7 Crucial Mistakes To Avoid When Using Polymeric Paver Sand

If you want a beautiful, long-lasting patio, driveway, or walkway and you’re using concrete pavers to make it, utilizing polymeric paver sand can help you enjoy improved strength, decreased maintenance, and a more beautiful surface. However, there are some common mistakes that people make when they use polymeric paver sand that can end up ruining their project or causing it to not last as long as it would otherwise.

Here is what you need to know about what polymeric paver sand is, why people use it, and some of the most common mistakes that you should avoid. Let’s get into it!

polymeric paver sand

What Is Polymeric Paver Sand?

When you use pavers to build a surface, there are bound to be joints between them. Polymeric paver sand fills these joints in, bonding with the pavers, so that they’re securely locked together. This helps to prevent common problems people experience with pavers, such as weeds springing up between them, insects making their homes between them, and the pavers becoming unstable over time as water gets through the joints and causes dips and hills underneath them. 

Why People Use Polymeric Paver Sand

Polymeric paver sand bars water from getting in between and under your pavers, so that they can stay secure and level, even after a rainstorm. Since it is so much harder and studier than your typical joint sand, it’s much more difficult for weeds to poke their heads through it or to set down roots. And since this type of sand isn’t loose, but is hard, you don’t have to worry so much about ants making their hills between your pavers, because they cannot tunnel through it.

It also helps to improve the safety of your patio or walkway or whatever surface you are using it on. Since polymeric sand helps your pavers stay level and keeps weeds from growing through the joints, it decreases tripping hazards, making them safer to walk on.

Plus, paver sand improves the look of your pavers, giving them that polished finish. You can opt for tan or black paver sand to better match the color of your pavers so that they look just the way you want them to. 

paver Sand

Common Mistakes To Avoid With Polymeric Paver Sand

Paver sand is fairly straightforward to use, but there are some common mistakes that people make with it, either because they are trying to cut corners and save some money or because they simply do not know any better. It’s important to ensure that you apply your paver sand correctly, as an incorrect application could end up costing you significantly to try to fix.

#1. Using Cheap Sand

Quality is crucial to the success of your installation. There are many different types of polymeric paver sand on the current market, but they are not created equal. You want to ensure that you purchase high-quality sand that you can trust to function properly and last longer. The last thing you want is to have to spend more money in the long run because the cheap product didn’t do its job. 

#2. Applying The Sand To Damp Pavers Or Joints

This will end up causing the polymers to activate before you want them to. As such, the sand won’t be properly set between the pavers and it can end up negatively affecting the appearance of your surface.

#3. Using Too Much Or Too Little Water For Bonding

You want to be like Goldilocks: not too much water and not too little, you want just the right amount. This is because if you use too much water, the polymers will separate during activation, can foam on top of your pavers, and can end up not hardening properly. If you don’t use enough, the sand can get a crust, not bond properly, and be far more prone to breakage. 

#4. Not Removing Excess Sand

Since it’s sand, you may not think there’s any harm in not cleaning up after yourself, however, this would be a mistake. You want to properly remove any excess sand, as otherwise, it can end up hardening on your pavers. This can cause either a rough texture or a haze to form on your pavers.

#5. Overfilling The Joints

You may think that the fuller the joints are the better. While you do want to pack the sand down and ensure that the joints are full, you want to leave some space between the top of the sand and the top of the pavers. That way, you can avoid issues such as spillovers and decreased curb appeal.

#6. Poor Drainage Conditions

You want there to be appropriate draining, with a slight slope, a border around your pavers, and the surface they are installed on to allow for water to drain through. Overwise, you could end up with polymers that don’t harden and a sabotaged project. 

#7. Joints That Are Too Narrow Or Too Wide

Again, when you use polymeric paver sand, you want the joints to be just right. If they are too narrow, this can lead to spillover. If they are too wide, you’ll end up dealing with washout. Generally speaking, you want the joint to have a depth of at least an inch and a width somewhere between 1/8th of an inch and 4 inches. 

Top Quality Polyermic Paver Sand

Stone Edge Surfaces provides top-quality paver sand to help you with your projects. If you have any questions about our products or our services, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are more than happy to help. 

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