Cleaning and Sealing Paver Stones is NECESSARY! We are often asked, “Do I need to seal my pavers?” The short answer is YES!!! Cleaning and Sealing is an important maintenance tool to keep paver patios, walkways, driveways, and pool decks looking as beautiful as the day they were installed.
However, “too much of a good thing” can come into play, and you should be wary of over-applying paver sealer by reapplying too often, which could create a haze.
What Cleaning and Sealing Paver Stones Can Do For Your Home!
Natural pavers may be more rustic, but they have a raw, unfinished look that may not fit even with more naturalistic decor styles. Sealed pavers create a polished look and complete the look of your driveway, patio, or pool area. The shine after sealing pavers adds sophistication and can improve curb appeal or complement the rest of your home decor.
Increases Weather Resistance
- Most pavers are naturally porous. This makes them susceptible to water damage and erosion. Simply cleaning and sealing paver stones adds a resistant layer to sun and rain. In addition, when a sealant is used the pavers are protected from UV rays, which fade the natural color.
Prevents Damage
- Paver sealing covers the cracks between pavers, creating a smooth surface that discourages chipping and additional cracking. When air temperature changes pavers expand and contract, but cleaning and sealing reduce this effect. This is important because less movement means less chance of cracking, helping your pavers last longer.
Improves Drainage
- Unsealed pavers trap and absorb water. The trapped water leads to damage and erosion, in addition, it inhibits poor drainage for your driveway, patio, or pool area. On the other hand, cleaning and sealing paving stones gives pavers a smooth surface that enables roll-off. Your paved surface area will not collect water.
Easier Maintenance
- The protective coat of paver sealing protects pavers from oil stains and any other stain your driveway or patio may encounter. It discourages insects, weeds, algae, and mildew, and makes it easier to clean them when they do grow. With a smooth surface and fewer stains, paver maintenance can be a breeze!
Enhances & Restores The Color Of Pavers
- UV rays cause fading in pavers, but paver sealing functions as a varnish. The sealant draws out the color and contrast of new and old pavers. Whether you’re installing new pavers or giving a facelift to old ones, paver sealing helps them look more beautiful and vibrant!
Gappsi Showroom Cleaning and Sealing
The Gappsi team is cleaning and sealing the showroom parking lot located in Smithtown NY Suffolk County on Long Island. We are using hot water on low pressure with a surface cleaner to remove dirt, oil residue, and other debris collected in the crevices of the surface of the pavers. We are using a rotary wand to loosen the dirt collected in between the joints of the pavers. This is a large parking lot built with Nicolock pavers. The colors of the paving stones are still very nice even after 15 years of being exposed to the elements and vehicular traffic.
Nicolock manufactures high-quality concrete products that withstand the test of time. Like any other concrete product, concrete is corrosive. It weathers when exposed to the elements like heat, rain, and snow. In addition, calcium chloride and ice melters are used during freezing times. After completing the cleaning of the entire paver parking lot, we filled the joints of the pavers with haze-free polymeric sand and vibrated it with mechanical plate compactors to allow the sand to settle in and completely fill the joints. We spray water on the pavers to allow the sand to get wet, letting the water saturate the sand all the way through the bottom of the joint, and also wash off the surface of the pavers.
Polymetric Sand
The polymeric sand comes in a few different colors, but the most commonly used is beige or gray. It really doesn’t matter what color you use because over time it weathers and it will eventually turn into a brownish-gray color. Polymeric sand is a combination of medium-crushed natural sand, that is combined with color and a polymer component. It is activated when in contact with water to make it glue and eventually harden. This makes it better for the pavers’ stability, makes it harder for ants to dig and nest in between the paver joints, and also makes it harder for weeds to grow through.
The next process is the installation of the sealer. We use high-quality urethane-water-based sealers, which are environmentally safe and won’t harm plants, pets, or humans. It penetrates the surface of the pavers and creates a coating to protect the pavers from the elements. It also brings out and deepens the colors. Our sealer won’t yellow, and it will create a consistent tone on the pavers during wet and or dry circumstances. We allow the sealer to cure for at least 3 days before driving on it, and depending on the temperature, it could be longer for the sealer to totally cure.
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VIEW OUR VIDEO OF CLEANING AND SEALING PAVER STONES AT GAPPSI
We provide pressure washing and re-sanding & sealing services in the following areas of Eastern Long-Island, Western Long-Island, North-Shore Long-Island, South-Shore Long-Island, Suffolk County, and Nassau County: Glen Cove, Hempstead, North Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Babylon, Huntington, Islip, Smithtown, Brookhaven, Southampton, Riverhead, East Hampton, Southold, Old Brookville, Old Westbury, Mill Neck, Nissequogue, Lloyd Harbor, Muttontown, Cold Spring Harbor, and East Norwich.
We have started our 2020 cleaning and sealing season rejuvenating the Gappsi showroom parking lot in Smithtown NY located in Suffolk County on Long Island. We are using hot water on low pressure and surface cleaner to remove dirt and residue of oil and other debris collected in the crevices of the pavers surface. We are also using a rotary wand to loosen the dirt collected in between the joints of the pavers. This is a large parking lot built with Nicolock pavers, and the colors of the paving stones are still very nice even after 15 years of being exposed to the elements and vehicular traffic. Nicolock manufactures high-quality concrete products that withstand the test of time. But as any other concrete products, concrete is corrosive and it weathers when exposed to the elements like the Sun’s heat, the rain and snow, and also to the calcium chloride and ice melters used during freezing times. After completing the cleaning of the entire paver parking lot, we filled the pavers joints with haze-free polymeric sand and vibrated it with a mechanical plate compactors to allow the sand to settle in and completely fill the joints. We spray water on the pavers to allow the sand to get wet, letting the water saturate the sand all the way through the bottom of the joint, and also wash off the pavers surface.
Was your Cambridge or Nicolock paving stone Patio installed in 2019? Let Gappsi preserve your outdoor floors with our Eco-friendly polyurethane sealer and state of the art cleaning and sanding process. Best time to apply the sealer to concrete pavers is within a year after installation.
Swimming pool and Retaining wall Built by Gappsi in Woodbury NY, with Travertine patio and coping. Refurbished with the cleaning and sealing process. Using low pressure hot water the paver’s surface gets clean uniformly with no impact of wear on the stone surface. The joints in between the pavers got filled with high quality polymeric sand and vibrated with heavy mechanical plate compactor with rubber rolling system to prevent pavers from getting scratched or damaged. Then sealed with high quality urethane sealer To learn more about Gappsi products, please contact us at 631-543-1177 or visit our web site at www.gappsi.com
Cleaning and sealing limestone driveway pavers in Roslyn NY. Stones were pressure washed and joints filled with polymeric sand, vibrated wit rolling vibratory plates. Gappsi Exclusive sealer was applied to expose the color and details of the limestone pavers surface.
It is important to wait at least a year before sealing concrete pavers from the date of installation. Concrete pavers have to cure and must go through a four-season cycle of weathering. This allows most of the lime from the paver’s surface to come out. After the cleaning and pressure washing process, all the lime from the surface gets removed and the color of the stones gets exposed, this allows the sealer to capture the best of the pavers and preserve it that way. The life of the sealer is contingent to how well it has been applied. Three to five years is recommended by most sealer manufactures, and usually people reseal the driveway and pavers that often. But what’s most important is that pavers are sealed right one time and even though the sheen will go away, or some dust my sit on the surface, the sealer that penetrated the surface of the pavers has created that will be present for many years preventing the pavers from edging.
Polymeric sand is best to use to fill the joints in between pavers. High quality polymeric sand will not leave any stains on the surface. Gappsi vibrates the pavers while sweeping which allows the send to fill the joints tight and also help the sand harden. Sweeping the excess sand off the pavers before wetting the sand is also very important. This prevents the glue that is in the sand to smear the pavers surface. Most importantly, applying a good urethane sealer will further help the sand to harden and prevent ants from digging into the paver joints and weeds from growing on patios.
There are many manufactures of sealers, from solvents to acrylic urethane. Epoxies, acrylic, and urethane sealers come in water-based versions and solvent-based versions, including combinations of both. The biggest difference between the two is the VOC content. The sheen and life of the product determines how often it lasts before needing to be reapplied. Solvent-based acrylics tend yellow overtime and don’t allow the concrete breathe. Epoxies are the strongest sealers, but are best used for smoother surfaces and more for indoor or warehouse floor application. The best sealers for paving stones are water-based urethane. They are algae and mold inhibitors, allow superior joint stabilization, they are environmentally safe, its UV Protection will not harm vegetation, and it is VOC Compliant in all 50 States. Well-trained Gappsi personnel can apply paving stone sealer products achieving the best results.
Yes! All concrete and paver surfaces should be cleaned before applying any sealer coating. It is very important that the surface is clean because any stains or materials that get trapped under the sealer will not be able to be cleaned after it’s sealed. Pressure washing pavers is just as important as sealing it.