Video: Benefits of Paver Sealing

SAN JOSE — Host, Sarah Rutan: If you have a paver installation on your property, it’s worthwhile to consider the benefits of having it professionally sealed. Today we’re in San Jose with Diamond Certified Expert Contributor Roger Van Alst of Black Diamond Paver Stones & Landscape to learn more.

Diamond Certified Expert Contributor, Roger Van Alst: At Black Diamond, we often get asked as to whether sealing a paving installation would be a good idea. Sealer is an option for clients on a new paving installation, or it’s something that can be done for an older paver project to be re-cleaned and then sealed. Generally customers should expect to pay a little over $1 a square foot to have a new paving installation sealed and up to about $2 per square foot to have an older paving stone installation professionally cleaned and then have a sealer applied to restore it to a like-new finish. Sealer has some options to consider.

Most sealers are available with a joint sand stabilizing feature. This will cause the joint sands to be stabilized or locked into place to prevent any weeds from growing and prevent ants from getting into the joint sand. Also, there are different types of finishes that can be applied with a sealer. The matte finish is available which won’t change the color of the sealer much – or color of the paver much. There’s also an enhancing finish which will deepen the hues and enrichen the colors, and a wet look. A wet look is a glossy finish that would enhance the colors the most, but a gloss finish also will show wear over time more quickly in areas that are eight heavy [00:01:28 traffed] or areas that are exposed to the elements.

Sealers can be applied in as little as a day, and then within twenty-four to forty-eight hours the area can be used once again. They do dry fairly quickly. On a typical job site the sealer would be applied with a pump sprayer and a squeegee to work that sealer into the sand joints. Here in the office we’ll just use a simple bottle and a rag to apply it today. And, you can see the enhancing that occurs. Most sealers, when initially applied, are going to have a milky finish, and then as it dries, that finish is going to turn more into just a color enhanced look.

Pavers that have a finish that is textured will benefit definitely from having a squeegee where you can pull the excess sealer across the paver and work it into the sand joints. Especially if it’s a sand joint stabilizing sealer where you want those sand joints to lock into place. The sealer will dry in a few hours to the touch, and then you won’t want to drive on it or put your furniture back for at least twenty-four hours.

Host, Sarah Rutan: To learn more from local top-rated companies, visit our Diamond Certified Expert Reports at experts.diamondcertified.org.