I had a contractor fix my walkway because the cement between the joints was cracking. Although he did good work for me before, this time the new cement looks really messy. It's been about 4 months since he did the work, and it hasn't faded as I expected. When I asked him about it, he said it was 'normal' and attributed it to the lime in the cement. He suggested waiting until winter to see if it improves, but I'm not convinced. What might be going on here? I've included photos of my back patio, which was also done by him years ago and looks great, but my front walkway is concerning me. Any insights would be appreciated! Check out the pics here: https://imgur.com/a/2b5CARG
3 Answers
Your back patio looks great! It’s such a bummer when a job doesn’t turn out as expected. Hang in there!
Honestly, I wouldn’t use anything but proper elastomeric caulk in situations like this. It holds up a lot better and prevents moisture problems.
It seems like there might be a few issues at play. Your walkway might be shifting or you could have used the wrong grout that's not sealed properly. That pulling away from the stone allows moisture to seep underneath, which isn't good. Those white smears around the grout lines could be efflorescence from moisture pushing salts to the surface, or just a result of a messy cleanup job.
Totally get the frustration! If it's efflorescence, it sounds like it could be moisture-related after all. You might want to keep an eye on it.
Yeah, those white stains appeared right after the job, so I doubt it’s moisture-related. I wonder if there was a mixing problem with the cement? But yeah, I definitely see the separation.