Brick Paver Walkway Restored in Ann Arbor

Even after 15 years of neglect, Brick Pavers Walkway looks like new again!

When I first approached this brick paver walkway in Ann Arbor, I knew my team and I could bring it back to life.  The homeowner believed she had to replace the paving stones with a new paver. I assured her that I could make her walkway look new again!  She trusted my recommendations and we began the transformation.

We started by lifting up the entire Holland paver walk since it had dips, gaps, and uneven lines throughout the entire length. We cleaned off the top layer of base that had been contaminated with soils & silt and re-compacted the rest with a plate compactor. We added new additional base as needed and began re-installing this paver walkway in like size, dimensions, and shape.

Upon completing the re-installation of paving stones, we replaced the old PVC edge restraint that had severely lifted with a hidden cement bead. We cleaned the surface of the paving stones with a power washer & mild general cleaner. After this paver walkway was dry enough, we swept in paver joint sand, compacted with a plate compactor, and then finished with another sweeping of paver joint sand.

A couple days later after everything was dry, we touched up the paver joints with sand, blew off all excess with a blower, and then applied an approved brick paver sealant. We instructed the homeowner to block off and stay off the paver walkway for at least 24 hours and then enjoy! This once eye sore has now brightened the view & curb appeal of this home.


 The results were dramatic and this homeowner saved over $1,000 by not replacing the paving stones. Not all cases of paver restorations will get the same results, but the majority of our projects do.  It takes time, experience, and detailed knowledge to get this type of repair, cleaning, and sealing results. It is usually best to let your brick paver specialist perform these services for your brick paver patio, walkway, driveway, and more.

Brick Pavers Dirty Little Secret : Paver Joints

Paver Joints are the most important part of your Brick Pavers Installation

It amazes me every day when I am doing estimates on brick paver repair & restorations that homeowners had no idea they needed to keep paver joints filled with paver joint sand. More than the paving stones themselves, paver joints have the most important function of interlocking brick pavers.  Here are paver joints dirty little secrets.

Paver joints are the whole purpose for brick paver "lock-up".  Paver joints for interlocking paving stones allow for the bedding coarse to shoot up and lock the paving stones together during plate compaction.  As the plate compactor vibrates across several paving stones at once, the paving stones depress and force the bedding coarse sand or slag to "jet up" into the paver joints and lock up the paving stones laterally.


The next important step is to sweep in proper paver joint sand to completely fill the paver joints. Full paver joints will help prevent the paving stones from loosening, shifting, and unnecessarily settle from erosion.  What is so perplexing is that sweeping in paver joint sand is so easy and effortless and most homeowners will not perform this basic paver maintenance requirement. In Ann Arbor, sweeping is usually necessary each Spring as the Winter frost, snow & ice, and Spring rains wash away the top of the paver joints.  The upgraded use of Polymeric Sand will greatly reduce the amount of paver joint sweeping due to the strength of this bonding sand. Here are some paver repair projects that we used Polymeric Sand to help avoid future repairs.

Keeping paver joints filled with paver joint sand is important to help keep weed seeds from establishing .  If the joints are not filled with sand, this presents a perfect setting for weed seeds or dirt to settle in and promote growth.  Dirt, weeds, and grass inhibit the proper flow of water through the joints and does not allow for application of a paver sealant.


 Paver joints absorb the winter frost effects of heaving so the paving stones do not crack, grind, or chip. While protecting the structural integrity of interlocking pavers, paver joints will lose joint sand over time. Sweeping in new paver joint sand is a small price to pay for protecting the beauty, appearance, and performance of your brick paver patios,walkways,driveways, and more.

In frost states like Michigan, it is highly recommended not to fill the joints of high density concrete pavers with mortar.  I see many outdoor applications using mortared interlocking paving stones that will some day fail.  Mortared paver joints in a frost State does not stand up to the flexible heaving of base laid pavers. The other important factor is that high density concrete pavers are much stronger than mortar. As the paving stones expand slightly they will crack or break up the mortared joints. This will become and unsightly and costly future repair.

After years of neglect, paver patios without paver joint sand may require us to completely  re-sweep in new joint sand and re-compact the whole patio with a plate compactor. This will help re-lock the paving stones into the bedding coarse. We will then finish off the top of the paver joints with an approved joint sand.

Most homeowners believe that you must protect the paving stones with a sealer which is not true. Sealing brick pavers is an option and is mainly for aesthetic purposes.  The best way to protect your interlocking pavers is to keep the joints filled with paver joint sand. This is a simple and very cheap way to avoid costly and unnecessary paver repairs.

Brick Paver Joint Sand: Change in my Recommendation

#1 Brick Paver Maintenance Requirement

For years now I have preached to my clients, "Do NOT sweep play sand into your brick paver joints!".  Well, I have a slight change in my recommendation for this yearly brick pavers maintenance requirement.  Play Sand generally is a fluffy yellow sand with very little granular substance to assist in bonding. In Ann Arbor, this type of sand graduation will splash or blow out of brick paver joints and make your experience with interlocking pavers frustrating. Silica Sand also does not perform well as a paver joint sand.

As mentioned in early posts, keeping your paver joints filled with joint sand is a crucial yearly requirement for the long-term performance of paver patios, walkways, driveways, porches, etc.. . Paver joint sand is essential in keeping proper lock-up of the paving stones and help deter the effects of erosion, settling, and weed growth.

Most brick paver manufacturers distribute an approved paver joint sand that is either privately labeled or from a national supplier.  Obviously these products are an approved paver joint sand to use for your interlocking pavers project but usually carry an unnecessary cost and not readily available to you geographically.

For the last 10 years I have been recommending and using Quikcrete's "all purpose sand" for paver joint sweeping. This all purpose sand had a similar sand graduation (sieve rate) as the more costly paver manufacturer's joint sand and is also screened, washed, and dried.  These processes are important to remove unwanted substances like dirt, weed seeds, and silt.

This past Spring I started to notice that  Quikcrete's "all purpose sand" was beginning to have a larger sand graduation (sieve rate) which was allowing larger pebbles to be present in the mix. These larger pebbles of sand either do not sweep into the paver joints or lodge themselves in the joint, thus not allowing proper filling of the paver joints.  We found ourselves having to discard about of 1/3rd of each bag. This was not only inconvenient but eliminated any cost savings.

I did some further investigation and discovered that Quikcrete's "Premium" play sand had a similar sand graduation (sieve rate) to the paver manufacturer's paver joint sand. It also is screened, washed, and dried. Unlike cheap or the original fluffy play sand, this "premium" play sand has a granular mix to assist in bonding & lock-up. It also has enough sand fines to allow for easy and successful filling of paver joints. 

I do want to say that I am not recommending "all" play sands. My investigation at this point has only concluded that Quikcrete's "Premium" play sand is an acceptable joint sand for your brick paver joints.


At Lowe's and Home Depot, this play sand runs @ $3.50 per bag. This is a considerable savings from the $7.50-$8 / bag for paver manufacturer joint sand bags. I understand that there is a cost for private labels and convenience, but this is an unnecessary cost for clients who can easily obtain an acceptable replacement at a local hardware store.

Brick Paver Sealing

One of the biggest questions that I am asked is about the sealing of brick pavers. First and foremost, brick paver sealing is usually optional. I am definitely an advocate of sealing brick pavers but the number one reason for sealing pavers is for the aesthetic value. Sealing gives the pavers the "wet look" or satin finish that typically darkens or accents the color in the paving stones. I instruct customers to wet their pavers with a hose on a cloudy day. If they like that look or if it better matches other color schemes on their house, then go ahead and seal brick pavers. In an average environment you do not have to seal your pavers to protect warranties or long term performance. Admittedly, sealing will slow down the effects of weathering of pavers and retaining walls.

Below are some steps or tips when sealing brick paver patios, walkways, and driveways.

After a new paver installation, wait approximately 3 months before sealing brick pavers or retaining walls. The reason for this is twofold. First you want to let the joint sand settle in for a month or so and perform any touch ups where needed. The second is to allow the pavers to completely dry and allow any efflorescence to occur. Efflorescence is the process whereby the brick pavers may exhibit a white powdery deposit or residue on the surface after moisture evaporates from the paving stones. The normal approach is to let this deposit or residue just weather off. After about 3 months of the concrete pavers exposed to sun & elements, this process should be complete.

Prepping for brick paver sealing is very important. If your brick paver patio or walkway has been in over a year, I suggest you do a general basic powerwash cleaning. By powerwashing you can remove any dirt or other debris off the top of the pavers and clean out any joints with soil or foreign debris in them. Let your pavers and paver joints dry for atleast 4 hours before sweeping in any joint sand. There is no need to use polymeric (bonding) sand in the joints if you are going to seal your pavers. If you are not sealing, then let your paver patio or walkway dry for 24 hours before using any polymeric sand. DO NOT sweep jointing sand into joints if the pavers or paver joints are wet! You want fine angular joint sand to completely fill all joints and wet sand will NOT achieve this goal.
After joint sanding your brick pavers, use a light mist from the house hose to wash off the top of the paving stones, letting the sand wash off the pavers and letting the sand settle in the joints. Let the brick patio or walkway dry and settle in for a day or so before application of the brick paver sealer.

Applying the brick paver sealing needs to be done on a dry and rain free day. Make sure you follow the directions of the brick paver sealing manufacturer when sealing your brick patio, walkway, or driveway. I usually wait until after 10am to let any dew or morning moisture burn off. Though most paver sealers are dry to the touch in a half hour, it is best to stay off your paver installation for 24 hours. The smell of a freshly sealed patio may be strong for a few days and usually is not noticeable within a week.

My preferred method of applying paver sealer is to use a 2 gallon pump garden sprayer. I have used 100's of different sprayers from commercial steel sprayers to cheap plastic garden sprayers. I find it is best to use the inexpensive $20-25 plastic sprayer and just throw away after use. The amount of time & effort to flush out and clean the parts of a sprayer from the thermoplastic resins is not worth keeping the sealer sprayer. Even an expensive steel commercial sprayer will need all rubber seals replaced and constantly cleaned. Spraying on sealer will give you a heavier coat of sealer that will help soak into the joints. Using the rolling method of sealer with a foam roller will stretch your sealer more evenly but is hard to get soaked into the paver joints. The rolling method of applying sealer also can experience some problems if the paver joints are wider, pulling sand up out of the joints and rolling onto the top of the brick pavers. The spraying method of applying sealer also is easier to apply to steps, walls, caps, and tight areas.

It is important not to make yourself crazy prepping to get your brick paver patio, walkway, or driveway perfect for sealer. It is not a controlled environment like inside. You can not control the weather, temperatures, wind, or any floating debris. Your goal is to enhance the appearance and performance of your brick pavers and retaining walls.