What Is Paver Stripping?

 

Stripping your pavers is often needed to get back to a good base for your pavers to be prepped for more sealer. Often times paver sealer is installed improperly and fails resulting in pavers needing to be stripped. At AquaBlast Pros, we specialize in taking care of failed pavers and failed sealer installs.

​

Aqua Blast Pros Paver Cleaning and Sealing

 

We Specialize in Softwashing, Roof Cleaning, and Paver Sealing in the following areas:

Lakewood Ranch

Venice

Osprey

Englewood

Sarasota

Upper Manatee Area

Tampa

Odessa

Riverview

Siesta Key

Longboat Key

Casey Key

Holmes Beach

And Surrounding Areas!

​

Should I Strip and Seal My Pavers?

 

If your pavers are looking cloudy, hazy or dull, it might be time to consider stripping your pavers and resealing them. Call us for a free Estimate!

​

​

What If I Don't Seal My Pavers?

​

If you don’t seal your pavers, they won’t deteriorate and wither away. You will just likely have to clean your pavers more frequently and the stains will be harder and in some cases impossible to remove. Sealing Brick Pavers was designed to protect pavers from rain, mold, mildew, moss,  and even sun (although most pavers are designed to be UV resistant).

 

Sealing can also protect your pavers from anything foreign that might fall on them – staining from oil, leaves, spills. Sealing creates an invisible layer on top of your pavers that repels water, oil and anything else you might accidentally drop, as long as you wash it away as soon as you notice it.

​

It’s very likely that vegetation/weeds will grow in paver joint sand if you don’t seal your pavers. A properly installed paver patio with proper drainage will go a long way to prevent weeds, however, sealing pavers with a joint stabilizing sealer will harden the sand in the joint making it very difficult for weeds to grow. A lot of people are confused where weeds in the joints of pavers come from. It’s often thought that the weeds come from beneath the pavers and grow through the joint; or that maybe there were seeds in the sand setting bed and they germinate and grow up through the joint. Both of these cases are wrong and probably impossible. Weeds in pavers almost always come from seeds being blow in and deposited into the sand joint from neighboring weeds. If you have a lot of weeds in your yard or landscape beds than its almost a guarantee that you will have weeds in your pavers. Sealing your pavers with a joint stabilizing sealer will help combat the weeds.

 

If you notice sinking spots or your pavers shifting, chances are its not a result of your pavers not being sealed. It’s more than likely a result of poor base installation or edge restraint failure. That being said, another leading cause of pavers shifting around is the lack of sand in the paver joint. The sand in the joint acts as a spacer between each paver. When that sand goes away, there are little spaces between each paver allowing them to move around because they’re no longer tight. If you were to seal your pavers with a joint stabilizing sealer, it would prevent sand loss which in turn could prevent your pavers from settling or shifting.

​

Interested in paver sealing for  your home or property?

Call us today at (941) 212-7239 to schedule an appointment with one of our Paver Sealing Specialists.

​

Efflorescence on your pavers?

A white cloudy hazing over your pavers.

 

It’s common to see brick pavers that have been in place for some time to turn white or show a slight white hazing over the pavers. To the untrained eye, this can appear to be the surface of the brick fading or wearing down. In actuality, it’s a condition known as efflorescence and in most cases can be easily removed during our pavers sealing process.

​

Efflorescence happens when water containing salts is able to penetrate the surface of the brick or stone. Over time, there are repeated cycles of water penetrating and evaporating from the surface. Every time the water evaporates, the salt that was contained in the water remains on the surface of the brick, leaving a white residue.

​

The appearance of the salt residue can be more or less noticeable depending on the color and finish of the surface, with brick showing efflorescence most often due to its darker color and smooth surface. Clay brick is also very porous.

​

Florida obviously provides all of the right conditions for efflorescence to occur due to our proximity to the sea and brackish water sources. Salty water can even penetrate by way of rain, which Central Florida receives an abundance of.

​

Efflorescence is also present in new pavers in time as the pavers start to settle. In Sarasota and Bradenton, especially Lakewood Ranch, Pavers are made from crushed shell. Those pavers have a recommended wait time of 6 months before sealing after installation. This time allows the pavers to settle and expel any extra calcium from the crushed shell in manufacturing. Treating pavers before sealing for Efflorescence is a great way to protect your investment. Pavers that are sealed too early or without treating for Efflo risk seeing Hazing on your driveway or patio pavers. 

​

Here is how we handle Efflo

How do we treat and prevent efflorescence?

Before the white hazy finish can be removed (Efflo), the surface must be inspected to determine the cause of water intrusion or reason for efflo. Beyond the simple porosity of the surface, other causes of water intrusion can include improperly caulked or sealed joints, eroded mortar joints in copings or sills, water coming from behind walls due to roofing integrity issues, cracks in the masonry, or even problems inherent in the building materials themselves, or from leaking sprinkler systems near or under paver areas.

​

Once the cause or causes or water intrusion are identified and remediated, the next step is removal of the efflorescence itself. Our trained experts at AquaBlast Pros will assess the situation and select the appropriate removal method that proves effective. In some cases, chemical removal may be indicated.

​

The final step in remediating efflorescence is preventing future damage by applying a premium high content solids based sealant. It’s key to ensure the source of water penetration be identified and fixed prior to sealing, since efflorescence happens internally. If sealer is applied and the water problem persists, you will continue to have a problem with efflorescence.

​

Only a professional can fully diagnose and treat this issue. If you suspect efflorescence on your brick or stone call us for a free quote today!

​