Paver Cleaning and Sealing in Lake and McHenry County

1. 1Clean. The pavers are pressure washed with a surface cleaner, and the growth in the joints is treated.
2. 2Dry. Pavers have to dry completely before sealing, usually a day or two. Sealer over damp pavers traps the moisture as a white haze.
3. 3Re-sand. Polymeric sand is swept into every joint. It hardens in place and holds up against weeds, ants and rain far better than plain sand.
4. 4Seal. Sealer goes on evenly over the whole surface. It brings the color back and protects the pavers from stains and weather.

If your pavers were sealed in the last few years and the joints are still full, a cleaning at low pressure is enough. If the color has gone flat, weeds are growing between the pavers or the sand has washed out, they need the full service. You will know which before we start.

A paver driveway can be washed without the full sand and seal. We clean it at a setting that leaves the joint sand where it is, so you get the color back without opening up the joints. If the sand is already low or full of weeds, re-sanding and sealing is the fix, and that part is priced after we see it.

• The color looks flat or chalky compared with the edges that stay covered.
• Weeds, moss or ant hills in the joints.
• Sand sitting low in the joints, or gone.
• Sealer peeling, patchy or wearing off where cars turn.
• Pavers that rock or have sunk. Tell us about those, because they should be re-set before anything is sealed over them.

Three to five years, depending on sun, road salt and traffic. Driveways wear faster than patios. When the color goes flat again, it is time.

Sealing needs a dry stretch: dry pavers, no rain in the forecast and mild temperatures. That makes late spring through early fall the window here. Book early in the season if you want it done before summer parties.

• Clear furniture, grills and planters off the pavers.
• Turn sprinklers off for the day of the wash, and for the sealing day too.
• Keep cars off a paver driveway from the wash until we tell you the sealer is ready.

A paver driveway wash is priced on the instant quote. The full clean, sand and seal is priced after we see it, by the square footage and the condition of the pavers and joints.