Sika FastFix Self-Setting Paving Jointing Compound, Dark Buff, 15kg 21 sq.m

I am middle-aged lady who gardens when needed - mainly mowing the lawn. After pressure cleaning the patio -not cleaned since laid 5 years ago- all the grouting between the paving slabs was blown out. I ordered this product after reading the feedback. It arrived a few days later. The container is not large but it is quite heavy (for a little person to move about). I spent a few hours on Sunday sweeping and then hosing down the patio then carefully filling and packing in this jointing compound in the gaps between the paving stone. The mixture was a dryer and then I expected. I did not think there was a strong smell to it. I was a bit concerned it would not pull together and set, or be enough to cover the patio (21 sq mtr. 40cm x 40cm slabs). On hindsight I could have just poured the mixture along the gaps like the Sika instruction videos on Youtube but I worked in small sections of patio and spooned in the mixture before packing it well into gap with a plastic scraper. I think because of this, I managed to grout the whole patio with one tub but I could have saved a lot of time if I had poured, swept and packed the mixture. I was just not confident I could work fast enough on a big area. You do need to make sure the patio is wetted well before working with the mixture. I kept hosing the sections down as I went along. I was worried excess water would affect the setting of the mixture but it does not. I kept the unused mixture airtight/moist and only took out what I needed on each section. I ended up with mixture to spare. After finishing the job, I could not resist checking every couple of hrs to see if the mixture was hardening up. It got to the point I was convinced I had got a bad tub as the mixture was loose and soft in the gaps for a few days. A day of heavy rain on the Mon probably did not help. I was relieved the mixture did not get washed away. There was a very fine film - like petrol - that came off the mixture in the rain but it did not seem to leave any noticeable residue on the paving slabs. In total it has probably taken a week for the mixture to go hard (weather was average UK spring temperature 10-15 degrees a few days of rain) and now it seems fine and I am pleased with the outcome. If you have not used this stuff before, my advice would be to follow the videos and have patience. It is not cheap but it is easy to use, very little mess and the results look good. Follow the instructions especially the gap size minimum and wet the patio before hand. I think I will get many years without having to worry about scraping weeds off the patio joints.

I needed to re-grout / re-point my patio. Rather than get in a professional, I gave it a go myself with this stuff, and am very happy with the results. The slabs that were wobbling are now secure, it's filled in the gaps that were opening up in the original fixing, which went in seven or eight years ago, and it doesn't seem to have caused any damage to the surfaces of the Indian Sandstone slabs. One note of caution is that, once the sealed bag is open, you have an hour before this begins to set. Fortunately, this 14kg tub contains two bags, so it's not a question of doing it all in one go – but it is important to have the area cleared and cleaned, and any existing loose grout dug out before starting. It then suggests you wet the slabs thoroughly before beginning, to prevent any staining. I did this – and the slabs don't appear to have discoloured. My approach was to pour the powder around two or three slabs at a time, brush that in, and then move on. Once I'd finished the first bag, I ran a pointing trowel over everything to pack it down – though with hindsight, I think a finger may have done a better job. Once finished, the advice is that it may take up to five days to set. I used a stiff broom on it every day for those five days, and got up quite a lot of the residual. That stuff that's left – mostly where the slabs have ridges and hollows – is tough to get off after the five days are up but with a pressure-washer and a broom it gets blasted free after a bit of effort. Now I've got the patio cleaned-up, I'm noticing a few areas I might go over again. I've got about a quarter of a bag left. The advice is that this will stay useful for a month after opening, if you pour it into the tub and then cover it with water. On the whole, I'm very happy with this – and cautiously optimistic it's a job that you can do yourself quite cheaply in comparison to hiring a professional.

Great product. Application was very easy, i just wet the area let the access was dry up a bit and put the product on. Used a large soft brush when first applying and a smaller soft brush and pointer to fill all the gaps between the blocks with no mess a solid finish. Dried very quickly but the weather was very warm. One thing I would recommend is do small areas at a time this may be a bit more time consuming but it is well worth it as the mix doesn’t dry out as quick. Overall I would recommend this product if used correctly it looks great when finished.

Good product it does exactly what I asked very very easy to use

This is easy to use to repair a patio where some of the grout has come loose leaving holes and cracks around slabs - assuming you can get the lid off the tub. I had to ask a builder and he needed a pair of pliers! Ignore the instructions to brush it over the patio. Use a kneeling pad and work on one crack at a time. Wear latex gloves and use a small plastic scoop (like the ones which come with powdered food supplements or washing powder) and empty a small amount into the crack then push it down firmly with your fingers. It's time consuming but you won't waste loads of product or get it stuck all over your patio. The tub contains 2 separate sealed pouches of product, which is useful as it starts to set after an hour so you need to have got all the product in by then. I found it easy to get through a pouch in under an hour. You will need much more product than you think. I have used 2 tubs already on my driveway and will need to order a third, but I had some very deep gaps between paving slabs. I've found that once done it lasts several years, even though the driveway is on clay so gets quite a lot of movement over the seasons. I used 'dark buff' which blends in nicely with my sandstone slabs.

It comes in two bags. One bag was great very fine easy to use. Second bag rock solid having to use a shovel to break it up

Overall this product is easy to use and does work well. I first used it in early spring and then it even snowed during the curing process. I was worried i had wasted time and money but it did set after about a week. I then had to buy another box and I did it in better weather. It is tricky brushing it in when it is wet but I did that, then I went over again when the patio had dried to get the excess off which I patted down into the cracks again. I was pleased it seemed to get lighter as it cured fully (I chose dark buff as it was on offer!). The only thing is that I had to fill some very deep cracks with a sort of wet sand mix as otherwise it would all have fallen down the gaps under the poorly laid patio and it is too expensive to do that. So some of it is coming up where I put the mixture too high and where I didn’t put any sand it fell through during curing and left a hole. So I’m not sure how I could avoid that other than mixing a load of grout first which kind of defeats the purpose of the ease of this. I am not an expert and my job is nothing in this field so I am proud of what I achieved myself but some people will I’m sure tell me that I should not have put the wet sand mix down first. Mostly it is fine though. It would be easier if you could put in the gaps dry and then water down at the end. Also I think it is important to press it down firmly, I found my fingers and side of my hand easiest to achieve that. I would use it again but I am hoping I won’t need to for a while. It’s a shame you cannot store any as once it is opened it goes hard so you can’t go back later and correct any areas, that would have been useful. The picture makes it look darker but I did it on another patio and it definitely got lighter over time so I imagine this will too. Took only a couple of days to cure in the warmer temperatures. Does smell a bit but that passes soon enough.

used this to fill the gaps on the patio, was really easy to use and it has stayed in even through this heat wave. very pleased