I finished this job last week in York amongst a few other works at the same property. The house had a few stone steps and a patio area on the back where the pointing looked tired.
To start with I got out my trusty grinder with a few masonry and diamond discs and dug out the mortar (or what’s left of it) from in-between the patio flags. Lots of noise and dust for a few hours but eventually I got all of it out. Then it was leafblower time. I had to get rid of as much dust as I could to keep the joints clear. And before pointing work could start, I went around with my water sprayer to wet the joints a bit so the mortar wil grip better.
I mixed up some mortar but not too wet, otherwise it will smear and make a huge mess on the patio flags. I always find the actual pointing work very therapeutic. Yes, the prep work is noisy, dusty and takes long but when you start to do pointing it’s all ok all of a sudden. You are in the zone, mind switched off and just soldier on with the work. Once I finished, the customer was very satisfied with new look of their patio. They couldn’t wait to bring out the garden furniture again!
Screw it! 