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Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 5:31 pm
by dunkmat
Just had driveway done and the contractor want to seal. I have used a Sienna Plaspave block. Would you let them seal it now or wait? Problem is getting them back as they would want full payment. Its around 300m2 driveway.
Thanks
PS if it was left 6 weeks or so could the driveway be used in the meantime or would it stain?
Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 3:59 pm
by Tony McC
I would NEVER let them seal a pavement less than 3 months old. In exceptional circumstances, and on condition that the pavement was to be assessed beforehand, I might be prepared to allow sealing after 6 weeks, but it is highly unlikely that a pavement would/could pass such an assessment at this time of year: the daffs are out and so efflorescence is at its peak.
There's no harm in using the pavement in its unsealed state. If it gets stained in the meantime, then it's not all that difficult to replace the affected blocks prioer to sealing.
Why does the contractor want to seal immediatley following construction? So that they can add another few hundred quid to the money they take away with them. It is structurally and aesthetically unsound to seal a pavement that is only a week or two old. If the contractor is a decent sort, they'll not object to coming back in, say, June, and making their additional profit then, once the jointing sand has settled and self-sealed and the eff has moved out of the blocks.