'll have washed some of the sand from between the blocks - and that allows the blocks to move a little which would cause problems over time.
As Wotan says, get some more and, and work it into the gaps to fill them up again.

 

[geek84]

Good Morning Folks

Many thanks for your advice.

Is there a variety of jointing sand or only one type? How much sand would I need to fill in the joints? i.e. shall I fill it to the top?

Thanks

 

[cajar]

You cover the blocks totally with sand and brush the excess over and over the blocks to work it in.

 

[IJWS15]

You need "Kiln Dried " sand

Builders sand is too fine and damp sand does not flow.