The Brew Cabin

I want to seal my newly blockpaved drive as I mess about with cars, which often leak, I also want to minimize weed maintenance and there is also a need to prevent 'sand runoff' from rain.

I need 50 litres and can get resiblock at about 290 pounds or the guy who did the paving will do the job for 300 inc. 5year guarantee. Only problem is when I ask him what he's using he says's it's a 'trade-only' material.

Any opinions - should I turst this mysterious solution? If I go resiblock then it's about same price but with a day of my time too. I'm not entirely clear what a guarantee would cover?

Steve

I'd hazard a guess that this 'trade-only' jollop is an acrylic sealant, and, if your man is not prepared to name names, I'd be wary, or you could end up with a low-grade, cheap gunge that you can get from a DIY shed for just a few quid.

The Resiblock products are very, very good: in fact, they are probably too good for domestic paving, if such a thing is possible. They are one of the few companies that back up their claims with independent, scientific data, rather than anecdotal opinion. Consequently, there's no worries with the Resiblock stuff, as they have built their worldwide reputation by concentrating on speacialist sealants for paving, whereas many other products are knocked out as cheaply as possible by companies with no technical data to back up their claims and no on-going research committed to developing even better products.

50 litres of sealant, whether it's Resiblock or any other, can be applied in less than half a day, including time to prep the area and standing guard to keep the cat off it while it cures. I wouldn't hesitate to use the Resiblock and half a day of my own time, rather than splash out 300 quid on some unknown mystery product. However, if your man is willing to tell you just what it is he plans to use, I'd re-assess the situation.

Ive been using sealants for block paving and slabs for five years now and have found that Techcon is by far the best for all round performance.
Resiblock Superior works well stabilising the jointing sand but it seems to fade very quickly(under one year)and drives ive sealed with Techcon over two years ago are still looking fabulous.
Also Techcon is over half the price at £55 per tin plus delivery.Their number is 01384 56653.
Make sure your drive is dry inc. sand in joints before applying and dont apply on a hot afternoon as it might streak..Good luck..

The MacCormack Refurbishment Company

Oops sorry !
Number for Techcon is 01384 566533

Is this Techcon stuff an acryllic or a urethane based material? I can't find any references th it on using a web site - are there any on-line reports or descriptions available that you are aware of?
Steve

I had a chat with the MD of Techcon a couple of months ago. They've just moved to a new factory in Cradley Heath and have some interesting products in the pipeline that I promised to go an take a peek at, but just haven't had the chance, yet.

Anyway, their SupaSeal sealant is an acrylic, which is why it is cheaper than Resiblock. I've still not seen any tech literature, other than the standard promotional stuff, and they don't have a website......yet!

If you give them a call and tell them you were speaking with me, they'll send you all the info they have and I'll have another go at getting technical info from them as soon as I get the time (I'm taking some time off over the next few weeks for medical reasons)