Paving grout options

[Steve]

I've laid a path down the side of the house using sandstone. I laid them on a full MOT1 bed between 50-100mm, vibrated down and a full sharp sand 4:1 mortar bed varying from 20-30mm. Everything feels very solid. All the joints are 10mm and i used a slurry of SBR and cement on the back of every slab.

The stones are "Kota blue". See pictures. I'm really pleased with how it's turned out. But it's now time to think about grout and sealing. I've laid everything now, the pictures are a week or two old. I'm going to do a long cut along the fence (it's not quite parallel with the house) and make a 6 inch border in gravel, glued down.



Clearly all the websites are pushing expensive resin based liquid and brush in grouts. I've read various reviews about these products and not sure i can justify the price tags.

Is there anything wrong with using a mortar and pigment to grout these slabs after I've used a sealer on them? Any recommended sealers? Recommended colours for these slabs? I know sandstone can stain easily but if i seal them first and wipe any mortar off with a sponge surely that will eliminate any staining.

Or should i just plump for the expensive liquid or brush in stuff? Is it worth it? I reckon I'll need two pots of it.

 

[aveatry]

I know someone with some sort of resin brush and hose in stuff and it is very course and collects grit and dirt and after it has rained and the slab xare dry the grout stays dark and wet looking all day.
I don't have nice slabs like yours but I use a wet mix of 2 sand and 1 sharp sand mixed with fibreglass fibres and some mortar waterproofer. I then mask off the slabs with bodge tape and fill the gaps. And then use grout waterproofer on just the grout when it is set. I put it into a small syringe and run it along the grout lines controlling the flow as I go.
Its a labour of love but looking at the work you have put into your slabs I think you will understand

 

[jj4091]

I used easyfix grout last year on some paving and had exactly the same results as aveatry descibes. But pressure washed last week nad it has all come up like new so hasn't put me off using it again.

 

[HayMaker]

I haven't used anything else apart from the expensive resin stuff (Sika Fastfix) on ours - £39 for 15kg. But, it only works well if you compress it firmly, for which you might have to get or make a special tool. It's easier if all of your joints are equidistant apart (which ours were not). It is a big problem with people who buy this stuff and don't compact it in, it'll just erode away like sand. They do spell it out in bold on the instructions to do this. And they even say something like "this product is designed with aesthetics in mind and not durability". So for high traffic areas and/or places exposed to the elements, it will only last a year or two. but if like ours it's quite sheltered, and we rarely walk on it, it's been down a year and looks the same as new. Any dust or bird crap is washed away in the next downpour so we never hose it

 

[aveatry]

I haven't used anything else apart from the expensive resin stuff (Sika Fastfix) on ours - £39 for 15kg. But, it only works well if you compress it firmly, for which you might have to get or make a special tool. It's easier if all of your joints are equidistant apart (which ours were not). It is a big problem with people who buy this stuff and don't compact it in, it'll just erode away like sand. They do spell it out in bold on the instructions to do this. And they even say something like "this product is designed with aesthetics in mind and not durability". So for high traffic areas and/or places exposed to the elements, it will only last a year or two. but if like ours it's quite sheltered, and we rarely walk on it, it's been down a year and looks the same as new. Any dust or bird crap is washed away in the next downpour so we never hose it

For my traditional wet cement method I used a flat thin pointing trowel, if I was needing a different width then I would cut it / grind it down

 

[jj4091]

Always used a piece of 15mm copper pipe with a dog leg in for pointing