What kind of sand do you all use/prefer? How many bags should I get based off square footage?
Thank you in advance for your help.
I hate sanding pavers. Can’t get it to last. Might not be putting enough layers of sealer…
Get the white bags of sand from home depot, it’s dry. If you get the playground sand you have to brush it around until it dries 
and i think it dries up on top of the joints, the dry sand should fall into the joints like sand in an hour glass.
I think I’ll mandate we use a vibrating plate compactor at every single sanding job and put down a minimum of 5 layers of sealer. If they don’t like the cost then we won’t do it.
Bags depend on how much sand their missing. I’d bring at least 7 bags for a typical driveway, just in case, you either keep the rest in your garage or go get more while your helper stays back brushing it in.
Hey Double H, thanks for the reply. The dry sand you’re referring to is that Kiln dried sand? I’ve heard of people using that.
Also, what mix do you use to wash pavers? I’m going to be using my surface cleaner for this job.
Thank you in advance,
Mike
No idea if it’s kiln dried, it’s the Multi purpose sand by Sakrete, 60 lb.
SC is good, make sure to clean the edges good, any triangles or lines you leave dirty will show up worse after the sealer is put down.
House mix is good, unless grossly neglected areas need higher mix.
Also oil stained pavers will also still be there after sealing.
If need be, you can switch a paver with another less visible one if it has an oil stain on it. Two flat head screw drivers can pull it up, don’t chip the paver though.
Are you not using polymeric sand?
nope, tried it, doesn’t last either.
I could try it again with the vibrating plate compactor and 5 layer of sealer… THEN if it doesn’t work I dunno, I might stop offering the service.
The only thing I’ve ever used on pavers is polymeric sand with great luck and it seems to be the go to here in KC. But we also don’t have the weather you guys do.
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+1 on poly sand
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I was originally going to go with that but I wanted to check what others might be using. These customers are one of my first and have gotten me a couple referrals. I want to give the TLC their yard deserves.
I seen a fellow on YouTube used kiln dried sand that swept nice and neatly into the joints. Has to be bone dry before re-sanding
I’d go ahead and do it with the polymeric sand, at this point I’m just going to offer the best and nothing but the best because then I’m having to deal with quality issues when the right materials and proceses aren’t used.
The correct sand to use for pavers other than polimeric is silica sand 20/35 playground sand will not last it will turn to mush and does next to nothing for the joints . Silica sand is a media not a sand. It will maintain it form basically tiny Little Rock’s with or without sealer. Once sealed it is rock solid it will not come out . You can find it at paver stores or online . Just do a search it’s cheep also. And always dry.
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polymeric sand is not used muck in FL. But it is good for color matching and stabilizing paver if you don’t plan on sealing. Polymeric sand usually won’t stay if it’s used as a light resand. If you plan on using polymeric it’s best to remove as much of the old sand as possible. Getting the polymeric deep into the joints is important if you want it to last.
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I think that’s what I’m going to go with too, I’ll be sweeping the stuff in after the surface is completely dry. I’ll post before/after pics
Appreciate all of the advice, thank you!
I’m using a surface cleaner 3,000 PSI
Thoughts on using Quikrete all purpose sand?
I’d use silica as per buddy’s recommendation
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Are you guys doing this to seal the pavers or do you re-sand after just surface cleaning? If just after cleaning, how much do you guys charge for re-sanding?
You can do both. A lot of people don’t want to spend the money on sealer but understand that without the sand the pavers can shift out of place . I charge between 10c sqft for driveways and 20c sqft for enclosed pool decks.you can resand a 1500sqft driveway in about 30 minutes using a blower once you get the hand of it
Thanks! I guess my question is: does everyone re-sand after cleaning? I’ve always told my customers that they’re going to lose some sand and it would be good to re-sand…they always say they know and that they’ll take care of the re-sanding.
Using a surface cleaner the sand settles back in to the joints as you clean. If you use a wand to clean pavers there will be a lot more sand removed from the joints. . You only resand paver if they need it . You can clean a driveway many times without needing to resand
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