Driveway cleaning and sealing

60BOWENS

Hello
Our front driveway(block paving) is looking ugly with moss,lichens,discoloured and dull looking.It probably needs a good cleaning and sealing.
When is the best time in the year to get it them?
Is this something we can do DIY? and what machine should I be hiring for the cleanup?
Any other advice?
Regards

bsod

jetwash, wellies, sand and a brush, and kneepads if it's weedy

60BOWENS

bsod wrote: »

jetwash, wellies, sand and a brush, and kneepads if it's weedy

what about giving it a rub or polish-i see videos of such things on youtube!!

Silvertabby

As bsod's advice - except we use those long handled angled metal brushes to clean out the weeds to save our knees!

bsod

There are more interesting ways of wasting life than polishing a drive, it will look the same as it is now in a few months.

60BOWENS

lol
but when would be best time in a year to start this project?

shaun_from_Africa

bsod wrote: »

There are more interesting ways of wasting life than polishing a drive, it will look the same as it is now in a few months.

Not if it's cleaned, re-sanded then sealed properly.
My drive (block paving) was sealed well over a year ago and all it needs to keep it clean now is a quick hose down to remove the bird crap and it then looks the same as the day it was sealed.

benten69

I did this recently on my new drive and my mum has had her one done after not being touched for 2 years. All can be done yourself, but it MUST be dry, sunny weather.

What you need...

1. Pressure Washer
2. Sand (called Sharp Sand), make sure you get the right stuff!!
3. Medium-stiffness brush
4. Roller on a long handle.
5. Bucket for roller
6. Sealant

These are the Steps I followed....

1. As my pressure washer can spray cleaning fluid, I sprayed the entire drive with a good coverage of the Karcher Concrete / Brick / Slab cleaning fluid

2. Used the rotational (big round) head attachment of the pressure washer to go over the entire drive and agitate the cleaning solution on it's highest setting.

3. Changed to the standard adjustable lance on the pressure washer and went over the whole drive on the highest setting to clean away the cleaning solution and also drive out dirt, moss, etc that is between the gaps.

4. Cleaning was done in my case, so LEAVE IT TO DRY! At least a week of good solid sunshine. Reason being that it might be dry on top, but the sand below will take much longer to dry out than the top of the paving.

Next Steps to be completed in 1 day when the forecast for the next 24h is dry

5. Pour sand on the drive and start spreading it about with the brush, make sure it goes into ALL the gaps, but don't leave big piles of sand lying about. You just want it to fill the gaps, not cover the whole drive in sand. Work in a methodical approach from front to back to be sure you cover everywhere evenly.

6. Once you have evenly filled all the gaps with sand, give it a quick once over with the brush to remove any loose sand sitting on top. You only want the sand to be between the gaps, not sitting on top of the blocks.

7. Fill the bucket with sealant, and start going over the drive. It's much and such the same as painting a wall with a roller. However, it's better to have a small "pool" of sealant infront of the roller being pushed along, almost like the roller is pushing along a "wave" of sealant. It will ensure good even coverage in all the gaps. This becomes a very useful technique when doing the edges where the roller itself can't get right in.

8. Leave it 3-4 hours until it is dry enough to walk on, then apply a 2nd coat of sealant.

9. Leave it and DO NOT park any cars on it for AT LEAST 24 hours.

10. Enjoy your handy work and a properly protected drive.

Note: Steps 1 & 2 are not needed, but as my pressure washer supported that function, I made use of it, but you dont NEED the cleaning solution and paving cleaning head, a standard lance will work fine.

Also, some companies say you only need 1 coat, I made that mistake and it look ok, but my back garden block paving looks much better with 2 coats on it. Next year I plan to do the drive again and apply 2 coats this time, it just looks nicer, but not a must have.

I bought my sealant from http://www.swiss-seal.co.uk/acatalog/block_paving.html

I bought the "High Solids Block Paving Sealer - Gloss". The "70 sq meter" estimate of the 25l bottle is fairly accurate, but remember for 2 coats you will essentially need double the area of your drive.

I also got the "Professional Roller & Tray Set" from them at the bottom of the page. Good company to deal with and good sealant.

Some sealant makes the blocks look darker than they are, but their one doesn't appear to do that.

Also, the gloss sealant I bought gives a "wet look" to it, as if it's been rained on, as my blocks always looked better when wet before the sealant, so that's the look I wanted.

60BOWENS

benten69 wrote: »

I did this recently on my new drive and my mum has had her one done after not being touched for 2 years. All can be done yourself, but it MUST be dry, sunny weather.

What you need...

1. Pressure Washer
2. Sand (called Sharp Sand), make sure you get the right stuff!!
3. Medium-stiffness brush
4. Roller on a long handle.
5. Bucket for roller
6. Sealant

These are the Steps I followed....

1. As my pressure washer can spray cleaning fluid, I sprayed the entire drive with a good coverage of the Karcher Concrete / Brick / Slab cleaning fluid

2. Used the rotational (big round) head attachment of the pressure washer to go over the entire drive and agitate the cleaning solution on it's highest setting.

3. Changed to the standard adjustable lance on the pressure washer and went over the whole drive on the highest setting to clean away the cleaning solution and also drive out dirt, moss, etc that is between the gaps.

4. Cleaning was done in my case, so LEAVE IT TO DRY! At least a week of good solid sunshine. Reason being that it might be dry on top, but the sand below will take much longer to dry out than the top of the paving.

Next Steps to be completed in 1 day when the forecast for the next 24h is dry

5. Pour sand on the drive and start spreading it about with the brush, make sure it goes into ALL the gaps, but don't leave big piles of sand lying about. You just want it to fill the gaps, not cover the whole drive in sand. Work in a methodical approach from front to back to be sure you cover everywhere evenly.

6. Once you have evenly filled all the gaps with sand, give it a quick once over with the brush to remove any loose sand sitting on top. You only want the sand to be between the gaps, not sitting on top of the blocks.

7. Fill the bucket with sealant, and start going over the drive. It's much and such the same as painting a wall with a roller. However, it's better to have a small "pool" of sealant infront of the roller being pushed along, almost like the roller is pushing along a "wave" of sealant. It will ensure good even coverage in all the gaps. This becomes a very useful technique when doing the edges where the roller itself can't get right in.

8. Leave it 3-4 hours until it is dry enough to walk on, then apply a 2nd coat of sealant.

9. Leave it and DO NOT park any cars on it for AT LEAST 24 hours.

10. Enjoy your handy work and a properly protected drive.

Note: Steps 1 & 2 are not needed, but as my pressure washer supported that function, I made use of it, but you dont NEED the cleaning solution and paving cleaning head, a standard lance will work fine.

Also, some companies say you only need 1 coat, I made that mistake and it look ok, but my back garden block paving looks much better with 2 coats on it. Next year I plan to do the drive again and apply 2 coats this time, it just looks nicer, but not a must have.

I bought my sealant from http://www.swiss-seal.co.uk/acatalog/block_paving.html

I bought the "High Solids Block Paving Sealer - Gloss". The "70 sq meter" estimate of the 25l bottle is fairly accurate, but remember for 2 coats you will essentially need double the area of your drive.

I also got the "Professional Roller & Tray Set" from them at the bottom of the page. Good company to deal with and good sealant.

Some sealant makes the blocks look darker than they are, but their one doesn't appear to do that.

Also, the gloss sealant I bought gives a "wet look" to it, as if it's been rained on, as my blocks always looked better when wet before the sealant, so that's the look I wanted.

Many thanks for the detailed and very useful information