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Pros and cons of using polymeric sand for interlock patio

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  • May 24th, 2017 11:34 am
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Deal Fanatic
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Oct 12, 2007
9732 posts
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Winchester
14yee wrote: I am doing my patio (200 sq ft) rather late in the season when weather is cold. I am looking for a low maintenance, longer lasting solution. My friends recommend me to use polymeric sand.

The contractor charges me $150 extra ($100 being material & $50 being labor since he has to come back at a later date).

Weather does get really wet and I worry that my contractor won't be able to apply the polymeric sand as it has to be applied when the interlock is completely dried. What is going to happen if I leave my patio unseal for the winter? Would it still be effective if I apply the seal in spring? Should I simply do the regular sand and the effect would more or less be the same?
Firstly, leaving it to the spring shouldn't cause any calamitous problems. That being said, I've never left stones down over a winter with absolutely nothing between them and I would imagine that, if you try this, you'll have to reposition some stones come springtime - depending on their heft.

Secondly, I really wouldn't worry about this issue for a patio that size - it can be covered by a weatherproof tarp if you're really that concerned. If you're insistent on doing it now and your patio is mostly in the shade these days, it will be difficult to get your patio dry enough for a properly-applied polymeric treatment, IMO.
Newbie
Aug 11, 2010
1 posts
Mississauga
Try using Envirobond. I used it on my interlock patio last summer and its amazing. It costs less than polymeric sands and it doesnt stain the pavers because its environmentally friendly. Weeds have not grown in and there are zero cracks. I am please with it and would highly recommend it
Newbie
Sep 4, 2009
87 posts
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Newmarket
where can you buy Polymeric sand at a good price????
Deal Addict
Sep 17, 2002
1091 posts
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Ply is about $20 per bag - ours was from Permacon and used it on Unilock pavers

Like others, we just installed our patio - had sand as first base as the gaps were pretty wide with our pavers. We were advised to spay the patio on a rainfall setting instead of jet when washing the deck.

I can say that the the ploy will be reapplied soon to certain spots. Although it does harden, it's not going to last for ever.

I heard that after you remove/spread ply with a broom - use a leaf lower on low setting/distant angle to remove surface dust - trying not to remove poly from the joints

Apply water like rainfall and not too much - if you see white film in the water you applied too much water I was told

Hope this helps
Deal Addict
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Jul 15, 2003
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Ontario, Canada
So what does one do to reapply polymetric sand?

I built my stone patio early 2009. Used polymetric sand. It's held up pretty well. But the stones closer to the edge have moved out a mm or two which has made a larger gap. And there are a few other spots where things have managed to grow through and generally broken the polymetric sand up.

How does one go about repairing this? The remaining sand is still pretty bonded to itself so just spraying it with the hose doesn't remove it. I feel if i just put a small bit of new sand on top of old to fill in shallow depressions it will not end up sticking and will just come out like pothole filler does every year. But i'll need some pretty heavy duty metal instrument to scrape out the old stuff
Newbie
Sep 4, 2009
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Newmarket
iwells wrote: Ply is about $20 per bag
Where is it you purchased it for 20 a bag???
Deal Addict
Sep 17, 2002
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try Lane's Landscaping in Mississauga - maybe we got contractor pricing.
Deal Expert
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Apr 21, 2004
58648 posts
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Is the 2nd generation plymeric sand still the recommended material to put between paver stones? Or are there newer products in the market the require even lower maintenance?

The contractor is doing a 2nd and 3rd visit but I want to do preventative maintenance if it really isn't that expensive.
Sr. Member
May 5, 2009
617 posts
320 upvotes
Vancouver
Polymeric sand is still the type to use, I'm sure all you can find these days are 2nd gen.
Member
Apr 30, 2004
273 posts
79 upvotes
Polymeric sand is very good against weeds and ants.
You have to be very careful applying it .
Before you water it- make shure no sand is left on stones. Blower is a must, read instructions on the bag.
When wet it will stain the surface of the stone. Very hard to clean after.
Deal Expert
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Apr 21, 2004
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Where to buy this stuff cheap just for some touch up work?
Deal Addict
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Jul 15, 2003
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Ontario, Canada
OMG it's a nightmare. I loved this stuff when i first installed it in in 2009. No maintenance year after year. Last year i noticed a few weeds. This year i don't know what happened but it's weed city.

The problem is that it's still slightly glued together. Not enough to prevent things from growing through it's cracks but enough that i can't brush/blow it out to put new stuff in. How am i supposed to repair this.

I've resorted to using an old thin knife and sawing/digging it out between every stone. EXTREMELY time consuming.
Newbie
May 15, 2017
1 posts
Kevinik - I'm looking a the same situation. I don't have a huge weed issue right now but I have many joints where the poly sand has partially come out and needs to be replaced. It's not an easy product to work with and removing it from the entire patio would be a nightmare. It does a nice job for a few years but the long term maintenance is not a simple task. Did you ever find a better solution to your problem? Mine was first put in in 2008. For the weeds, I drive to the US (I'm an hour from upstate NY) and buy Round-Up Weed Killer. It will kill the weeks for a month to several months. It's the only easy solution albeit not the most environmentally friendly one.
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Jul 15, 2003
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No i have no solution. i painstakingly dug out some sections and put in new sand. but i never got it completely out. and the old sand was partially mixed with organic matter so it was like soil in some places. and it didn't harden as well as last time. i'm considering just going weed killer.
Member
Apr 11, 2006
209 posts
36 upvotes
Kevinck wrote: OMG it's a nightmare. I loved this stuff when i first installed it in in 2009. No maintenance year after year. Last year i noticed a few weeds. This year i don't know what happened but it's weed city.

The problem is that it's still slightly glued together. Not enough to prevent things from growing through it's cracks but enough that i can't brush/blow it out to put new stuff in. How am i supposed to repair this.

I've resorted to using an old thin knife and sawing/digging it out between every stone. EXTREMELY time consuming.
I redid some of mine by first blasting out the old stuff with a gas pressure washer. Very messy and time consuming but at least it got much of the old stuff out. Then just follow the instructions to the letter in installing the new polymeric sand
Newbie
May 22, 2017
0 posts
If you remove the weeds and then reapply the polymeric sand on top every year, it keeps the weeds out. I've been doing this for at least 5-6 years and it has been amazing. A little preventative work can go a long way.
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Jul 15, 2003
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Ontario, Canada
Robbo wrote: I redid some of mine by first blasting out the old stuff with a gas pressure washer. Very messy and time consuming but at least it got much of the old stuff out. Then just follow the instructions to the letter in installing the new polymeric sand
Trouble is that my stones are laid directly on leveled sand during initial construction. so if i blast down i'm going to undermine their entire support

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