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Landscape Gardening

Could anyone give me some feedback on pointing in guns. i am fed up with pointing in patios .

Are these guns any good, if so which make would you recomend or is it just another tool to waste away in my tool box.And also these dry brush in polymer type things same question really .I would be very grateful from anyone that has used either Thanks Pete.Thanks everyone I am still unsure maybe i'll bite the bullet and buy a gun, the resin sounds a bit pricey.The only problem wioth pointing as you go which I think is the best method is if the customer wanfs a different colour.

17 Answers from MyBuilder Landscape Gardeners

Best Answer

I have used pointing guns for brickwork and patios they are ok but still time consuming refilling. For patios you could try ready mixed brush in wickes do some it is expensive but is so easy and has resin built in and very esay to work with will take you so little time it is the bees knees
Steve

2011-03-26T08:00:01+00:00

Answered 26th Mar 2011

I've used both guns and geo-fix. The guns are quite time consuming as you have to keep filling them up and they tend to get blocked quite easily. The geo-fix works well but after a year or so there will be moss growing from the joints. I have pointed a lot of patios and tried different methods but still go back to trowel and jointing iron.

2011-04-13T09:30:03+01:00

Answered 13th Apr 2011

The Guns which are like oversized silicone guns are great providing you get the consistency of your mortar mix to be perfect.

I would advise using more mortar plasticiser than in a usual mix. with a pointing gun you will probably exceed your current pointing time by 500%. they fill gaps so much easier than with a pointing bar.

Dont be bothered about over filling and it coming out of the joint, just wait till its drying and bar the mortar in as usual then scrape the excess away to reduce staining chances.

The pointing guns which use a compressor arent much good if you ask me, their rep came out to meet me after I said I could do it faster with a silicone style gun and I did.

Slightly bare information but I Hope it helps, in short there definatly better than the traditional bar.

2011-03-26T08:00:01+00:00

Answered 26th Mar 2011

You have had some good answers, I have used the skeleton gun type, we found that you need good fine sand, with extra feb than usual, always have a screwdriver in your pocket to unblock the nozzle, as they do get blocked quite often.
When refilling always clean out the last bit of mortar as it does dry out stiff.
For patios the better gun is the Point Master, it has a larger 10mm slotted end, same size as perp joints in brick work, and doesnt block up.
These guns are heavy when filled right up.
Being a traddional builder I much prefer to point by hand, ie, bucket hand or small tool.

2011-03-26T13:50:02+00:00

Answered 26th Mar 2011

Hey, this is the stuff to use its awesome i have used it loads best on market,
vdw 850 is a particularly high performance and extremely durable, self compacting, epoxy bound paving jointing mortar for pedestrian, light and medium vehicular traffic loads, including larger vehicles and mechanical road sweepers, pressure water jetting etc, etc.

Suitable for extremely fast self compacting aplication, with no delays or waiting (or additional costs!), even in continuously wet weather and at colder temperatures. This is because as the material can be applied in the rain - and in cold (non-freezing) conditions it can still be applied and will continue to cure when temperatures increase above 8-10 degrees C.

vdw 850 is non staining, prevents weed growth, prevents boring insects and has no shrinkage cracking. It is also fully resistant to de-icing salts and freeze-thaw conditions

Quite simply the best paving jointing mortar on the market and the global technology leader!

vdw 850 is the ideal paving jointing mortar for use with natural stone, reconstituted stone and concrete block, slab and other paving surfaces on superior patios, driveways and paved roads, or road junctions and intersections, town centres, retail and commercial developments, plus all sorts of other paved areas.

Note: vdw 840 Plus is not designed for areas used by vehicles or commercial / public areas with Mechanical Cleaning machines - for these areas please use our epoxy resin bound jointing mortars vdw 800, vdw 805, vdw 850, or vdw 855 - According to your specific paving useage and loading requirements see our Paving Jointing Mortar Selection Guide on the website or call Dave or Gary on 01257 266696 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 01257 266696 end_of_the_skype_highlighting if you need any additional assistance or advice making your selection

paul

2011-03-31T09:35:15+01:00

Answered 31st Mar 2011

Hi. I always use a jointing compound called Geofix, its available in buff and grey. Open it up, sweep it around the paving and point it up with a jointing iron, simple as that. It saves a ridiculous amount of time and it doesnt stain the paving like the more traditional methods. Drawbacks are that it can go off very quickly in warm weather making it hard to sweep around and also that it costs around Β£30 a tub covering about 12 square metres. Its definitely worth it though, saves you hours, perhaps days in labour!!

Rick

2011-03-26T08:00:01+00:00

Answered 26th Mar 2011

They are aimed at the DIY market and are a waste of time.I point up as I go and then you dont have to go back over it when the slabs have been laid.After 30 years doing it this is more cost and time effective.
Regards Doug.

2011-03-26T08:00:01+00:00

Answered 26th Mar 2011

geo- fix by everbuild tidy as any thing and setts like iron try and you wont look back .

2011-04-08T22:30:02+01:00

Answered 8th Apr 2011

hi there are 2 types of gun for sale in screwfix ,the dearer one is better quality ,you do have to make the mortar quiet runny to get it to flow out of the nozzle ,,but you must make sure it is cleaned really well after use,once you get the hang of it it makes pointing much cleaner and quicker hope this helps ,brushing in a dry mix is also quick but it stains the slabs and tends to crack and leave voids in joints

2011-03-26T08:00:02+00:00

Answered 26th Mar 2011

I have found it depens on who supplys your sand and the quality of sand they stock, otherwise they just jam-up, i find it quicker and more efficient to do it with a jointing iron or pointing trowel.

2011-03-26T20:40:02+00:00

Answered 26th Mar 2011

We have re-pointed brick work with guns before and found that it speeds up the job but the mix has to be right otherwise the gun will just push out the water from the mortar jamming the gun.

2019-05-16T13:40:02+01:00

Answered 16th May 2019

Personally I can't stand using guns I've bought 2-3 over the Years but apparently if you get used to them and the right mix to use they are good and I've seen people use them effectively but there just not for me I mostly use easyjoint... Something that would take a day to point can be done in an hour I know its expensive to buy just remember to keep beds full so you don't loose too much compound. Tried it once and never gone back

2020-05-04T09:35:02+01:00

Answered 4th May 2020

The guns are very time consuming. I would use a traditional pointing method.

2021-08-28T21:20:03+01:00

Answered 28th Aug 2021

Guns are no good because after putting it in with a gun you still have to trowel it up so its no quicker a proper pointer would never use one its done in the same move put in pushed back and troweld

2022-01-29T18:50:03+00:00

Answered 29th Jan 2022

Pointing guns are handy for small areas but they block up a lot, I like the old fashioned hawk and pointing tool Method but also the newer brush in compound is good and a quick method

2022-05-11T21:20:03+01:00

Answered 11th May 2022

For standard bucket handle pointing I would always use a pointing gun as you'll save alot of time but be sure to buy a seived sand like rock common so the gun sees the block.
I'd also highly recommend faithless guns. πŸ‘

2021-05-25T18:50:03+01:00

Answered 25th May 2021

Pointing guns take too much time up and mix has to be spot on inside them for them to be decent, brush in grout I find the best aslong as you compact properly you get no come backs πŸ‘πŸ½

2023-02-17T15:00:03+00:00

Answered 17th Feb 2023

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