Care And Maintenance Of Your Investment

Now that the Contractor has completed your project you are ready to enjoy your new landscape! You’ve set up the furniture and the BBQ moved to its corner of the patio or your car is now proudly parked on the new driveway. You hope everything will stay this beautiful for ever! As with many things around the house, maintenance is the key to making things last. This applies to your new hardscaping as well.

There is always the risk of stains to the surfaces of your pavers. From BBQ grease and vehicle oil drips to candle wax and redwine. Even leaves left on paver surfaces for extended periods of time can leave discolouration.
So how can you avoid stains and maintain the beautiful look of your project?
It is helpful to sweep or use a leaf blower to clear the surfaces of pavers to keep the area neat. Cleaning up any messes quickly can avoid stains from penetrating into the material.
There are also sealers that can help prevent staining of the pavers.

Although the Internet provides many solutions to remove stains from grease, rust or tar, we can only recommend that you follow the manufactures recommendations. Use approved cleaning products designed specifically for the cleaning of concrete or natural stone. In Ottawa, there is a broad selection cleaning products manufactured by Techniseal® and AllainceGator® and whey are available at most landscape product retailers. Both these companies websites do an excellent job in providing “How To” information and videos.

Sealing your Pavers

In order to seal your pavers they must have been installed for a year. After this time, you have the opportunity to apply a product to their surface. The reason for waiting the year is to ensure adequate evacuation of a substance, called efflorescence, that occurs within concrete pavers. Efflorescence is a chalky residue that can form on the pavers is a result of the curing process from the concrete.
Sealers are available in various levels of sheen from mat, satin or a high gloss “wet look” and can allow for a water and stain proof barrier to the surface of the pavers and to the polymeric sand between their joints. When applying a sealer, the surfaces should be first cleared of debris and any stains removed.
These products are made available by Techniseal® and AllainceGator® and are available at most landscape product retailers. The manufacturer’s websites do provide appropriate instruction and “How To” videos. Also, your landscape contractor can be called to do the application.

*Note for Winter Maintenance

Homeowners that contract out their snow removal should ensure that any snow removal equipment being used has a teflon or plastic blade. This is necessary so that no metal portions of the equipment come in direct contact with the pavers in order to protect form scratches or gauging. Also, de-icing salts should not be used on any wetcast products or natural stone.