Open-Graded Joint Stone vs Polymeric Sand on Pinellas PICP

PICP is permeable interlocking concrete pavement. The pavers look like a driveway. The section is not a driveway. Water is supposed to go through the joints into an open-graded reservoir and then into the sand below or into an underdrain. Polymeric sand is the wrong joint product on that section. It is designed to lock a dense-graded sand-set field. On PICP it becomes a crust that sends stormwater sideways into the neighbor or into the building.

What belongs in a PICP joint

Open-graded joint stone, sized to the manufacturer and to ICPI Tech Spec 18 practice, stays in the joint and stays permeable. It is not playground sand and it is not leftover concrete sand. After the units are set we sweep the stone, compact, and top off. A leaf blower is for dust, not for emptying the joints. Owners who want a weed-free look still get weeds in a PICP field if the reservoir stays wet. That is maintenance, not a reason to pour polymeric into a system that was permitted as permeable.

Where PICP actually belongs in Pinellas

• Commercial parking stalls chasing stormwater credits or a smaller pond.

• HOA overflow pads that cannot add more impervious cover.

• A residential court that was designed as PICP from the subgrade up, not a standard driveway with holes in the sand.

Do not mix the two systems on one pad

A storefront walk that must stay dense-graded and a PICP stall that must stay open-graded can live on the same lot. They cannot share a bedding layer. We isolate the sections with a soldier course on a haunch and keep the polymeric field off the reservoir. If an old PICP pad was sealed with a film sealer or packed with polymeric years ago, restoration starts by opening the joints and checking whether the reservoir is still empty or has silted shut.

PaverForge Hardscapes designs and builds PICP stalls and standard sand-set fields across Pinellas County. Call 727-490-9798 or request a quote at https://www.paverforge.com.