Porphyry paving can be a functional stormwater amenity as well as an aesthetic enhancement, when designed as permeable porphyry paving. This is accomplished with a high performance jointing mortar that is also permeable, vdw 800 by GftK. In the examples of curbless streets in recent blogs, the main stormwater design depends on sheet flow to move water to a landscape feature or a berm where infiltration takes place. By using a new high performance grout with the pavers, the entire installation can be permeable.
First and foremost, permeable paving goes against everything we’ve ever learned about modular paving. In the past, paving was done in such a way that water runs right off it. However, with permeable paving we want the water to go through it. Another thing about permeable paving is that the materials used for all key elements of the pavement structure are different from the materials we use for traditional paving, making it harder for people to adapt to something that goes against everything they know about modular paving.
One of the key elements of paving is jointing. It is basically sealing the joints in between the paving units, keeping them in their place. A lot of times, people incorporate cement with their jointing materials to create a solid joint that is commonly referred to as rigid pointing or mortar pointing. This, however, does not help absorb water when heavy rains fall. There are other pointing and jointing pointing and materials available that are permeable.
In a recent project by Original Stone Paving Company with jointing materials supplied by NCC Streetscapes, and reported by A. J. McCormack, the vdw 800 jointing mortar was selected because it is easily able to accommodate the regular 4×4 traffic over the driveway, together with visiting delivery vehicles of up to 20 Tonnes; plus the jointing work had to be completed quickly and on schedule, in order to enable access to the property, without delays due to the cold, wet and damp weather that was forecast. Vdw 800 is slurry applied on to pre-dampened surfaces and rinsed with additional water; therefore it is not necessary to wait for the paved areas to dry out before pointing after wet and rainy weather. It is easily applied using a squeegee and it self-compacts into the joints so no additional hand pointing or compacting is necessary, and then the surface is simply rinsed and brushed off – job done.
VDW 800 Epoxy Mortar and Permeable Porphyry Pavers
VDW 800 Epoxy Mortar – has an exceptionally high permeability rate of 16 gallons / min / 10sf at 20% joints. Its compressive strength is moderate at 2,175 psi. (High performance for light to medium traffic) Manufactured by the German company GtfK, this water-permeable epoxy mortar comes in a 25kg pail that contains pre-coated fine aggregate and 3 color choices, Stone Grey, Natural Sand, and Basalt. The package also comes with a bottle of curing solutions which works as a hardener for the epoxy mortar. The VDW 800 is meant to be used as wet slurry. This means the surface of the paving needs to be soaked and still wet prior to application. The aggregate and curing solution are mixed together with a little water and is applied on the surface of the paving. Using a squeegee, the mortar is spread across the surface, making its way into the spaces between the paving units. The squeegee is also used to scrape off any excess mortar from the surface. Once the mortar begins to dry, any leftovers on the surface can be swept away using a soft brush.
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Stone Paving Technologies is the US exclusive importer/distributor of GftK jointing products. Milestone Imports the foremost source of Porphyry paving products, is available in United States to provide full technical assistance on GftK pavement jointing mortars as well as Porphyry paving stone choices. On-site support is also available. For more advice or assistance with your specific project including the right jointing product, the estimated consumption, and the estimated time required for application, plus any other aspect of paving jointing, grouting, pointing or repointing please call Miles at 866.641.1999 or contact through www.milestoneimports.com
