Should you have brick pavers sealed right after installation?
DO NOT SEAL PAVERS SOONER THAN 2 (two) WEEKS AFTER INSTALL IN FLORIDA! Sealing your newly installed brick pavers prior to them having the opportunity to release any efflorescence that may be within each individual brick paver, that paver sealant can prevent the calcium carbonate to evaporate into the air, and the sealer will trap that white haze into the pavers. Leaving you with a very unsightly mess which will now require a costly stripping of the new sealant, chemical removal of the efflorescence, and correct re-seal using a high quality, commercial grade brick paver sealant like UreSeal H2o Most reputable brick paver installation companies know about the efflorescence process, but will still offer brick paver sealing services in order to put a few hundred more dollars into their pockets. We have had our customers tell us that once the efflorescence was trapped under the sealer, brick paver installation companies will tell the home owner that it is a natural process and they are not responsible for the efflorescence and it is not covered under warranty. However, often times, the brick paver manufacturers who abide by ICPI (Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute, www.icpi.org) standards will offer free replacement paves for each individual brick paver effected by this process. Which will also benefit the paver installer who now will charge you to remove the effected pavers, and install new. Costing the home owner more money. Don’t get me wrong, your brick pavers need to be sealed! You just want to wait between 4 & 6 weeks after install (in Florida) before you have them sealed. The reason why it is different in central and south Florida (draw a line between Citrus county and Daytona Beach and everywhere south from there) is because of our subtropical climate. Our climate in these areas have a lot of ground moisture which permeates through the soil, and into the brick pavers from the bottom. As the brick pavers heat up throughout the morning and hot afternoon and that moisture evaporates out of the pavers, it draws that efflorescence out along with it much quicker than in states further north, where you may have to wait up to 3 months before sealing. If the brick pavers do go un-sealed however, aside from cosmetic issues and possible staining and absorption of oils and rust, your new brick paver installation will quickly become loose, wobbly and uneven as the aggregate material that the brick pavers float on erodes out through a process called “degradation” or “Sub Surface
Erosion” – Leaving you with a very costly repair bill to level those areas again prior to the brick paver sealing steps. Don’t be bamboozled by these brick paver installers that offer sealing services immediately after installation for a discounted price. You may end up spending 3x the amount to have the sealer stripped, efflorescence chemically removed and re-sealed. Most busy installation companies will install between 4 – 6 new installs a month, during the busy months. Out of those 4 – 6 new paver installs, they may seal 1 or 2 of them. Meaning you’re trusting a company who may only do a dozen brick paver sealing jobs a year with your new investment of a brick paver driveway or pool deck. Why wouldn’t you pay the same amount to have an experienced, professional brick paver sealing company do the job correctly? At Dura Guard, that’s all we do. Monday – Friday. Seal brick pavers. We are not an installation company, although we can recommend a few. We know sealing – And we know it better than anyone else!
For your expert brick paver sealing company, give us a call at the main office at 727-218-4221 or, for the fastest response, submit an online request for an estimate by clicking this link. Brick paver sealing in Pasco, Hernando, Hillsborough, Bradenton, Sarasota, Orlando, Citrus county, The Villages and all surrounding Tampa Florida areas.
