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The best way to clean block paving driveways and patios and keep them looking good
Jul 01, 2020
The best way to clean block paving driveways and patios and keep them looking good
If you’re looking for advice and help on the best way to clean block paving and maintain your driveway or patio, then look no further! We’ve worked in the paving industry for more than 16 years and have a great deal of experience. We’ve been involved in all aspects of the build and maintenance process, whether it be the preparation, the laying, the cleaning, the sealing, or any ongoing repairs. And block paving is certainly one of our specialist areas.
You may be reading this as you've got some frustration with your block paving. The picture on the right obviously looks lovely, the picture on the left, not so good. This is a common problem with block paving because you've got a porous brick being laid into a bed of sand, with more sand in the joints. In a damp climate, such as ours, if there's no proper maintenance, then often things can start to look pretty grubby as unwanted things start to grow!
We can see in the example there are some weeds coming through in different areas. The black stains, which most people think is just dirt, is actually lichens and algae that are just living on the dampness of the blocks. All of these problems can be treated, and with the right level of maintenance, and a little bit of commitment there's no reason why you can’t keep the property looking great!
In the next example, we can see weed growth has become more prevalent, but with the investment in the right surface care professional, it looks as good as new.
We're going to talk you through the benefits and various steps of block paving cleaning which will tell you everything you need to know to keep your driveway or patio in tip top condition.
Benefits of maintaining block paving
You can see in the image above that all block paving is laid into a bed of sand. You've then got a porous brick set into that sand, and what happens is the sand goes from a clean, nice yellow to effectively mud, which then encourages the weeds and the various algae to grow.
What we're looking to do with our patio and driveway cleaning service is really cleanse the blocks, to get them looking as good as possible, replace the kiln dried sand, and then protect the blocks and solidify the joints with sealer. Once that process is complete, the blocks are not only protected and water-resistant but also, they're not going to continue to lose their colour. Generally, if you see block paving in excess of 10 years old, it will have lost quite a bit of its original colour. The deep cleanse will restore the more vibrant colour and one of the major benefits of applying the sealer is that you will find that you don't lose any further colour from the blocks and they are really well protected against further wear and tear.
Having a sealer applied to an unsealed driveway helps it to stay cleaner for longer and therefore less pressure washing is required over time. Let’s say you have a driveway that’s 10 years old, and during that time it may have been cleaned two or three times. That pressure washing process is the equivalent of approximately five years of exposure to the elements. Rather than being a 10-year-old drive, with the pressure washing, the paving has now had the exposure of a 25-year-old drive and is quickly going to start looking very tired, losing its colour and probably, before too long, will look like the blocks need replacing. With the right kind of maintenance your block paving will not deteriorate in that way.
Preparation
With any job, whether it’s carried out by a professional or if it’s a DIY job, preparation is key. A real advantage of the professionals taking on the task is that our high-quality products and specialist equipment helps you achieve a better result and is also a lot faster to complete with no hassle or mess. If you've got weeds, moss or other grubby stuff on your driveway, we make sure that before pressure washing, we've applied some materials to kill off all the growth. You don't just want to be chopping the heads off the weeds, they will very quickly re-establish themselves. By destroying them at the roots you're going to see far more value and great results from the subsequent work we do with the re-sanding and the sealing.
We then apply the driveway cleaner. That's going to remove all the pollutants and residue caused by exhaust fumes and tyres, and also open up the pores of the block. The cleaning process will get all the muck out of those pores so that when we seal your patio or driveway, the sealer can penetrate properly into the block and you get maximum benefit from the products.
Cleaning Process
If you want clean block paving that stays clean, you need it to be cleaned properly. Most paving blocks are 40 mm deep. Our specialist equipment and experience enable us to do a deep cleanse on the blocks and remove dirt from between the bricks without compromising the integrity. The results we achieve would take you much longer without the right products and equipment. It can get really messy too!
Sanding
The key to get the sanding right is making sure it has been left long enough for the paving to thoroughly dry before re-sanding the block paving. Be prepared that, even in the good weather, it's going to take a few days to dry. It’s as simple as that, all we need is a few dry days then we will come back and re-sand the block paving and apply the sealer on the same day.
Patio and Driveway Sealing
We use extremely high-quality sealing products to give your driveway or patio the best finish, revitalising the colour and optimising the protection. It really can turn tired-looking paving into looking almost new.
At Probuild Surface Care, we apply the right amount of sealing product to your driveway or patio. Our experienced team will quote based on how much sealer is required. Our advice would be either use the right amount of sealer or don't use it at all. Anyone can spread sealer far and wide, but what you don't want is just a tiny little crust of penetration into the sand, which after a few weeks is just going to break down. You're going to see very little benefit if there's only a tiny amount of sealer on the block itself so our recommendation is definitely to bring in the professionals.
Aftercare
Even after our professional cleaning and sealing service, any external surface in this country is going to need a little bit of aftercare and maintenance. Whilst the results will be impressive, they won’t last forever without a little bit of help. And there’s a lot you can do to help just by doing a couple of basic things.
Our advice is to give the surface a thorough sweep occasionally, to stop residue building up in the joints. If you see some green algae appearing on the blocks just put down some diluted weed killer with a watering can, that will get rid of all that green.
Whilst you can hose down the surface, to keep it looking clean an annual professional clean would certainly be worth scheduling too.
We're always on-hand at Probuild Surface Care. I'm sure that you might have some other questions or maybe you are wondering how much this would cost. Please feel free to get in touch and arrange a free quote.
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