Paving “Jointing Sand Stabilizers” are not the same as a “Paving Sealer” as they are more specifically designed to penetrate into the sand and bind the loosely filled sand grains together between ‘flexibly’ laid paving stones or blocks. ‘Flexibly laid’ simply means that the blocks are laid on a bed of compacted sand / aggregate and not laid ‘rigidly’ into concrete or mortar. The joints are kept to a minimum of some 1 to 4mm and they are filled with sand as mortars are not suitable for this purpose, because they could not effectively bond to the block pavers and then be able to accommodate the joint movement, especially when trafficked. Unfortunately the loose sand, even when compacted with water and vibrated with the wacker plate used in these applications, the sand can still be washed out in heavy rain, weeds can easily grow and insects can burrow in and undermine the paving.

The use of a specifically designed and developed paving jointing sand stabilizer , is effectively therefore to stabilise the sand particles and hold them together , to flexibly fill and seal the sand filled joints. This then significantly increases the resistance and prevents the jointing sand being extracted by weathering and light domestic cleaning operations, such as vacuum sweeping and strictly controlled power washing, plus the use of a good quality Sand Stabilizer such as GftK’s vdw 870, also increase the resistance to entry for seeds, roots and burrowing insects such as ants. Therefore paving jointing sand stabilizing products need to be less penetrative than impregnating paving sealers and yet tougher, more flexible and elastic than paving surface sealers, in order to bind the sand grains together, enabling the joints to accommodate the natural flexing and movement of flexibly laid block paving.