Sealing is meant to protect pavers from the elements (i.e. rain, sun etc…) and anything foreign that were to fall on them. It creates an invisible barrier on top of the pavers that repels water, oil, and anything else you might accidentally drop on your driveway or pool deck, so long as you wash it clean as soon as you spot it. Sealing also preserves the pavers’ natural beauty for years to come. Unfortunately, sealing does not prevent ants from coming up from your lawn or weeds from sprouting up due to seeds in the air. Other products may take care of that problem for you like a good ant killer sprayed in the yard, and a sand joint stabilizer, which is a more expensive product than the regular sealer.
It’s usually a 2-day process (weather permitting of course). The first day, a chemical wash is done followed by pressure cleaning with a 5,000 P.S.I pressure cleaner, getting almost anything out (stubborn penetrating stains like oil and rust may not come out). The second day, given that the surface to be sealed is completely dry, a sealer is sprayed on the pavers. One or two coats are applied depending on the need. We suggest vehicles be driven over completed job 24 hours after sealing is done. Pedestrians may walk on sealed surface after just a couple of hours.
Fine sand is the finishing touch of any paver job. It gets into the little spaces between the pavers and secures them, preventing them from moving or shifting. After pressure cleaning, sometimes sand is blasted out of place. Re-sanding is recommended where necessary. Most people think that the sand needs to come all the way to the surface. Sand is securing the pavers together and does not need to be seen to do its job. If spaces are unusually large between the pavers, they might be shifting due to damage to your edge restraints and you might be in need of some repairs.
Sealing is made to protect the pavers and also to preserve their beauty. When a sealer is applied, it darkens the original colors. Sometimes you might get the pavers to really shine, but it depends on your pavers’ colors. Darker colors tend to have a more noticeable sheen then lighter ones. Again this is a bonus that comes with sealing and not its main purpose.
Usually a good sealing job, with a good product should last between one and a half to two years depending on the care given to the area, the traffic, and the elements (i.e. rain, sun etc…).
Your pavers are porous. When sealer is applied to your driveway for instance, the pavers absorb it. Two reasons cause that white cloudy film on your pavers: Number one is moisture. If after pressure cleaning, the job is not given time enough to dry completely, the sealer then traps moisture inside the paver itself. When that moisture tries to escape it is blocked by the barrier set up by the sealer and causes that white look you notice. It is possible to improve the look of your pavers if this happens, but the results do vary. Number two is saturation. Since the pavers are porous as previously explained, if too much sealer is applied, the paver becomes saturated with the product and becomes not only white, but also very slippery and dangerous. Improving the look of your pavers if this happens is very difficult and costly and is not guaranteed either. A good alternative would be Color Sealing (staining).
The pressure cleaning and sealing process takes two days. Repairs under one thousand square feet usually take one day (or less) to finish, unless otherwise noted. All work is done weather permitting. If we are to do work around a pool, great care will be taken in keeping your pool clean, but even though we are careful your pool will be subject to debris(i.e. sand, dirt, etc…)from pressure cleaning, re-sanding and/or repairs. If you have a cover for the pool, we will gladly use it. We suggest, in case pool gets excessively dirty to schedule your pool company to inspect your filters and clean your pool. We will contact you on date work is to be performed but due to unpredictability of our work, we cannot give you a specific time of start. Please feel free to contact us for any other questions or concerns you may have