The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Wed May 31, 2006 10:43 pm**

Hi

We are in the latter stages of having a new Tegula traditional drive laid. Your site has helped me to keep on top of the guys doing the work. I'm happy with what they've done but I'm unsure as to sealing the blocks or not. Our drive slopes down to the house so winter conditions also come into play.

I have looked at the sealants web pages and searched for "sealant" and read the posts but couldn't find anything showing the pros and cons. I am unlikely to use a pressure washer on a regular basis so am not too concerned with forcing the sand out.

I really would like to know if applying sealant will make the blocks look "wet" as they do have a better colour/appearance when wet or could this be a decision that I live to regret as the "wet" look would be too like PIC?

Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Robin

Posted: **Sat Jun 03, 2006 1:13 pm**

The new, expanded "Sealants for Paving" page is still a way from being fit to be published, mainly because the sealant industry seems to change its products faster than I can type. It's further complicated by the need to differentiate between sealants for concrete, those for stone, those for wet-cast, etc.

However, if I had to sum-up everything I've written to date (which is what you're asking) I'd boild it down to just three salient points....

1 - Don't seal until the pavement is at leats 3 months old. Most defects (if there are to be any) and most of the eff will have declared their intentions by then.

2 - Think about what sort of finish you prefer. You don't have to have the wet-look - there are 'damp-look' and 'invisible' sealants available if that's what you like.

3 - Try to choose a sealant that is recommended for concret block paving rather than one of the "suitable for all surfaces" types, which achieve that status by being the lowest common denominator.

In reference to point 1 above, I am aware that a certain sealant manufacturer with an arrogance problem is promoting the use of one of their sealants as soon as the paving is laid, but I have severe (and unanswered) reservations regarding this practice. Until these reservations are addressed and resolved, I won't be recommending this strategy.

Posted: **Sun Jun 04, 2006 8:12 pm**

seal it with one coat of resiblock 22 to solidify the sand to stop weeds and grass and ants nests. the joints are big on marshalls tegular so get more sealant than you need to cover it. you will need good drainage though with the drive sloping towards the house as in heavy rain it will all run quicker towards the house with it not soaking into the sand.

Posted: **Mon Jun 05, 2006 3:11 pm**

Many thanks for your replies Tony and AJW. Your time and knowledge is very much appreciated.

Tony - the "damp" look seems like a nice compromise between full wet and bone dry finishes.

Do these finishes have differing "slip" properties considering our sloping drive ?

I had picked up on the "wait 3 months" advice and that is what I will do, seeing how the drive beds in and looks over this period. In the mean time I will look into the resiblock 22.

Re the drainage concern, we have fitted aco style drain gullies along the whole 9.7mt run where the block paving meets the house, draining at one end into existing rain water pipe.

Once again many thanks for your time.

Kind regards

Robin Clark

The Brew Cabin

To seal or not to seal - New 65sq mtr drive - should i seal it