Why Polymeric Sand Fails | 5 Reasons and How to Prevent Them

[@bobufo5729]

Pavers is one of those things that you don’t wanna take the lowest bid on . I’ve seen some absolute garbage as I’m sure you have. I’ve seen a company had to rip them all out and re do it …. I did them at my house with the help of my professional friend and they turned out great.

[@iamahardscaper]

Definitely agree!

[@teeb9969]

Wish I watched this video first. I followed the directions of it but when I used my blower to blow off excess sand I was afraid to blow it out the cracks so I left to much sitting on the pavers. Then it hardened on the pavers. Now I’m trying to figure out how to correct it

[@iamahardscaper]

Try hot water. If it isnt a large area, pour it on the pavers, scrub, and wash away. The hot water reactivates the polymers.

[@n8dog2001]

Do you have any videos of flowerbed paver borders? This weekend i'm laying pavers in a 12' circle and backfilling with pea gravel for a firepit. The plan is to dig approx 4" deep and hand tamp crush and run. Im a lawncare guy thats trying to branch out and this is all new to me.

[@iamahardscaper]

Ohh unfortunately nothing like that in our library. Let me know if I can help in any way

[@molemaverick]

Almost everyone where I am uses DGA, or dense grade aggregate as their base material which has crushed up limestone in it. They then put an inch or so of sand on top. Is this OK in your opinion? It seems to me that the sand would allow for the water to pass through, but that dense grade aggregate, which gets compacted, does not seem to be permeable. I am actually not a Hardscape, her, but as a regular landscaper, I am often asked to do repairs, and I do have a polymeric sand project coming up. I used to do the polymeric sand for a Hardscape her that I worked for and I realize now that, it’s possible that he was skipping some steps. I’m encouraged to see there were a lot of things that I was doing right, but we did not compact the sand after applying it, and it was never a consideration what base material was used. Furthermore, I don’t remember ever being asked what size the joints were. It’s funny to think about now, because I’m the only one in the company that the boss would let do the polymeric sand because I did have an eye for detail, and I was very concerned with making sure the patio was not wet and that it had the right window of clear weather afterwards. I’m happy to learn that there are more things that I can do to make my process even better, but I am definitely a little nervous.

[@iamahardscaper]

Yeah that is acceptable as long as it is not stone dust / limestone screenings which is more like a 1/4 chip down to dust. 3/4” down to fines is an acceptable base with 1” of sand on top. We don’t compact the bedding layer of sand unless we are using paver base panels like Gator base on top of it. We do always compact the pavers though into the bedding layer when installing the sand

[@molemaverick]

@@iamahardscaper thank you for your response. The sand itself does not get compacted, just the base layer. I’m guessing that’s the same way you do it except that you don’t compact your base layer. Like I said, I am not a full-time Hardscaper, I have built several small patios, and been a laborer on several large patio jobs. As the lead guy, I’m not quite comfortable enough to assume the risk of a larger 20 or $30,000 project in Hardscape. But, I do think I can remove the polymeric sand and redo that on some of these bigger patios. I’ve seen what some of the other companies do, even companies that are technically full-time Hardscape companies, and it makes me really wonder how they are getting away with some of this stuff. I worked on one a couple months ago that the client told me they’ve been out two times to fix things, but the pavers for lack of a better word were sliding off and once I got in there and saw what was going on they had not even installed edges of any kind, so all the pavers were moving around. It was a sidewalk as well, so lots of foot traffic. I would not want to deal with those sort of issues constantly, I’ll stick with the simple dummy stuff and let you smart guys do those projects. Lol.

[@jmvar]

I had a paver patio put in 4 years ago and the contractor used cr6 as a base and stone dust as a bed. Wish they hadn't used stone dust for the bed but I am stuck with it now. The poly sand has turned black and is gummy 4 years later. The pavers are nicolock with a pretty tight gap. What do you suggest I use to replace the poly sand?

[@iamahardscaper]

That’s a tough one. Poly is not ideal with the stone dust there, but the only other option is jointing sand loose. But that will wash out over time and weeds will grow if not maintained. You could apply a joint stabilizing sealer to seal in that sand, but with stone dust there acting as a sponge for water you would want to really make sure there is no moisture that you are trapping in with the sealer.

[@randallellison3282]

Gyc

[@ttzz7868]

Hi, thanks for this video. I guess I am already in that "failed" category. It had rained for a few weeks since the 2nd day when I put on the sands, and now I don't think they will ever cure. Is "pressure washing out and reapply" the way to go?

[@iamahardscaper]

It’s tough to say without seeing it

[@ttzz7868]

@@iamahardscaper the sands remain powder-ish loosened, feels like normal sands.

[@iamahardscaper]

At this point if it was installed at least 30 days ago it is likely not going to cure. It may be useful to discuss with the manufacturer to see what they say.

[@vladimirgayvoronskiy3510]

I watch your videos all the time. Tell me, please, if I need to fill out part of the parking area and raise the level by about 20 inches. What is the best way to do this, which size of stone is more suitable for such a height?

[@iamahardscaper]

Most retaining wall product is suitable for 20 inches in height. If it is for vehicular traffic you would want to make sure that it has locking mechanisms and to follow the spec to install it including geogid placement. Hope that helps!

[@vladimirgayvoronskiy3510]

I probably put it incorrectly question, the wall is made with high quality. I need to raise the level of the tile by 20 inches up. I wanted to ask what fraction of the stone is better to pour such a height.

[@iamahardscaper]

Oh it depends. That’s tricky because I’d have to see what you already have there.

[@jeffbryner5355]

So I just layed a 144 x 32 in section of pavers. I'm going to lay the poly sand down tonight. Can I use a hand tamper to go over the pavers instead of the machine in this video to get the sand down in the joints?

[@iamahardscaper]

Those are inches? I’d say you could get away with a hand tamper though not ideal. especially with a small space you should be alright. Put something over top of the area like plywood to spread the impact over a wider area.

[@jeffbryner5355]

@iamahardscaper ok awesome and yes it's 144 inches x32 inches. Thanks for the quick response!🤘🤘

[@iamahardscaper]

👍👍

[@OMGKRU]

Hi i woul also like your opinion/video on you doing maintenance jobs to now doing new jobs. If someone were to only focus on maintenance jobs and nothing else. Is it profitable to only do that as a landscaping business? Or do you think its only good to start but eventually has to shift towards new jobs

[@iamahardscaper]

For sure! I think I have done a video on this on my season recap videos, but I can definitely do an update on this.

[@iamahardscaper]

Anything can be profitable, you just need to charge enough for it. Maintenance will bring with it higher profit as it does not require the same overhead (if you only do maintenance). I shifted because I did not enjoy the maintenance side of things. I wanted to be more creative with design builds.

[@OMGKRU]

@I Am a Hardscaper yea please. I am trying to find the exact video youre talking about. If you could help me and link it would be appreciated. I have a couple of questions such as did you start with a website to market yourself for maintenance? Or was it just word to mouth? How did you get your first clients? I have been working landscaping for 5 years now being a foreman for 2 different companies. But i believe its my time to work on building something of my own. I would appreciate your help!

[@iamahardscaper]

here it is: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHjHpIKZhduJeNk Word of mouth for me. Because I worked at a supplier, I had a few connections with contractors that I knew would not want to take on maintenance work. So if I were starting again and did not have those connections, I would reach out to ever supplier and let them know that you take on those projects and they may refer them to you because they know contractors around them wont take those on. Do the same with contractors to network in your area.

[@OMGKRU]

@I Am a Hardscaper thank you for always replying so quickly. If i ever wanted to reach out to you. Where else could i get in touch with you if you dont mind? Also when you first started did you at least one employee? And what tools did you have? I already have my pick up with a spacekap with the basic tools (shovel,levels, etc). I have a 7x14 dump trailer. Jumping jack. Concrete saw and 200 lb mikasa packer. A kubota u17 that im currently renting to a landscaping company. And yes the reason i rent my excavator is i am too scared to fully jump with no jobs. This is the reason why i would want to start this season with doing only maintencance because i believe they could be one man or 2 man job and i wont need my excavator. Whats your opinion?

[@OMGKRU]

Wait youre saying we shouldnt finish our grade with 1" of stone dust? And then lay the pavers on top of that?

[@iamahardscaper]

We do not recommend using stone dust, chip dust, limestone screenings, etc.

[@OMGKRU]

@@iamahardscaper in quebec all the landscaping use stone dust as the final step before laying the pavers. So i am surprised by that answer

[@iamahardscaper]

I have heard that. We have a video if you search our channel for stone dust if you are interested