One of the things we love most here at The Paving Experts is getting out to meet our customers. That’s exactly what we did on a damp day in Cardiff this month when we met the team of experienced landscapers at CC Artificial Grass & Landscaping and helped demo Flowpoint Fine slurry grout.
Background to the project
Last year, Colin, Lisa and the team at CC Artificial Grass & Landscaping were approached to redesign a large garden into a more contemporary entertaining space for their clients Andrew and Cath in Whitchurch, Cardiff.
The garden part of the clients’ grand and imposing semi-detached house had consisted of a traditional space with shrubs, trees and an old patio. Andrew and Cath wanted the outdoor space to be cleaner and easier to maintain so they could enjoy it with their family.
Chosen landscaping elements
The 140 square metre patio itself was laid with Florence Grey Porcelain Paving.
An Italian Nuoak Porcelain paved circle was also placed around a beautiful old tree that the owners wanted to keep to put a swing on for their child.
The planters around the perimeter of the garden were clad with rustic blue slate wall cladding and Italian Nuoak porcelain copings.
Specially designed for outdoor dining and entertaining on summer evenings, the cladding was all finished with LED strip lighting and outdoor sockets installed.
Rather than traditional turf, the clients had opted for C&D Fibre artificial grass so it was a little easier to maintain.
Choosing a slurry grout for porcelain
Landscapers Colin and Lisa wanted to use a rapid setting grout to enable them to point the patio quickly and efficiently.
That’s when they contacted The Paving Experts and we discussed the merits and ease of using Flowpoint slurry grout.
Particularly as the project used porcelain pavers, we suggested that Flowpoint Fine would be an ideal choice to complement the sleek look of the paving element and with no visible aggregate.
Flowpoint Fine demo day arranged
As the Cardiff-based landscaping gang were new to using Flowpoint, we spoke to the team at UltraScape to arrange a demo of the product.
Nick Holmes, Technical Training Manager at Instarmac, together with Southern Regional Manager Chris, supported on-site during the day to demo Flowpoint Fine.
Nick showed the landscaping team how to mix, apply and wash-off Flowpoint Fine.
Review of Flowpoint Fine slurry grout
During the demo day, the team very quickly got to grips with mixing and applying Flowpoint Fine.
The slurry grout was quickly cleaned off the tiles and slabs with a wash-boy and grout sponges.
When asked what they thought of the rapid setting Flowpoint Fine, Colin said, “I absolutely love the product!”.
Lisa added, “I can’t believe how easy it is to use. It’s so fast! We won’t be using anything else from now on as it just saves so much time.”
We asked them their thoughts on the overall installation of the impressive 140 square metre patio, raised beds and planters at the clients’ property.
“We’ve battled the constant rain and three storms – Dudley, Eunice and Franklin – to deliver this garden in a little over three weeks from start to finish,” remarked Colin.
“We are so proud of everyone involved with the transformation.”
Colin thanked The Paving Experts and UltraScape for the slurry grout demo. “A massive thank you for today for all yours, Richard, Chris and Nick’s help.
“Lisa and myself are over the moon after meeting you and we all enjoyed the day thoroughly. You made us feel at ease and, I have to say, I love the product!”
The scoop on Flowpoint Fine
Flowpoint Fine is a brand new and very exciting addition to UltraScape’s Flowpoint range.
Launched in January 2022, this super-sleek, rapid-setting cementitious slurry grout contains no visible aggregate, giving landscapers and paviors alike a grout that is closer to a contemporary ‘indoor look’ than the usual outdoor mortar.
Conforming to the strict standards of BS 7533, Flowpoint Fine has an extremely fine texture and the mortar itself has a high fluid consistency. Once applied using a rubber squeegee, it is washed with a washboy and hose to leave a silky-smooth finish.
Flowpoint Fine is ideal to use with natural stone (such as sawn sandstone), concrete flags, porcelain tiles, clay pavers, granite setts and limestone.
The smooth formula is also ideal for jointing areas that need a rigid or bound void-free joint. It is the slurry grout of choice for smaller joint widths.
The formula is available to buy in 20kg tubs in either Natural Grey or Charcoal. If you working on a larger project, buy a pallet of Flowpoint Fine for a bigger cost saving.
Find out more about Flowpoint Fine in our article.
If you haven’t used Flowpoint before, you may be interested in these common myths, busted by landscaping experts.
Request a demo for your team
If you and your gang haven’t used a cementitious slurry grout like Flowpoint before, and are a little hesitant about starting, get in touch with The Paving Experts and we can talk you through how it works and whether it would work for your projects.
Head Trainer at the Landscaping Academy in Cheshire, Gareth Wilson explains that some landscapers are “quite rightly scared” when they consider pouring Flowpoint onto their slabs.
“At the end of the day, you are pouring a cementitious slurry directly onto the pavers. It goes against everything that you’ve been taught and you should do.
“But Flowpoint has been developed so it doesn’t stick to the paving.”
Gareth shares about the benefits of Flowpoint: “In addition to its British Standard rating and the strength of the product, it’s also the speed at which you can install it.
“If you’re going to be on your hands and knees, for example, with a trowel and a three-to-one mortar mix, it will take you about five times as long to install, compared with using Flowpoint.
“Ultimately, it means less time on the job and more profit in your pocket.”
Just like we did for Colin and Lisa, we can always arrange your gang a Flowpoint demo with the training specialists at manufacturers Instarmac so you can experience the product for yourself.
Call The Paving Experts on 0330 122 1025 to have a chat and see how we can help.
And if you need an amazing landscaping team that do dream patios and the most beautiful porcelain work, together with fabulous fire pits and stunning finishes, then look no further than Colin & Lisa at CC Artificial Grass & Landscaping. They cover Cardiff, Bristol and the surrounding areas.
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