Video: Benefits of Polymeric Sand

SAN JOSE — Host, Sarah Rutan: When installing new pavers, one additional measureworth considering is the application of polymeric sand. Today we’re in San Jose with Diamond Certified Expert Contributor Roger Van Alst of Black Diamond Paver Stones & Landscape to learn more.

Diamond Certified Expert Contributor, Roger Van Alst: At Black Diamond, we often get asked if polymeric sand would be a good idea for a new paving stone installation. Polymeric sand is essentially a sand that has a polymer added to it. That polymer is a bit like a glue in that it goes in dry, but then once the sand is moisten it will activate and hard. A bit like a grout might. Becomes a solid sand surface between the joints.

Certain pavers, polymeric sand is essential. These paving stones have a gap that’s about a quarter inch wide and typical sand would migrate too much in that paving stone installation. So, the use of a polymeric sand will prevent that migration from occurring. It’s also useful to have polymeric sand around a pool deck where sand would otherwise potentially migrate into the pool. The polymeric sand will harden in between those joints and prevent it from moving.

The benefits of polymeric sand are that it’s going to obviously lock the sand into place, it won’t migrate, there won’t be any weeds able to grow between the pavers, and no ants or insects will [00:01:08 infestate] in the joint to the pavers. One disadvantage is that the structure which was flexible is now a monolithic surface solidified with that sand.

So, if there’s any shifting that occurs due to clay soils, expanding or contracting, or ground movement, ground shifts, then there can be a fissure that appears between the joints – essentially like a crack between the joints where the polymeric sand is separating from the paver. It is easily fixed by applying more sand, or scratching out that area and reapplying sand in those areas.

Polymeric sand is about $1.50, a little bit plus or minus depending on the application, and the type of joint, and how much sand would be required per square foot. But, you should expect to pay somewhere between $1.50 and $2 a square foot for adding polymeric sand to your installation.

Host, Sarah Rutan: To learn more from local top-rated companies, visit our Diamond Certified Expert Reports at experts.diamondcertified.org.