Technical > Home Improvement > Pressure washing & resanding paver walkways

Pressure washing & resanding paver walkways

We use polymeric sand. It's a little more expensive, but we think it's better. It basically becomes like grout (although it can and still does wash away after a number of years.

I think you should tamp it down. Rent one of the professional ones and use the polymeric sand.
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"You lie!" Talk about an understatement, Joe.

reply to dennismurphy
I definitely agree with the use of polymeric sand, the expense is certainly worth it in the long run. Tamping really won't do any good because the pavers are already set and they won't settle any more. Just spread the sand, sweep away the lose the loose sand, and then use a water hose to settle it. Depending on how deep the original sand was removed, you may need to do this twice.

I think you can do it either way in your case but tamping will make the job go faster. The tamping machine will vibrate the pavers so you get the cracks full. Sweep it in and you might have to do it a number of times as the sand works it's way to a compacted state.

reply to dennismurphy
Tamping wasn't really for securing the block more where it is, but rather to cause the polymeric to really compress and sit tight against the pavers. Basically, the entire work is jammed tightly together to prevent movement. We just had a boat load of work (and expense) done this past fall and the installers did just that and explained that it was so that everything stayed packed tight.

You don't have to go that route and many don't. But it's been very effective for us and this installer does very good work. We had some major work done a few years ago (by the same company using the same method) and nothing has shifted in the entire time. Well, there was one block at the end of a stretch that moved. But, for 99.9 percent of the project everything was tight.

I've got pictures posted on the forums here of the work in process for both stages of our project. Everything still looks identical and is in great shape.
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"You lie!" Talk about an understatement, Joe.

We have a small patio with pavers. After a year or so, heavy rain and some flooding, we lost some of the polymeric sand (between the cracks). I had some left over from the original job and just swept it back into the cracks with a push broom. It didn't last that long and washed away. Goober's suggestion might give you more mileage on sand retention.

That's really what the issue is. Sand retention more so than block movement.
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"You lie!" Talk about an understatement, Joe.

reply to VioletVenom
I think the important thing to remember about sand is that it is angular and not spherical. Therefore it does not automatically achieve a compacted shape. If it is not compacted and therefore locked together then it will erode very easily.

reply to dennismurphy
You don't want to use a 'tamping' machine (presuming you do)...you want to use a vibrating plate compactor.

Two different beasties...!

reply to robbin
Funny. The installer guy said the exact same thing in almost the exact same words when he was explaining it to us.

reply to John Galt

reply to Goober

reply to robbin
Originally, when we built the patio a vibrating plate compactor was used during the process. First to compact the 4" bed of polymeric sand and then as a last step when pavers and crack sand had been laid. With the lay of the land in our application the patio is actually below grade of the lawn.

Old house, built in the late 40's, at some point Harry homeowner built an addition on the back of the house. They didn't take many things into account, one of them being the grade around the house. Even though they stepped up from the original slab about 3", it wasn't high enough. The back yard slopes down into the addition so water mitigation is a bitch. The new patio helps with keeping water away from the house. Coupled with a drainage system installed in the yard, sump pump jets water out to the street. After storms washed the sand from the patio's cracks we put a drain into the patio and that has helped the situation. So, long story short (tldr) YMMV.