Brick Pavers Repair, Cleaning, & Sealing Peaking this Summer

This past week we completed some intricate brick pavers repair, cleaning, and sealing jobs that restored some of the original beauty & function. Each of these brick paver installations have been installed over 10 years.  After we completed our restoration service, they all looked like they had been installed yesterday!

With high school graduations, weddings, and parties an integral part of Summer events, restoration of brick pavers patios, walks, driveways, and pool areas are at an all time high request for us brick paver contractors.  Balancing needs with budgets is always a challenge for homeowners but an optimum plan of attack has always been manageable.

Each paver restoration project this week required some extensive and touch-up repairs of areas that had failed or where neglected over time. Each project was power washed & cleaned and paver joints were restored. 

The  "coup de gras" was each project was sealed with an approved brick paver sealant to enhance the color and give the brick pavers the much popular "wet look" appearance.

 Each homeowner has committed themselves to a routine maintenance program that will insure long-term performance and appearance.  Minimal routine paver services will help avoid any costly future restoration needs. We educated these homeowners about simple steps to take to maintain the appearance of their pavers and explained the need to observe the signs of distress that may lead to future expensive repairs if not addressed early.

Flagstone Front Walkway Replaces Old Path in Ann Arbor

Flagstone Walks & Patios offer a natural looking option to your Hardscape

Last year we installed a Flagstone Path in the backyard for this homeowner in Ann Arbor.  They enjoyed the natural look of it so much, they had us return this Spring and replace their old & original Flagstone front walkway with our much more appealing flagstone.

Old Path

The old & original flagstone path did not compliment the stone work on the home or give it much curb appeal.  The original installing contractor installed the flagstones to low to grade and left considerable wide gaps.  This lead to constant moisture overtaking the flagstone walkway and left it dingy, mossy, & dirty looking all the time.

The new Flagstone used to re-create the front pathway had a more natural grey tone that complimented the stone work on the home, as well as, give some slight contrast color to the landscape.  This particular flagstone was also slightly thicker and had less chance of cracking or splitting.

The homeowner wanted to keep the same shape and curve of the current flagstone pathway.  After removing the existing flagstones and removing all organic matter, we raised the height of the new flagstone path with additional base material.  We also worked hard to keep gaps to an acceptable minimum.

When you are dealing with irregular shaped natural stone, you have to accept some gapping & imperfections. This is the beauty of using natural stone!  At a much higher cost, due to labor & diamond blade use, we can close up gaps up by saw cutting the stone.  This usually is only cost effective for smaller applications.  If you must not have gaps, you may need to consider using a pre-cut natural stone like geometrically shaped Bluestone slabs that fit tight. These of course come at a higher cost.

Flagstone walks & patios do cost more than installing most brick paver projects.  Aside from the high end brick paver units, flagstones per square foot sometimes cost more than double that of the standard paver shapes.

Typically the prep work of base material & screeding is the same for flagstone as it is for brick pavers.  The issue with flagstone is the random thickness of each unit. You have to individual level each unit whereby brick pavers can be laid quickly once the bedding course is screeded.  So, extra labor time of laying is added when installing flagstone walks or patios. Cutting of natural stones is also more difficult than cutting paving stones and the diamond blade use is exponential.


Flagstone walkways and patios offer a very natural and surreal appearance to the landscape. When considering this option, understand that you need to accept what nature allows for this product to perform and that the overall cost may be more than installing brick pavers.

Pictorial of Transformation from Old Wooden Deck to Brick Pavers Patio

Raised Pavers Patio with Landing, Steps, and Planter Creates Beautiful Outdoor Living Space

In Ann Arbor this past Spring, we created this backyard transformation from an Old Wooden Deck to a beautiful Outdoor Living Space.

Designing & building a raised brick pavers patio with a paver landing & steps made the most of the space available. The pavers patio encompassed a duel Planter / Sitting Wall application that created not only some landscape beauty, but useable sitting area for entertaining.

Usually I will go through a stage-by-stage description of the process of installing a uniquely designed paver patio. This post will give you a visual pictorial of the stages of production that lead us to the spectacular conclusion to this project. Pictures will tell the story this post. Enjoy!

Small Raised Paver Patio & Steps Restored in Ann Arbor

Brick Paver Patio is Rebuilt to Restore Original Beauty & Function

On a weekly basis, we are rebuilding Brick Paver Patios to restore the original beauty & function that they were intended to provide.  This small raised pavers patio in Ann Arbor needed a complete rebuild restoration.

When giving an estimate on a paver patio restoration, we always provide cost options for the customer to consider.  In this particular project, a total patio rebuild restoration made the best sense for the homeowner.


The homeowner admitted to never performing any seasonal maintenance or addressing the settling of the wall blocks and paving stones the last few years.  Had the homeowner performed some simple routine maintenance and addressed the first signs of settling, they would not have the current cost for a total rebuild of this raised pavers patio.


My very experienced crew attacked this neglected raised pavers patio with precision and resolve.  The paver steps where re-leveled & re-glued. The raised patio wall blocks & caps were totally torn down and re-installed. Lastly, the paving stones where removed, cleaned, and re-installed in the same dimensions, shape, & design that the customer enjoyed so many years ago in the past. It takes alot more expertise to rebuild a pavers patio then to originally install from scratch.

With routine seasonal maintenance and attention to any settling in future years, this raised pavers patio will last a lifetime of enjoyment & function.  When we witness brick paver patios in this condition the major factor contributing to their demise is homeowner neglect.  Treat your brick pavers like any other outside maintenance need or project you address each Spring and the results will be spectacular.