Patio pointing

Why patio joints fail

Rain, frost and a pressure washer will empty sanded joints in a couple of seasons. Weeds follow. Water sits under the flags. On a brick or stone patio the honest fix is to rake the joints out and pack them again, not to brush a thin layer over the dirt.

We point brick and stone paving. Porcelain and resin jointing is a different product — if that is what you have, we will say so rather than force a mortar that will not hold.

The work

Old jointing comes out. The edges of the flags are cleaned so the new mortar can key. We pack the joints and tool them so they sit just below the paving face — high enough to lock the flags, low enough that you do not skate on a proud rib.

Colour is matched as far as the existing work allows. A patio should not look like a chessboard of old and new strips.

Aftercare

Fresh joints need a bit of peace while they go off. Keep the dog and the pressure washer off it until we say. Once it is hard, a patio pointed properly should take ordinary weather and ordinary use without greening up in the joints the next spring.