Clean and seal
Three steps, and the order matters
Pavers do not fade the way people think. What dulls them is a film of dirt, algae and mineral deposit that builds up over years, and under it the color is usually still there. So the first step is a proper clean: the right pressure and the right cleaner for the unit, worked over the whole field so it comes up even rather than in bright patches where the wand lingered.
The second step is the one most people skip. Cleaning pulls sand out of the joints, and joint sand is what makes an interlocking surface interlock. Refill the joints with the right sand, worked in and compacted, and the field locks back together. Leave them low and the edges start to move, weeds find the gap and ants take the rest.
Sealing comes last, once the surface is dry. A sealer deepens the color, slows staining and helps hold the joint sand in place. It is not a fix for a surface that has settled, and we will tell you plainly when the answer is lifting and relaying part of the field instead.
How often should pavers be sealed?
Every three to five years for most surfaces, and closer to three on a driveway that takes cars and oil every day. A patio in the shade can go longer. There is no benefit in sealing on a schedule for its own sake: the test is whether water still beads on the surface and whether the joints are still full to within a few millimeters of the top. It is the same test we use on every paver surface we build out of San Carlos.
New paving is the exception. A fresh installation is usually left to weather for a season before the first seal, because the units need to shed their factory efflorescence first. If we built the driveway, we will tell you when it is ready.
Will sealing change how it looks?
Yes, and that is usually the point. A sealer wets the color down slightly, so the surface reads closer to how it looked when it was laid. How much depends on the product: a matte sealer is barely noticeable, a wet look sealer is obvious and either one is a decision rather than an accident. We put a sample down in a corner and let you look at it before we do the whole field, and we stick to what ICPI recommends for the unit.
One thing to be honest about: a sealer on a smooth unit can be slippery when wet. Around a pool or on a shaded path we use a product with grit in it or leave the surface unsealed, because a pool deck has to grip more than it has to shine.
Free estimate on cleaning and sealing
Driveways, patios, walkways and pool decks brought back and locked in. Across San Mateo County, Santa Clara County and parts of the East Bay.
Call (650) 705-0628What about the weeds in the joints?
Weeds in a paver joint almost never grow up from underneath. Seed lands on the surface, works down into a joint that is no longer full, and germinates in the dirt sitting there. Which means the fix is not weedkiller, it is sand. Clean the joints out, refill them properly and the seed has nowhere to sit. It is the same joint sand stage as a new paver installation, done years later.
Polymeric sand goes a step further: it sets slightly when it is wetted in, so the joint resists washing out in the rain and holds up to ants moving material around. It is not right for every surface, and it is never right over a permeable field, where the joints have to stay open for the water to get through.
Why have the installer do it?
Because we can see what a washer cannot fix. A dip that keeps holding water, an edge that has crept, a joint line opening up in one spot: those are base problems, and no amount of cleaning or sealing touches them. Sealing over a surface that is moving just makes a tidy looking problem. We lift, correct the base and reset the units, then clean and seal the lot.
We are a family run paver company in San Carlos, working only in interlocking pavers and natural stone. Todd Chandler is an ICPI Certified Paver Installer and a Belgard Master Craftsman, our installations carry a 20 year warranty, and the estimate is free. Ask us to come and look at the surface and we will tell you which of the three it needs.
Ask a paver installer
Straight answers about paver installation on the Peninsula
Do you clean and seal paving you did not lay?
Yes. We will look at it first and tell you honestly whether cleaning and sealing is all it needs, or whether part of the field has to come up and be reset. Sealing a surface that is moving only hides the problem.
How long does the job take?
Most driveways and patios are a day to clean and re-sand, then the surface has to dry before sealing, so the sealer usually goes on the following day. Weather decides it. We will not seal a damp surface to save a trip.
Can we walk and park on it afterwards?
Foot traffic the same day the sealer is touch dry, usually a few hours. Cars the next day. We will give you the exact times for the product we use on your surface, because they are not all the same.
Will it get rid of oil stains?
Often, not always. Fresh oil usually lifts with a degreaser. Old oil that has soaked deep into a unit may not, and the honest answer there is to swap that unit for a spare, which is one of the advantages of a paver surface over a slab.
Is sealing worth doing at all?
On a driveway, yes: it slows oil and tire marking and keeps the joint sand in place. On a shaded patio it matters less. We would rather tell you it can wait a year than sell you a job you do not need yet.
Do you clean and seal outside San Carlos?
Yes. San Mateo County, Santa Clara County and parts of the East Bay, including Belmont, Redwood City, San Mateo, Burlingame, Hillsborough, Menlo Park and Atherton. The visit to look at it is free.