Paver Cleaning and Sealing

[Dan Stapleton 14]

What are the best cleaning methods/chemicals and sealer? I'm thinking a light housewash soak and rinse, and V-seal. They are new and have a white powdery substance on the surface. Concrete dust from the joints I think. There is a 20x20 concrete pad in the front. What are some going rates for clear sealer on concrete and pavers ? Thanks.

[PWkid 79]

Dan, I clean them just like I normally would. I use a xylene based sealer and it works awesome for me. The main drawback that I have found is the pavers have to be completely dry before sealing 24-48 hrs. My understanding is xylene based sealers last longer than water based.Somebody correct me if I am wrong.

[Richard 17]

The white powdery substance you are referring to may be effloresence. We would wash with an efflo cleaner. Then wait until it is comletely dry. Any moister can cause a whiting or hazing effect. If you happen to put to much on,and cause a milky effect,just mist it with xylene and it should vanish. No point me talking pricing as I'm north of the border.

Some people swear by water based, others solvent based. The USA has a much wider array of suppliers.

[FCPWLLC 233]

We usually charge double whatever we charged for the cleaning. Hope that helps you on the pricing.

[Dan Stapleton 14]

The white powdery substance you are referring to may be effloresence. We would wash with an efflo cleaner. Then wait until it is comletely dry. Any moister can cause a whiting or hazing effect. If you happen to put to much on,and cause a milky effect,just mist it with xylene and it should vanish. No point me talking pricing as I'm north of the border.

Some people swear by water based, others solvent based. The USA has a much wider array of suppliers.

I was wondering if it was effloresence. Seems too chalky and topical. Plus they're new. I'll have to test it out. Mel, I'm familiar with what you use. V-seal is pricey but ...20 yrs.

[David O'Connell Jr. 14]

New has no bearing on the effloresence, could be a bad manufacturer.

[Washaway 64]

Dan, once you get those pavers clean make sure they stay dry for 48-72 hours. Infact it's not the pavers that are the concern as much as the sand. Sand retains water very well and that moisture will continue to rise to the top for days. Mix those sealers with the moisture and you'll give the client a pretty, hazy design I'm sure they won't be happy with.

Turn sprinklers off, and if it rains your ' T minus ' countdown is reset.

Don't forget to blow off any surface dirt with a leafblower before sealing and keep vehicles off freshly sealed surface for atleast 48 hours. (foot traffic is acceptable once sealer is dry to the touch)

Good luck and take pictures.

[The Cleaner 14]

Dan, once you get those pavers clean make sure they stay dry for 48-72 hours. Infact it's not the pavers that are the concern as much as the sand. Sand retains water very well and that moisture will continue to rise to the top for days. Mix those sealers with the moisture and you'll give the client a pretty, hazy design I'm sure they won't be happy with.

Turn sprinklers off, and if it rains your ' T minus ' countdown is reset.

Don't forget to blow off any surface dirt with a leafblower before sealing and keep vehicles off freshly sealed surface for atleast 48 hours. (foot traffic is acceptable once sealer is dry to the touch)

Good luck and take pictures.

What works best to remove the tire tracks from the pavers??

[PWkid 79]

A degreaser with butyl and 210 degree hot water.

[PWkid 79]

Mel, I'm familiar with what you use. V-seal is pricey but ...20 yrs.

I never said 20 yrs. I recommend 1-2 yrs depending on traffic and sometimes 6 months. I am not familiar with v-seal I use a product from advanced surfaces out of Davie Fl.They have a website. www.advancedsurfaces.com

[Washaway 64]

I too use Advanced Surfaces' products but do my very best to stay away from sealing projects. They put too much kink into my regular schedules.

[Washaway 64]

What works best to remove the tire tracks from the pavers??

PWkid is right but not for peel out marks.

I've got a client who had someone leave a pretty burn out mark behind. There is nothing that will remove it. (short of replacing the pavers)

[Chappy 138]

your going to blast most of the sand out when cleaning. Use your pool shock to rid any mildew growth, degreaser for tire tracks, oil etc, give it 24 hours to dry. seal with Zylene sealer. let dry 2-3 hours then broom in sand. with the heat and sun, the surface will dry well enough in 24 hours to apply the sealer.

problem with vseal is that it does nothing for the look of the pavers. zylene sealers willl enhance color and make them just a little shiny. 2 coats even better.

usually 55-75 cents per sf depending on weather your resanding, but since its a 2 trip job, price accordingly

[Dan Stapleton 14]

Washaway, Thanks for the tips. Jon, V-seal claims their product LASTS 20 yrs. It's like 135.00 for 5 gallons. Thanks for the link. I'll check out Advanced

[PRESSURE PACKED 14]

The white powdery substance you are referring to may be effloresence. We would wash with an efflo cleaner. Then wait until it is comletely dry. Any moister can cause a whiting or hazing effect. If you happen to put to much on,and cause a milky effect,just mist it with xylene and it should vanish. No point me talking pricing as I'm north of the border.

Some people swear by water based, others solvent based. The USA has a much wider array of suppliers.

not always. i am assuming don is talking about unsealed pavers her. if he is this is simply residue or some type of mortar/calcium buildup. a simple light degreaser can assist with this, i use a company called ices. in ft lauderdale. the chem is called tnt

[PRESSURE PACKED 14]

as for pricing 50 cents per square foot is a start. this is based off advanced surfaces sealer, each 5 gallon gets me 750 square feet. 78.00 dollars is the cost per 5 gallons. the way i beak it down is 10 cwnts to p-wash 20 cents per coat of sealer.i ALWAYS do two coats accept on pool decks it is unnecacary and slippery if they have small children..and i spray it with a hudson or chapin sprayer. it might not be the "best" way but i like to get in and out. there are to many rainy days to be taking aaaalllll day to seal a driveway by rolling it. if you seal then it rains you are fine. refer to washaways advice when it rains before you seal. also sanding is more money roughly 50.00 per 500 square foot

[Chappy 138]

$50/500sf? it took me 5 hours to sand a 1350sf patio yesterday and I was working pretty fast. you got a better way PP. cause I need it. talk about sore muscles!

for sanding. I typically charge 20-25 cents per sf on top of clean and seal price. I also add a polymeric additive to the sand that when you wet it down will cement the sand in place and minimizes weed growth and mildew buildup. that helps greatly on the sale.

Now, I will admit Im not going to land every job at that price, but Im competetive locally at 65-75 cents/sf total and I take home a nice check on each job.

[David O'Connell Jr. 14]

I have seen people use a broadcast spreader and then broom it in.

[Dan Stapleton 14]

I have seen people use a broadcast spreader and then broom it in.

Were their names Moe and Curly?

[David O'Connell Jr. 14]

Here they are..... they have a video as well.

http://www.pavertec.com/

[Tom DeFrancesco 23]

Interesting

[Dan Stapleton 14]

I could see using an airless.

[Paul B. 523]

We use V-Seal extensively. Sold as a 20 year penetrating sealer that does not change the appearance of pavers or concrete. It's contractor friendly because you can apply same trip as when cleaning is performed. The surface can be damp (does not need to dry 24 hrs.). On summer days its 15-20 minutes after you've cleaned it can be applied. By the time you roll up the hoses and put everything away, fill the sprayer w/the sealer, you are ready to apply. I price from $0.29 to $0.41 in Southern Ohio for cleaning (hypochlorite and water) and sealing - pricing depends on total square footage and what the market will bear. We have contractor pricing on V-Seal saves about $20+ per 5 gallons, we're tax exempt so we don't pay sales tax on materials but sales tax is collected from the customer (saves another 6.5% today).

[Chappy 138]

I like in the video how they say that their high tec equipment completely removes the old sealer. Ive cleaned many paver surfaces and MY high tec equipment doesnt even come close to removing the old sealer!

If you look at the spec sheets on v-seal, it will abrade off the surface and does not completely stop surface abraision. but it can be reaplied easily when that happens. The main difference is that it penetrates deeper than any other sealer.

[Richard 17]

We do a lot of warranty work for one of the bigger brick companies.

One of the things they have us do is EFFLO removal. This year has, for what ever reason, has caused me grief in removing. I'm searching for a different product. There is an online company based out of the USA that I can get up here called "Aldon Chemicals". They claim to have a treatment product that has grabbed my attension.

I'm hoping someone on here has at least heard of them, as it is $40 a gal. The job site is two hours each way. I need to get the job done in one shot. A return trip will kill my profit.

Anyone with info please help.

[sflasealcoatinginc 14]

Efflo is fairly simple to remove...most muratic blends will disolve the calcium. And Just a side note to the Advanced surfaces materials out of margate florida. They know their stuff when it comes to pre formed and stamped concrete. However, be forworned, their sealer is a touline base not a xylene base so your going to need alot more of it then you normally would since touline dries very very quick. The slower a sealer dries the more it penitrates the surface. I even had them give me a sample of their 30% to try it... I would stay away from their sealer go with relience (cobblecoat)....proline....acrylux ( colorback ) www.techniseal.com

out of canada has very good sealing products as well. And remember if u use a water base product on a paver..you WONT be able to ever tell u sealed it so just make the customer aware its an invisible sealer.