exterrior sandstone flags, would you seal them?

[doug boardley]

got my sandstone flags to finish off round my decking area today, but just wondering wether or not to give them a coat of impregnating sealer or not (I am keen to try LTP's new H20 sealer too). It'll be simple enough to keep the unsealed flags clean enough with my pressure washer but I really don't want to blast the pointing out of the joints. So my idea is to seal with the H20 and then turn the pressure down on my washer so as not to damage the pointing. Any thoughts folks?

[johnryan]

if you're doing outside grouting you may like to have a look at this i saw at the stoneshow today.
EASYJoint, Paving Joints, Paving Jointing UK, Jointing Compounds UK, Jointing Mortars
they showed a video of it being applied, and it looked great. i got some sample from them, and will be using it to grout a slate patio i'm doing in a week or so.
ltp were there too, and showed their new sealant your thinking of using. sounds good too.

[Mike]

i use kiln dried sand and cement 1 to 1 dry mix and brush in the joints. then spray the joint to start the curing process. this won't get blasted/washed out of the joint

[doug boardley]

if you're doing outside grouting you may like to have a look at this i saw at the stoneshow today.
EASYJoint, Paving Joints, Paving Jointing UK, Jointing Compounds UK, Jointing Mortars
they showed a video of it being applied, and it looked great. i got some sample from them, and will be using it to grout a slate patio i'm doing in a week or so.
ltp were there too, and showed their new sealant your thinking of using. sounds good too.

I'll be pointing in sand/cement Johnny, pointing and guaging trowel as alwaysbut Mark and Sue from LTP told us about the H20 on the training day at PGH, sounds awesome stuff as well as being eco friendly

[Scott]

I always point mine, never liked the idea of brushing the dry mix plus the flags i used were rone to staining.
i also dont like the idea of pressure washing them, it seems to take that shiny film off the top from the manufacturing pricess and then they seem to need cleaning more often.

[johnryan]

I'll be pointing in sand/cement Johnny, pointing and guaging trowel as always

i was going to go that way with the patio i'm doing next week, but when i saw this stuff, i thought i'm going to give it a try. it's for my sister, so an ideal chance to test something new. i'll post when i've done it, with some close up photos, so you all can have a look. it looked great in the video they had, so i'm dying to give it a try.

[Dave]

Use mattstone outside Doug, will last longer..

Did you not listen

[doug boardley]

Use mattstone outside Doug, will last longer..

Did you not listen

yep I did Dave the H20 would need re-doing more frequently, but I suppose mattstone is a tried and tested sealer that does the job well

[enduro]

I always use type 1 as a sub base, then lay slabs on solid bed of sand/sharp sand & cement.

[doug boardley]

I'm laying them over existing concrete path Andrew (can still squeeze them in 150mm below dpc) so I'm gonna bed them on a wet bed of rendering sand/cement mix.

[lucius]

I always point mine, never liked the idea of brushing the dry mix plus the flags i used were rone to staining.
i also dont like the idea of pressure washing them, it seems to take that shiny film off the top from the manufacturing pricess and then they seem to need cleaning more often.

Correct my friend.

[whitebeam]

I'm laying them over existing concrete path Andrew (can still squeeze them in 150mm below dpc) so I'm gonna bed them on a wet bed of rendering sand/cement mix.

A good mix I've used for that Doug, all put in the old plasterers bath and mixed with an old belly drill..

2 bags of sharp, 1 bag soft sand and half a bag of dust and a bit of feb.