Why Sealing Your Pavers Are Important
In short, it’s very important that you do right by your pavers and have them sealed. It’s an essential part of paver maintenance that should not be overlooked. If you’d like the outdoor areas of your home – your walkway, driveway, patio, etc., looking as good as can be for as long as possible, guess what? You’ll get your pavers sealed in Houston!
Still, too much of a good thing can sometimes become a bad thing. Getting overzealous with the sealant can have a negative effect on your pavers, so avoid using too much product or sealing too often. Doing so could create a haze on your pavers, undermining the point of using a sealant in the process.
Sealing Pavers – The Benefits
Concrete pavers should most definitely be sealed, and there are many reasons why. First of all, concrete is inherently a porous material. This means that concrete soaks up and retains water. We all know that after a while water can cause the stone to wear and lose its integrity. If you’d like to avoid this on your patio, you’ll need proper drainage. Sealing your pavers helps drainage by forming a protective, water-resistant coating over the surface of your pavers. When a proper sealant is in effect water will just slide over your pavers and into its proper drainage, putting a stop to water retention.
The sealant does more toward protecting concrete pavers in Houston, Texas, and pavers in general. Your pavers are exposed to the weather 24/7. After continuous cycles of blazing heat and beating rain, your pavers may fade and lose their initial freshness and vibrancy. Applying a sealant slows this process. While many pavers are UV-resistant, a sealant offers another invisible, protective coating that further extends the lifespan of your pavers by protecting them from the weather and foreign objects.
Little foreign objects and liquids will fall on your pavers all the time. Unsealed pavers have no protection and therefore will stain very easily. On top of these stains being unsightly, they’re also extremely hard to clean. Restoring pavers to their initial cleanliness usually requires professional cleaning services. These are costs that could’ve been avoided if the pavers had been sealed in the first place. Unsealed pavers must be cleaned often, but sealed pavers do not need to be cleaned so often because the pavers resist stains better. Especially if you have driveway pavers, sealing is a must if you want to get the longest lifespan and the best appearance out of your paver investment.
Are All Paver Sealants Good to Use?
Like any product, there are going to be some good ones and some not so good ones. There are some poor paver sealants on the market that you’d be better off passing over. Just because the sealant was in a big box retailer and it has a big brand stamped on it does not mean it’s a quality paver sealant suitable for your pavers. A brand that you follow may make a good version of one product (like a wood stain) but a poor version of another product. Do your research and be sure to only purchase sealants that are effective, durable and specifically intended for paver installation and maintenance.
So What Kind of Sealants Are There?
In general, there are two different types of sealants that dominate the paver market: film-forming (glossy finish) and non-film-forming (matte finish). Film-forming sealants result in a bright glossy look that forms a physical protective barrier over the surface of your pavers. These sealants provide ultimate paver protection, but they don’t lend well to a natural look if that’s what you’re going for. non-film forming sealants don’t make that glossy, protective barrier, but they can be better at enhancing the natural look of your stone of choice. These sealants also tend to last a bit longer than film-forming ones, in regard to overall effectiveness.
How Long Should I Wait Before Sealing my New Pavers?
It depends on the type of sealant you plan on using. If you intend to use a non-film-forming sealant, you should wait at least seven days before sealing. When using a film-forming sealant, please wait at least thirty days. The reason you should wait to seal new pavers is to give your pavers a chance to cure. You’d like to avoid trapping moisture underneath the sealant, so your pavers will need a bit of time to dry out and set.
At this point, it’s not even a matter of whether or not to seal your pavers – it’s a matter of which sealant you ought to put on!
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333 Clay St #105, Houston TX, 77002
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