project went south ..Help Needed

[alnptkb]

Hello, I'll try to keep this short.. We had an experienced contractor lay a paver floor on top of an existing concrete slab.
We did not want to use the dry sand approach due to this being a screened in porch and not wanting sand to travel into the house. He decided to pour dry mortar sand down , lay paver's on top and then hose area down..hoping to bond paver's to the sand that was poured down. The sand used was like a mortar made to harden with water. The job was then grouted with sanded tile grout.
At this point the paver's are not solid or secure due to them not bonding to the now hardened mortar mix under them . They have also been grouted and are already showing signs of cracking grout lines.
The paver's used on this job where also used once before with a dry sand approach.
We are now trying to figure out what caused the paver's not to bond with the mortar (sand) as it was wet. Should these have been installed like a ceramic tile with a wet mix and trowel or was it simply the wrong products used for the application? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated as we are now ready to rip up the whole floor and try again.

[jwholden]

We had an experienced contractor lay a paver floor ;)

Moved to Homeowner Help Forum.

[alnptkb]

I see people viewing but no help offered....I'm between a rock and a hard place and need advice on the proper products to use and proper way to install. I'm in a brand new house and have a getto job on my back porch..come on people ...just a few minutes of typing.....

[HRLand]

I can't see the mortar mix getting wet under the pavers and bonding to them. As for the grout joints, if there is nothing holding the pavers in place they will move and grout will crack. If it's a screened porch why not just use tiles?

[Paul]

alnptkb, not all people that view this forum are members,next not all members here have done a paver overlay on concrete! So of the 50 or so views here one reply is not bad at this time!

Why do people think that with a sand set paver that you will get sand all over the place? Next with the new poly sands and joint sealers your paver would locked in. A paver only locks in with some sand between the joints is forced up into the joint before that it's slightly loose.

Next You said "WE" as in the you decided how the job was to be done not leaving the contractor any choice in how to do the job and not knowing if the contractor had the experience in doing a job like this! Me, I would have walked away for the job because you know more than the contractor!

Next how to fix the problem. Take up all the pavers, with a wire brush clean off all the grout, next with a scraper remove all the thin set that you can, and rent a concrete planer to get off all the rest. (talk about dust ) make sure you wear a good respirator.

If your still want them set, use thin set and a 1/2" x 3/4" trowel. After the bricks have set 2 days go over the pavers with a poly sand broomed in dry and swept very clean before you wet it down with a garden pump sprayer.

[Lanelle]

You can be absolutely certain that Paul has given you a failsafe solution.
The only thing I wondered about was why it is necessary to mortar down the pavers to the concrete?
We did pavers on a porch last year and we laid it 'dry.' We mortared the perimeter course of pavers, leaving weep holes so moisture can escape. Paver glue will also work, as long as you leave gaps for water to escape. Each weep hole was backed with landscape cloth. The field was laid on a thin (1/4-1/2") bed of sand. Finish with the poly sand as Paul describes.

I'm just giving this method as an alternative for those who don't want to mess with mortar.

Also, after we've worked a long hard week out in the heat, Saturday night is for relaxing, not composing detailed construction method answers. If your post had gone a couple of days with no response, I could sympathize with your lonliness, but 12 hours on a Saturday night.................

[Stonehenge]

Originally posted by Lanelle
Also, after we've worked a long hard week out in the heat, Saturday night is for relaxing, not composing detailed construction method answers. If your post had gone a couple of days with no response, I could sympathize with your lonliness, but 12 hours on a Saturday night.................

Let me second that - after all, with all you've done for the people of this community, I don't see why others aren't leaping to help. :huh:

...more bees with honey....

[alnptkb]

Thank you for your replies! I wanted to confirm that these could be set with thin set like a tile before moving forward. Also the "we" that decided how to do the job included the contractor , as we relied on his experience to lead us in the proper decision.

[Fine Edge]

I agree with Paul, use a thinset, let the pavers harden a couple of days then sweep your polymeric.

Good Luck.

[alnptkb]

Sorry if I offended anybody wit the "no post " comment earlier. I let my frustration get the best of me. I feel better now that the old pavers are in the back of a trailer and off the floor.
:blush: