Seal now or wait until spring - Decisions re newly cleaned drive

[Joliza]

Hi everyone

I had my 15 plus year old drive (I moved here 7 years ago) steam cleaned a week ago. It was very badly in need of cleaning and I allowed a cold caller to do it during the few sunny days we had recently. In just over an hour it was squeaky clean. Pix available online here -

Google]https://drive.google.com/drive....]Google drive

The guys sprayed some slightly foamy 'sealant' (could have been soapy water, pavers look and feel no different than before and drive should have been re-sanded anyway) on the drive and it soaked in. The cleaning had removed sand from some areas more than others.

I have re-sanded the lot and brushed. There are some uneven areas more towards the garage where blocks have moved over the years with larger gaps but I cannot afford 20 odd feet of repairs so I need to do the best I can with what I have and the following questions are on my mind as to the best course of action.

1. monitor to see if the 'sealant' applied does actually have any effect with regard to keeping drive clean.
2. assuming their sealant was not likely to work, seal asap with a good quality product? Is it really true that only Resiblock works for more than a year? Drive is 67m2 so it's going to cost over £300 just for sealant.
3. weather has deteriorated and it's probably optimistic to expect enough warm dry weather now so is it best to put it off until next year?
4. How urgent is it to seal with regard to losing colour? My main worry is that the colour will darken and I don't want to clean it again. Drive is North facing.
5. If I brush, spray it with weed (not so much a problem now) and moss killer as often as required, will it stay clean for at least a few months until Spring?

Thanks in advance for any help. It is a wonderful website.

[ResiblockBoss]

Hi Joliza
Resiblock products typically need to be re-applied every 5 years. However, the cost is usually about half of the initial application, as this would have reduced the porosity significantly, meaning normally about half the material would be required.

In respect of weather. The important thing with most sealants is that the jointing sand must be dry. If it’s not, simply do not go ahead. Clearly as we are in Autumn, the chance of optimum application conditions reduce.

Notwithstanding my main concern is the use of the ‘foamy sealant’. Unless I was to know the precise product used, I cannot in all consciousness recommend one of our products; as this original sealer may cause anything that is subsequently applied to dis-bond.

Sorry I couldn’t be of more help
Craig

[Joliza]

Thanks Craig for your advice. It looks like I had better wait and see how things go. If I wait until better weather, probably next year, maybe do a patch test somewhere.

[ResiblockBoss]

Interestingly, if you really did wish to proceed I would have suggested this option; although be aware it can be many months before a subsequent material can dis-bond. When you are ready to proceed PM me with you address and I will get some trial samples off to you with my compliments.
Craig