Are resin based jointing products any good?

Resin based jointing - or pointing - products have been a round a long time.

I've never used them personally and I have to say - to my mind - traditional cement based pointing is much more appealing on the eye.

To some people, pointing is a mechanical process which merely acts to fill a space and connect one paving product to the next. Of course there is a lot more to it than that. A joint can also be many things: expansion, definition, passive, prominent.

I'm a great believer that pointing on any paving or landscaping project should be celebrated and not treated as a utility activity.

However I see the attraction of resin based mortars. I suppose the best of their selling points is that many of them can be used when it is wet. In some cases you have to physically drench the working area before you can apply the product.

Sand and cement products, on the other hand, require that the working area is not exposed to continuous rain and that there is a period of dry weather so that the mortar may cure and not be washed out. Cement products can also have their integrity damaged if exposed to direct sunshine, causing the mortar to weaken and crack.

What I have noticed is that resin jointing products' popularity is beginning to wane, with complaints about the look of the joint after a short time after work is completed.

Landscaper Jon Brennan says that he thought resin products were the answer to all his jointing problems.

Jon says that after using popular products such as Geofix, Rompox and Marshalls Weatherpoint, the joints became black with mould.

Probably most surprisingly is Jon's thoughts about the speed at which resin products can be used.

It's often said that resin mortars saves time but Jon says: "it has become clear that they [resin mortars] are only around ten to twenty percent quicker to use than cement mortar as the joints need packing and then tooling off and then a final brush. Pretty much exactly the same as cement mortar."

Jon says he's gone back to traditional pointing methods, for reliable results.

Where do you sit. Are you in favour, or against resin based jointing products?

Comments

[James]

I've used sika pave fix plus to joint marshalls eclipse granite, it left quite bad yellow stains. When I called sika they just said it will go with time so when I told the customer that they were so disappointed and refused to pay me for the slabs. So I will never use it again and if you do sika will be no help

[Matthew]

I used it yesterday in the wet at 7 degrees and went back today and it was just damp sludgy sand with no sign of hardening. Now this is advertised as a wet weather product? This is why I bought it. It has rained steady but lightly and it's been 17 hours so does anyone think this will actually harden ?

[Phil Voice]

It should be rock hard by now Matthew. Which particular product did you use?