Paving Repointing & Refurbishment

Paving Repointing & Refurbishment - Online Shop

This repointing requirement usually becomes evident either by the existing pointing cracking and breaking up in the joints or deteriorating from the surface down and effectively being eroded out of the joints. In both situations this is due to the original or previous repointing being carried out with materials that were either not suitable for application in the conditions at the time (i.e. damp conditions with residual water in the joints or being subject to rainfall or frost before hardening); or because paving jointing products were used that are just not able to withstand the service exposure in the area (i.e. accelerated freeze-thaw due to de-icing salts, burrowing insects, pressure jet washing or mechanical road sweeping machines).

NOTE: This is especially serious in small format paving that is more ‘joint dependent as previously mentioned. This means that the jointing material is also important to allow and accommodate lateral movement and stress transfer etc., as outline elsewhere on this website.

Unlike paving joints pointed with GftK’s advanced vdw range of paving jointing mortars, traditional lime or cement based paving jointing materials, even modern polymer modified ones, are unable to cope with today’s rapid installation demands, in whatever weather, and subsequently the severe modern exposure requirements. These can include the frequent heavy use of de-icing salts, high-pressure water jet cleaning and mechanical street cleaning machines, in addition of course to the increasingly frequent and increasingly heavy traffic from modern cars, vans and delivery trucks etc..

One component, vacuum-packed, ‘bag-in-a-tub’, polymeric sand jointing compounds or ‘wide jointing compounds’ as some are known (named by marketing men because as they do not contain cement they do not suffer from cement shrinkage cracking – probably their only good point, but outweighed by their other performance disadvantages!), were originally developed for DIY. Unfortunately, because of some manufacturers and builders merchants continually “over-promising”, they have also been used extensively by some contractors. This is primarily because they are quick and easy to install, usually as dry, or wet brush in compounds – BUT, none of these products are durable, they are not suitable for vehicle traffic, even on domestic driveways and cannot be cleaned by frequent jet-washing nor can they tolerate de-icing salt attack and have little resistance to staining, insect attack – or anything else. So cheap and quick yes, but we suggest that you only use this type of jointing product if your patio is more for show, or maybe when you are going to move shortly…!

If you have used one of these products, or have been left with them by a contractor, it is not their fault, they are promoted beyond their capabilities in merchants. The one component compounds may perform for a couple of years if you are lucky, but you should be prepared to repoint them with a more durable material in the not-to-distant future!

Patios and Domestic Paving Repointing

Before Repointing - Typical Failed Cement or 1-C Compound Joints

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After Repointing with GftK's 2-part vdw Epoxy Coated & Bound Joint Mortars

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In refurbishment situations brought about by the almost inevitable breakdown and failure of cement based jointing mortars and air-drying polymer sand jointing mortars, Local Authorities in particular, together with their professional advisors are faced with some significant problems in order to replace the deteriorated and broken down paving jointing -There are:

• Different joint depths and varied joint shapes and widths – some very wide;
• Residual water in the joints;
• Only minimal closure periods possible, if any, due to modern access requirements due to financial commitments or emergency services vehicle access etc.;
• Vibration and abrasion from the frequency and imposed loads from the vehicular traffic;
• The solutions must resist aggressive mechanical street cleaning machines with high pressure water jetting and rotary brushes – and the use of de-icing salts in winter!

There are also very often even more environmental demands in these paving refurbishment projects because the areas need to be in almost constant use i.e. in Market Squares, roads for Hospital, Church and retail or commercial building access and entrances etc. These include that:

• The paving joint mortars must be mixed and placed on-site without creating any dust to disrupt the occupants;
• The jointing mortars are moisture-tolerant during application and hardening;
• They are fast to apply and harden rapidly to allow fast reopening of the areas;
• They must be non-staining on the stone or block surfaces.

All-in-all a significant and demanding specification for the installation and performance in service of a paving jointing mortar, all of which can NOT satisfactorily be met by any type of cement based paving jointing materials or products.

Town Centre, Highway & Market Square Paving Repointing

Before Repointing - Typical Failed Cement or 1-C Compound Joints

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After Repointing with GftK's 2-part vdw Epoxy Coated & Bound Joint Mortars

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There was a large paving refurbishment project to refurbish and repoint large areas of granite setts in the historic Market Square at Hitchin in Hertfordshire, which was carried out back in 2009, where the works had to be finished in time for the Christmas Markets at the end of November, despite the frequently cold and wet weather. The Local Authority and their Consulting Engineers carried out trials with test sections over the previous winter, of all the available commercial pointing materials. GftK’s vdw 850 was the clear winner in terms of speed, ease of installation and also durability, with other materials failing within this short time period or requiring unrealistic conditions for use, and so the vdw 850 was selected and used for the works.

During these works in 2009 the independent team from Paving Expert were in attendance and observed the installation as it was then a relatively new method and material for the UK, they concluded that the material was fast and easy to use and that it would seem to be a good solution for many local authorities – Provided the material was also durable in service…..!

So, in 2017 more than 8 years after the installation the Paving Expert team visited for a second time and their detailed observations and conclusions can be seen here: www.pavingexpert.com/point_ncc06

In conclusion, the expert said : ”More than eight years have passed, eight cold, wet winters and eight long, hot (occasionally!) summers, yet the whole market square looks as though it was re-jointed only last year. I’m pleasantly surprised at just how good it looks.!

And they also added “No matter where you look within the market square, the setts are no longer a hazard, the jointing hasn’t fallen apart nor been washed away, and the entire pavement surface is in near perfect condition.”

GftK's vdw range of advanced polymer and epoxy bound sand based paving jointing mortars, includes solutions for all of these demands in all different types of natural stone and quality concrete block paving refurbishment (as well as for new build projects of course). Patio and other areas of Paving Repointing and Refurbishment is therefore far more demanding than most new build projects. To ensure that you make the right decision and select the optimum paving jointing solution for your project please refer to our Paving Joint Mortar page. If you are uncertain how to proceed then for FREE Expert advice you can email us at technical@nccstreetscape.co.uk or you can call 01257 266696.

A summary of the key areas and considerations for patio and paving refurbishment in terms of their initial 'Paving Cleaning', followed by the 'Paving Joint Mortars' and finally 'Paving Sealers' where appropriate. are all outlined below and there is more detail on the focussed pages of this website and on the products themselves in our Online Shop.

Paving Cleaning for Repointing & Refurbishment

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Specialist chemical paving cleaning products are provided by NCC Streetscape for block paving cleaning and natural stone cleaning, in paved areas such as patios, driveways, commercial developments, town centres and all types of hard landscaping. These are available now to buy in our Online Shop.

These cleaners for natural stone and concrete block paving include algae and other green growth removing paving cleaners, dirt and grime removing cleaners, cement grout and cement mortar removing cleaners, plus oil and grease removing cleaners, in fact we have paving cleaners to remove most types of dirt and staining from most kinds of natural stone and concrete block paving and hard landscaping surfaces.

For more information please see the ‘Paving Cleaning Product Selection Guide’ on the dedicated Paving Cleaning page of this website, or review the different types of paving cleaning products in the Paving Cleaners Section of our Online Shop - Alternatively please email technical@nccstreetscape.co.uk or call on 01257 266696 for specific advice and assistance on your paving cleaning requirements.

Selection and Use of Paving Re-pointing Mortars

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NCC Streetscape have the ideal paving joint mortar available for paving repointing of every type of stone and paver, every type of area, traffic and exposure in both new and refurbishment paving works from the unique GftK vdw range of paving joint mortars.

For more information and a selection guide on the most suitable paving joint mortar for your project please visit the Paving Joint Mortar page of this website. You can also buy these products in our Online Shop.

There is a selection of recent UK Commercial Developments with Paving Jointing Projects that have been successfully completed on our Case Studies page where you can view or download them in PDF format. The pages also include several real project video Case Studies. Alternatively please email technical@nccstreetscape.co.uk or call on 01257 266696 for specific advice and assistance on your patio or any other paving jointing requirements.

Paving Sealers for Repointing & Refurbishment

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Block Paving Sealers and Natural Stone Sealers are another major subject in themselves – NCC Streetscape can help you make the right product selection for your project – For more detailed information please refer to the Paving Sealers page of this website. You can also get detailed Paving Sealer Product information in our Online Shop - Alternatively please email technical@nccstreetscape.co.uk or call on 01257 266696 for specific advice and assistance on your paving sealing requirements.

Overall Aspects of Patio and Paving Refurbishment

In summary for Patios and all other areas of domestic and commercial or public Paving Refurbishment, NCC Streetscape provides a comprehensive range of Paving Cleaners for removing cement staining, efflorescence or oil spillages etc. NCC Streetscape are the UK and ROI Distributors of the unique GftK vdw ‘state-of-the-Art’ range of Paving Joint Mortars.

NCC supply Paving Sealers when required to protect against freeze / thaw attack or future spillages of oils or other staining materials, or Jointing Sand Stabilisers.

NCC Streetscape also has many other useful Additional Paving Products including specialist waterproofing systems, structural adhesives and epoxy resins etc., which we have also selected as being ideal for use in external hard landscaping works.

To review some examples of specific Paving Repointing and Refurbishment Case Studies follow this link to our case studies pages where you can view and download examples of recent patio and other paving refurbishment projects completed by our professional customers in PDF format. On this page there are also some videos of some recent Paving Refurbishment projects taken before, during and after the installation of the GftK Paving Jointing Mortar.

Plus you can call 01257 266696 for specific advice and assistance on your patio refurbishment or paving refurbishment project - Whatever your requirements, domestic or commercial, we are confident that we will be able to help you save time and money in achieving a cost effective and durable solution to any paving refurbishment problems. Our expert advice is always FREE.