Why does polymeric sand keep washing out of pavers?
Heavy rain easily washes polymeric sand out of paver joints when the material fails in layers and peels apart. This prevents the joints from staying locked, forcing homeowners to deal with constant erosion instead of a sealed patio.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Add more sandDid this help you?
- 2Pack the sand in better using a broom and a tamperDid this help you?
- 3Check if the joints are deep enoughDid this help you?
- 4Full carve out of areas and redo the polymeric sandDid this help you?
- 5Soft vacuuming the sandDid this help you?
- 6Replacing regular polymeric sand with Polybutadiene Resin Jointing SandDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“We had our first true rain and noticed these gaps in the joints.”source ↗
“The sand is also soft and malleable in places. When I press down with my nail, I can push it down.”source ↗
“looks like it rained heavy and all the sand just washed out.”source ↗
“You can’t, because poly sand is a scam.”source ↗
“Not sure you can at this point. It’s “failing” in layers (peeling).”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 2Can you use a plate compactor on travertine pavers?
- 2Polymeric sand or concrete for paver joints?
- 2How to care for and revitalize old stamped concrete when moving in
- 2Will concrete in the backyard crack and look bad over time?