Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 11:54 am
Hi, having an extension at the back of the House, which meant the Back Garden needed Landscaping.
Last Week, Monday through to Wednesday, the builders laid the Black Indian Stone (Builder has said it's Limestone). Everything looked good, finishing off the Paving Thursday morning with Grout and Sealing, but as they finished off the work the Heaven’s opened.
The Paving was quickly covered with Tarp & weighed down with a few plant pots. Checked with the builder, he said it was okay to take the Tarp off late Friday (by then it’d finished raining, but had rained solid for over 24hrs). Removed the tarps, though nothing of it, path was still damp but still looked nice. (Assume you know where I'm going).
Saturday was the first chance it got to dry, most of Saturday I was away from the House, I’d not looked at the paving that morning, assuming what I’d seen Friday evening; everything was okay.
Whilst I was away from the House, the builder called Saturday Lunch saying he wanted to Pop back to finish off some work. When he’d finished this work he called to say the Paving had a few white marks & this could be corrected with resealing, (Thompson Water Seal was mentioned). Thinking nothing off it, I returned home that evening to be confronted by an angry Wife, not too happy at how the path had dried, along with the understanding we had to correct. I can only describe the Paving as a Mess.
It has what the Builder later has said are “Bloom marks�. The bloom marks even show where the Tarp has rested on the sealant, the pattern of the Tarp, bloom marks in the shapes of plant pots which weighed down the Tarp & the best are what I can only describe as Disco Inferno Slug Trails. The strangest thing is you can look at the paving from above and it looks perfect, but from other angles you see the white marks!
So Sunday morning, off the back of the instructions from the builder we set too, first to see if we could remove the white marks no chance! We used, water, Soap & Water, Yard Brush like a Curling Team, then Jet Wash, without budging. Last resort we bought a sealant remover (LTP Solvex) & tested it on a small Paving Slab. After a couple of applications, it kind of removed the sealant but the white marks were there. A good jet wash of the treated paving & the dastardly white marks are still there.
Called the Builder.
The Builder came round, saying the white marks should disappear with water and then reseal, we passed him a jug of water, then watched the colour drain from his face, as he realised, there wasn’t going to be a simple fix.
After a few calls from the Builder to the Manufacturer of the Sealant, sorry I’ve forgotten the name but I know it’s a local Brew from a local shop, a 2 tub Epoxy Resin.
So to the crux of the story & why I’m posting.
The fix is for the paving to be Sand Blasted or to wait 3 to 6 months for the Sealant to wear off.
I’m going for the Sand Blasting as it will drive me daft staring at the Disco Slug Trails for so long. I’ve been told the blasting will take the top layer off the paving & it’ll be a little rougher.
So have I taken the right decision? Shall I Sand Blast?
Why I’m on again it rained this morning, the water is pooling on the slabs were the sealant remains, with some oil discolouration. Assume the oil is some seeping from the Resin, but the pooling of the water is there a way of avoiding this, as it looks well ‘Poor’.
Any advice I’d be grateful, on the sandblasting & the options of the pooling of water vs Sealant options.
Regards
Andy
Can provide pictures if it’ll help.
Last Week, Monday through to Wednesday, the builders laid the Black Indian Stone (Builder has said it's Limestone). Everything looked good, finishing off the Paving Thursday morning with Grout and Sealing, but as they finished off the work the Heaven’s opened.
The Paving was quickly covered with Tarp & weighed down with a few plant pots. Checked with the builder, he said it was okay to take the Tarp off late Friday (by then it’d finished raining, but had rained solid for over 24hrs). Removed the tarps, though nothing of it, path was still damp but still looked nice. (Assume you know where I'm going).
Saturday was the first chance it got to dry, most of Saturday I was away from the House, I’d not looked at the paving that morning, assuming what I’d seen Friday evening; everything was okay.
Whilst I was away from the House, the builder called Saturday Lunch saying he wanted to Pop back to finish off some work. When he’d finished this work he called to say the Paving had a few white marks & this could be corrected with resealing, (Thompson Water Seal was mentioned). Thinking nothing off it, I returned home that evening to be confronted by an angry Wife, not too happy at how the path had dried, along with the understanding we had to correct. I can only describe the Paving as a Mess.
It has what the Builder later has said are “Bloom marks�. The bloom marks even show where the Tarp has rested on the sealant, the pattern of the Tarp, bloom marks in the shapes of plant pots which weighed down the Tarp & the best are what I can only describe as Disco Inferno Slug Trails. The strangest thing is you can look at the paving from above and it looks perfect, but from other angles you see the white marks!
So Sunday morning, off the back of the instructions from the builder we set too, first to see if we could remove the white marks no chance! We used, water, Soap & Water, Yard Brush like a Curling Team, then Jet Wash, without budging. Last resort we bought a sealant remover (LTP Solvex) & tested it on a small Paving Slab. After a couple of applications, it kind of removed the sealant but the white marks were there. A good jet wash of the treated paving & the dastardly white marks are still there.
Called the Builder.
The Builder came round, saying the white marks should disappear with water and then reseal, we passed him a jug of water, then watched the colour drain from his face, as he realised, there wasn’t going to be a simple fix.
After a few calls from the Builder to the Manufacturer of the Sealant, sorry I’ve forgotten the name but I know it’s a local Brew from a local shop, a 2 tub Epoxy Resin.
So to the crux of the story & why I’m posting.
The fix is for the paving to be Sand Blasted or to wait 3 to 6 months for the Sealant to wear off.
I’m going for the Sand Blasting as it will drive me daft staring at the Disco Slug Trails for so long. I’ve been told the blasting will take the top layer off the paving & it’ll be a little rougher.
So have I taken the right decision? Shall I Sand Blast?
Why I’m on again it rained this morning, the water is pooling on the slabs were the sealant remains, with some oil discolouration. Assume the oil is some seeping from the Resin, but the pooling of the water is there a way of avoiding this, as it looks well ‘Poor’.
Any advice I’d be grateful, on the sandblasting & the options of the pooling of water vs Sealant options.
Regards
Andy
Can provide pictures if it’ll help.
