There are many reasons to choose pavers over cement when installing sidewalks, driveways and patios. Besides the outrageous variety of styles, colors and manufacturers pavers are 4 times stronger than concrete and made in a controlled environment. Pavers have made huge improvements over the years and have been popular for hundreds of years. After all what is all this fancy work with concrete but an attempt to imitate pavers.
In addition to the above benefits pavers can be renovated unlike that hard and crumbling concrete that must be jack hammered out and poured again after it cracks. And we all know the old adage, if it isn't cracked it isn't concrete or there are two types of concrete; cracked and waiting to crack.
The paver industry has always been about innovation and developing technology that benefits the end consumer making pavers more customer friendly and eco-friendly. They are working to make pavers as durable as those original pavers still lining the streets of Europe after hundreds of years.
Using these new technologies we are able to rejuvenate pavers that we installed years ago making them all shiny and new looking again. We start by power washing which is often very time consuming to get the pavers and joints as clean as when they first were installed. Then
polymer sand (joint stabilizer) is swept into the joints, next it is vibrated with a plate compactor, given a final sweep, a light blowing with air and then the sand is gradually whetted until it forms a hard, grout like seal. After 24 hours a sealer can then be applied.
The sealer will help retard plant growth, seal out ants and weeds and allow for quicker and easier clean up. Sealers are available in a variety of finishes from a slight satin sheen to a gloss product that gives the pavers the "wet look" all the time.
The process takes a bit of time but is nothing compared to the cost of replacing concrete or the initial paver installation.
Pavers are a beautiful thing.
2 comments:
I like pavers a lot better than the cement option. It has a more natural feel and allows for some plant life to grow between the cracks....although weeds can be an issue sometimes, there are ways around it.
With the addition of poly sand weeds are nearly eliminated. The poly sand forms a pretty solid joint making weed growth difficult, but you know weeds are tough.
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