Reviving Your Outdoor Spaces: Expert Stone Patio, Driveway, and Floor Restoration and Sealing

View Gappsi’s YouTube Channel for Videos of Reviving Your Outdoor Spaces: Expert Stone Patio, Driveway, and Floor Restoration and Sealing

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about our comprehensive process for restoration and sealing stone patios, driveways, and indoor floors. At Gappsi, we believe that every stone surface deserves a personalized approach based on its material type, structural makeup, and your unique preferences. Whether you’re working with natural stone, such as marble or bluestone, or with concrete pavers, our techniques and materials are designed to ensure long-lasting beauty, durability, and protection.

Choosing the Right Sealer: It’s Never One-Size-Fits-All

One of the cornerstones of our restoration philosophy is using the right product for the right surface. We never apply a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, we select from a range of specialized sealers tailored to each specific type of stone or concrete. The stone’s density, porosity, and structural integrity all play a role in our selection of products.

Concrete pavers and natural stones, such as marble or bluestone, require very different sealing methods. Concrete, being more porous and uniform, can be treated effectively with coating sealers. These sealers sit on the surface and create a protective layer, which is ideal for enhancing color and protecting the surface. On the other hand, natural stones are denser and require penetrating sealers, which soak into the stone’s pores and provide internal protection without altering the surface texture or sheen.

cleaning-and-sealing-concrete-pavers-process-before--afterBut we don’t stop there. Your vision for the final appearance matters just as much as the material itself. Some homeowners prefer a more natural, matte look, where the stone’s color remains unchanged but is still water- and stain-repellent. Others may want to enrich or enhance the stone’s natural tones, giving the surface a “wet look” or deeper hue. We tailor our sealing method accordingly, ensuring both aesthetic and functional goals are met.

Enhancing or Transforming Paver Color | Restoration and Sealing

A unique service we offer is our color enhancement process. This is ideal for older concrete pavers that have faded over time. We can breathe new life into them by adding a translucent color tint to the sealer. This approach restores their vibrancy while maintaining the natural color variation that gives them character.

Alternatively, for clients seeking a bolder transformation, we offer solid color treatments that entirely change the paver’s appearance. Again, the choice of coating or penetrating sealer depends on the paver’s composition and the desired effect. Older concrete pavers typically benefit from surface coating sealers, while new pavers and natural stones are better suited for penetrating sealers.

Contact Gappsi Today For An Estimate

Tile and Grout Restoration for Indoor Surfaces

Our services extend beyond outdoor spaces. We specialize in tile and grout restoration for interior floors, bathrooms, kitchens, and showers. Over time, grout can discolor and absorb moisture, resulting in deterioration and staining. We offer deep cleaning and sealing to protect and preserve your existing grout—or, if you’re ready for a new look, we can recolor your grout entirely.

Grout and Tile Cleaning in Your Home | Bathrooms, Kitchens, Walls and FloorsOnce sealed, your grout becomes water-resistant and far easier to clean, maintaining its appearance for years to come. This is an excellent solution for both new tile installations and older surfaces that need a refresh.

Premium Joint Sand for a Polished Finish

Before sealing pavers, it is essential to fill the joints with sand appropriately. We take pride in offering our proprietary line of premium sand, imported from Italy. Unlike many coated sands on the market, our sand is naturally colored and uncoated. This makes a big difference.  Coated sand does not absorb sealer properly and will not bond or harden correctly in the joints.

Available in five colors: white, gray, black, beige, and beige-gray mix. Our sand allows you to choose a look that complements your stones. The granules, sized from 0.4 to 0.8 mm, are precisely crushed and washed for optimal compaction and joint filling. When needed, we mix the sand with a resin powder. This combination, when exposed to a liquid sealer, hardens more effectively than traditional polymeric sand. In cases where resin isn’t required, our urethane sealer alone is strong enough to solidify the sand once applied.

step-4-cleaning-and-sealing-concrete-pavers-process

Professional Application from Start to Finish

Every project we undertake follows a meticulous step-by-step process. It begins with cleaning. Using hot water and specialized equipment, we thoroughly wash the paver surfaces, removing old polymeric sand, dirt, and debris. This is the best way to ensure the new sand and sealer will bond effectively.

Once the surface is clean and dry, we sweep the joint sand evenly across the area. A plate compactor with rubber rollers is used to vibrate the sand deep into the joints without scratching the stones. We repeat this process twice, applying and compacting more sand to ensure that all joints are fully and densely filled.

Cleaning and Sealing pavers on Long Island NYAfter brushing away any excess sand, we apply the sealer, carefully selected for the specific material and finish desired. This step not only seals and protects the stone but also locks the sand in place. Our team’s deep understanding of both surface materials and sealing products ensures a flawless application, resulting in a durable and attractive finish that lasts.

The Importance of Experience and Knowledge for Restoration and Sealing

Stone restoration and sealing isn’t just about using high-quality materials.  It’s about knowing how and when to use them. Our team has years of experience and technical expertise in reading stone surfaces and selecting the correct product for each unique situation. From choosing the right sand and sealer to understanding customer preferences and environmental conditions, every decision is made with long-term results in mind.

Your patios, driveways, and floors are significant investments, and maintaining them properly is essential to protecting their value and aesthetic appeal. Whether you’re looking to restore a weathered surface, enhance the color of your pavers, or preserve your kitchen tiles and grout from future wear, we have the tools, knowledge, and products to get the job done right.

Contact us today to schedule a consultation or request a quote. Let’s bring your stone surfaces back to life. Stronger, cleaner, and more beautiful than ever.

SCHEDULE A MEETING TODAY WITH GAPPSI

before and After cleaning coloring and sealing bathroom tiles 12

Share this page:

How to Correct a Poor Application of Driveway Sealer on Paving Stones | Long-Island NY

 How-to-Strip-and-Remove-Paver-Sealer-Long-Island-NY Before and AfterCan a poor application of driveway sealer be corrected?  Depending on the severity of the problem, it may require saturation, aggressive scrubbing, and repeated applications to re-emulsify the sealer.

If you’ve ever seen some pavers that have turned white after being sealed, the white haze or film you see is trapped moisture. “Whiting” as it is called in our industry, is not to be confused with concrete efflorescence, which can cause white-looking pavers to happen at any time, due to natural causes.

1-poor-sealing-job---how-to-strip-and-remove-paver-sealer-long-island-nyWhiting happens when your pavers have been sealed with a xylene or acrylic (solvent-based) sealer or sealed during imperfect weather conditions or application. The trapped moisture is caused by hydrostatic pressure, which brings the moisture up through the pores of the pavers and traps it under the sealer. Once your pavers have “turned white”, there is only one way to rectify the problem. The sealer must be completely stripped off and re-sealed with the correct type of sealer.

2-applying-sealer-stripper_removers---how-to-strip-and-remove-paver-sealer-long-island-nyRemoving and Stripping Old Sealant Off Driveway Pavers

The first step in this job is to strip and remove all the old sealer from the paving stone driveway. Unfortunately, the previous contractor did not complete the job properly the first time. Through time many additional layers of sealer were applied and magnified the patchy poor paver color “whiting” issues.  There are a few different layers of sealer, the latest application seems to be an acrylic sealer.  It gives a shiny look to the stones, the issue over the years has made the problem worse and more noticeable.

We are applying the sealer remover. It is a stripper. We will finish applying the sealer and let it sit for a few minutes.  Then we start the process of pressure washing it off from the top of the pavers.

We have started removing the sealer. The stripper soaks in and makes it possible to remove the sealant layers. We are using the turbo nozzle with high pressure and hot water.  Then we pressure washed the surface of the pavers with hot water, low pressure.  As we strip the driveway each layer of the old sealer is removed.

3-pressure-washing-stripper-sealer-remover-with-hot-water-pressure-washing-system---how-to-strip-and-remove-paver-sealer-long-island-nyWhat type of sand material fills the joints between pavers?

We add sand to the stone pavers. Then we are in the process of spreading the sand in the joints. We are using white silica sand, which works well with the urethane sealer, it absorbs the sealer and gets very hard. It also is very dry and falls into space very easily. We are compacting the sand with a vibratory roller. The compactor has rolls under it to prevent it from scratching the stones. Then we apply the sand once, vibrate it respread the sand, and vibrate it a second time. We are doing the final touches with the sand. We are blowing the extra sand from the top of the stones without removing it from the joints.

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 sand to fill the joints tight and also helps 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 from smearing the surface of the pavers. 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.

4-reaending-paver-joints-with-silica-sand---how-to-strip-and-remove-paver-sealer-long-island-nyWhat is the best sealer for concrete pavers?

After the sand is vibrated into place in the driveway pavers we apply urethane sealer. It is going to be a HUGE transformation given how extreme this driveway was.

This is the process of the first application of driveway sealer to the pavers. We spray the sealer and allow it to sink into the joints. This will soak into the sand and get hard from the urethane. We use a blower to help the sealer spread uniformly. This coat is a flood coat.  A second layer of sealant is applied primarily to seal the stones. This first coat is absorbed into the sand in between the joints. We apply the second coat of sealer and final which gives the stones the color enhancement. We don’t float the surface of the stones with this coat because the pavers will not absorb as much as the first coat. However, we still have to move the sealer around because it can dry on top of the surface unevenly.

5-applying-first-coat-of-sealer-on-driveway-pavers---how-to-strip-and-remove-paver-sealer-long-island-nyThe sealer creates a very strong bond to the paving stone surface and over the sand particles in between the joints.

There are many manufacturers 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 determine how often it lasts before needing to be reapplied. Solvent-based acrylics tend to yellow over time and don’t allow the concrete to breathe. Epoxies are the strongest sealers but are best used for smoother surfaces and more for indoor or warehouse floor applications.

6-applying-second-coat-of-sealer---how-to-strip-and-remove-paver-sealer-long-island-nyThe best sealers for paving stones are water-based urethanes

  • They are algae and mold inhibitors
  • Allow for superior joint stabilization,
  • Environmentally safe
  • Their UV Protection will not harm vegetation
  • VOC Compliant in all 50 States.

When you choose Gappsi you can guarantee a well-trained Gappsi personnel will apply correctly the paving stone sealer products achieving the best results.

This driveway was installed over 20 years ago. The paving stones are by Nicolock in the color Bayberry Blend in a 6×9 Rustico and Sante Euro Circle.

7-complete-stripped-and-sealed-driveway--in-whitestone-long-island-nyGappsi brought back the color of the stones to look better than they did when they were originally installed. The colors are very vibrant and uniform now that the sealer is applied correctly. You can see the color variations of the Bayberry Blend, the shades of gray, beige, and peach color even after 20 years.

Surface color enhancement and polymeric sand replacement in between the joints for this paving stones driveway was completed over 24 hours. This is the latest paving stone driveway restoration cleaning and sealing done by Gappsi in Whitestone NY.

To view our Interior Cleaning and Sealing options and to learn more about the application of driveway sealer visit our page Sealing Stone Patios, Driveways, and Interiors Stone.

SCHEDULE A MEETING TODAY WITH GAPPSI

View Gappsi’s YouTube Channel for Videos on How to Correct a Poor Application of Driveway Sealer on Paving Stones | Long-Island NY

Share this page: