Most patios have pointing (mortar) in between the joints unless the patio is butt jointed (either touching or with a minuscule gap) or close jointed (very close but not touching with sand between them)

 

Over time, pointing can be lost for a variety of reasons, but particularly if the mortar was a weak mix of sand and cement.   At Prestige we often come across people who have either re-pointed themselves or have paid a contractor who has used a resin based mortar that is just poured onto the patio and brushed into the joints.   In our opinion, we feel that this type of pointing to be grossly ineffective as it nearly always fails within the first year or two and, when it comes up against a pressure washer, large areas simply disintegrate.

 

When patios are pressure washed there is a strong chance you are going to lose some pointing unless it’s been done well with a strong sand and cement mix.

 

We offer a re-pointing service at Prestige.  We can either completely replace all the pointing by removing by hand anything left in joints that the pressure washer hasn’t removed, or we can leave in any strong parts of the pointing in the joints, remove any loose areas by hand and apply new mortar, joining it up to the old mortar.

 

Ideally, having all the old mortar removed is the best option.  The pointing is all the same strength and consistency, it is the same colour and there are no joined sections where, if pointing is going to fail (crack or chip), this is where it is most likely to happen.   Having said this, removing all the mortar is the most costly option as it is time consuming and uses more materials.

 

Having your pointing refilled and joined up to any strong mortar remaining is still a viable option, especially if you are on a budget.  However, it must be said that there is no way of knowing how long the old mortar will last, also as mentioned above, where the new and old mortar join there is an increased chance of the mortar failing.

 

For more information on patio re-pointing Cambridge, please contact us, we will be happy to come and assess your patio and leave you with a FREE , no obligation quote.