Question: Hello Robert, thank you for your great column in The Signal. I have extensive flagstone on my front porch, walkway and a very large backyard patio with concrete grout along the edges of the stone. I don’t know how old the stone work is as it was there in 2007 when we moved in.
Overall, the concrete grout is decent but there are some areas where it has holes and needs to be filled. I would like to do the work myself. There are so many different concrete patch and repair products out there that I really have no idea which one would be the best for this application.
I plan to have the stone cleaned and sealed to bring back the original look after I do the small repairs to the concrete grout. Would you please advise me on which product would be best to use for this job and any other tips or info you might have? I have
attached a couple of photos for your reference. Thanks!
— Greg J.
Answer: Thank you for writing in and being a loyal reader. The stone you have there is bouquet flag stone and is no longer available. They have something similar but not exact. The grout lines can be simply repaired with a cement spec mix.
Use one part of cement to two and a half parts of sand. Mix well (not too thick or too thin) with water. Have some concrete glue there and apply a thin layer on the
existing grout, then apply the mix. This will create a good bond between the old and new mix.
You can also add a little glue in your mix for good bonding. If the surface is shallow, then you’ll want to chip it out a bit for a better adhesion of the spec mix. I hope this makes sense. This is a good project for anyone reading this.
Robert Lamoureux has more than 40 years of experience as a general contractor, with separate licenses in electrical and plumbing contracting. He owns IMS Construction Inc. in Valencia. His opinions are his own, not necessarily those of The Signal. Opinions expressed in this column are not meant to replace the recommendations of a qualified contractor after that contractor has made a thorough visual inspection. Email questions to Robert at [email protected].
