ᐅ Clean the joints of the paving stones before applying jointing mortar.

Hello everyone,

In 2016, we paved our courtyard and filled the joints in the usual way with sand. Now that I have paved the carport area and treated it with joint mortar, I would like to apply joint mortar to the courtyard area as well next year.

Do you have any tips on how to remove the existing sand from the joints (3 mm gap) to a depth of about 30 mm (1 inch) without the sand washing back into the now-empty joints and without damaging the surface of the pavement (so, without using a pressure washer)?

Are there any vacuum or high-pressure devices suited for this task? (I understand that a professional company would be needed for this.)

With 130 square meters (1,400 square feet) and a four-brick system, using a joint scraper and vacuuming manually is not very motivating 😉

I can't imagine that removing the sand again would be practical or economical.

Maybe start in one corner by taking out the stones and putting them back in?

Whatever you decide, I would think it over carefully...

Perhaps a compressor could work. However, you would need to make sure that the sand does not scatter too much around the area.

Use a powerful vacuum cleaner.
Rent one from a construction equipment rental service, and you're all set.

Just use a powerful vacuum cleaner.
Borrow one from a construction equipment rental and you're done.