Brick Paver Spring Maintenance in Ann Arbor

Time to perform spring maintenance on your brick paver patio, walks, & driveway!

Spring has sprung in Michigan and the threat of any further freeze thaw cycles is done.  This means it is time to strategize on the maintenance objectives of your brick pavers.  Assessing the needs and care that are to be taken to ensure long-term performance is upon you.

 

Take the time to inspect your brick paver walks, patio, and driveway for sunken or lifted pavers.  If sunken, it will take some effort to lift out, add some base, and reinstall.  If raised, it may only take tamping down with a hand tamper or power plate compactor.   Make sure you do not mistake sunken or raised pavers areas because the other is true.  For example, slightly sunken paver areas may look like the surrounding area is raised.  Evaluate which circumstance is true and execute the correct action.

 

The brick pavers in Spring may seem a little loose due to the thawed base under the pavers.  Also, the lack of paver joint sand in the joints will let pavers rock back and forth slightly.  This signals the most important step in maintaining your brick pavers…. Spring sand sweeping!  It is important to keep your paver joints filled with joint sand.  On a dry day, drop a bag or more of paver joint sand and spread over all your brick pavers.  Sweep generously over all the pavers and paver joints to insure filling any empty joints.   Blow off all your pavers with a light passing of a blower, insuring you don’t blow the sand out of the joints.  Any excess sand on top of the pavers will wash off with Spring rains but don’t leave any piles of sand on your pavers.

 

This is the most basic and beneficial service for your brick pavers.  This needs to be performed every Spring, preferably in mid to late April.  For the purpose of this article, I have not talked about cleaning & sealing of your brick pavers.  These are premium services that I discuss in detail in many other past articles.  Basically, if you feel your brick pavers need cleaning before adding new joint sand, just power wash the pavers & paver joints, let dry completely, and then sweep joint sand.  When it comes to sealing your brick pavers, I recommend it every 2-3 years, and you should perform the steps of cleaning and sweeping of joint sand prior to any sealing.

 

I want to further note that your Spring touch up of paver joint sand is “regular” paver joint sand, NOT polymeric sand (hardening sand).  Polymeric sand is another premium service which requires cleaning of all paver joints prior to sweeping in.  When working with polymeric sand, great care needs to be taken to make sure you avoid a disastrous result.  

 

Brick pavers will perform excellent if you just perform this basic paver maintenance each Spring.  Paver joint sand is the blood line of all brick paver installations.  Spring brick paver maintenance can easily be performed by you the homeowner, or performed by an experience brick paver contractor at a reasonable cost. Contact us at brickdoctorbill@gmail.com if you want a qualified brick paver contractor to perform this service for you.

Restoration of Brick Pavers Walkway installed 10 years ago

Simple paver maintenance will help avoid repairs and major restoration

This brick pavers walkway in Ann Arbor was recently restored by our company. The condition of this paver walk is a common occurrence that I estimate restoration for on a daily basis.  It was a reminder to me that neglect of simple routine paver maintenance will turn into a major restoration cost in the future.

This pavers walkway had never received any additional sweeping of joint sand since it was installed 10 years ago!  Who is to fault?  Neglect by the homeowner? or the lack of educating the homeowner by the installing contractor?  Either way, the homeowner is now responsible for the cost to restore this pavers walk.

The 2 contributing factors to the deterioration of this pavers walkway was the lack of paver joint sand in the paver joints and the exposure of the cement bead edge restraint.  If these simple maintenance requirements had been addressed, the homeowner would not have the cost of complete re-installation of this paver walkway.

The lack of keeping joint sand in the paver joints allows for water to take the least path of resistance.  Water will rush down the joints instead of running over the paver surface.  The result is the base below slowly erodes over time and allows the paving stones to sink, tilt, or loosen.  Joint sand also is the key factor in keeping the pavers "locked-up" and tight.  Lack of paver joint sand will allow the paving stones to loosen, gap, tilt, and shift.

The lack of the cement bead edge restraint being covered by proper landscaping (i.e. soils, grass, or mulch) allows the edge restraint to erode, crack, and break loose.  In turn, the outside row of pavers begin to "creep" out.  The result is the inner paving stones begin to excessively gap, loosen, and tilt.  I was amazed after 10 years that the cement bead edge restraint was totally exposed.  All the homeowner had to do was allow the grass to grow over the cement bead on the lawn side with a few bags of topsoil & seed and cover with mulch on the inside landscape bed.

We completely lifted up this pavers walkway, re-compacted the existing base, added new base material as needed to re-level, re-installed the pavers in like shape & design, cleaned the pavers, and swept in new pavers joint sand.  The homeowner also elected to have the paver walk sealed to enhance the color and give it the "wet look" appearance. The final result was another successful house call by the Doctor and staff!

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 Driveway Cleaning & Sanding

Brick Driveway Cleaning

Here is brick paver driveway we cleaned and sanded this past week.  This paver driveway was installed about 7 years ago and was in immediate need of cleaning off moss, weeds, and dirt from the paving stones and paver joints.

The homeowner admitted he has not performed any yearly maintenance of paver joint sand sweeping. Due to dense tree growth, moss & mold had taken over the appearance of his paving stone driveway.  This homeowner was desperate to regain the beauty of his paver driveway.

We spent 18 hrs power washing all the brick pavers & paver joints to remove all the mold, moss, weeds, and dirt.  We scrubbed the pavers with a mild concoction of powdered Tide & water in a bucket, agitating them with a short bristled brush. This helps remove & loosen up the unsightly substances. Most people do not realize the tedious time involved in properly power washing pavers & paver joints.

After all the paving stones where cleaned and dried, we swept in paver joint sand.  It is very important to keep all your paver joints filled with the proper joint sand to help keep pavers from shifting and help deter weeds & dirt from taking over.  Paver Driveways require even more attention due to the heavy & frequent traffic of cars.

This homeowner was considering sealing his paver driveway because he thought it would deter any future moss growth or keep him from having to sweep in more joint sand.  I informed him this is NOT true that moss, given the right conditions, will still grow on top of the pavers & paver joints.  Sealing of the paver joint sand will only be temporary as the paving stones flex to the effects of winter frost & snow and future sweeping will be required.  Though there are some important reasons to apply a brick paver sealant to pavers, I would always choose to seal your brick pavers for the aesthetic value or the "wet look" appearance.

So keep your brick pavers clean for years of beauty & enjoyment and keep your paver joints clean and filled with joint sand for long-term performance & success. Your curb appeal investment in brick pavers can not be ignored so if you do not want to do the needed work yourself, call a brick paver professional.

Raised Paver Patio Repair of Wall Cap

Building a raised paver patio takes some experience & expertise to insure a functional and creative paver installation.  This particular brick paver patio was installed by a reputable local landscaper that obviously lacked the foresight & experience to accomplish this goal.

The capping of all modular retaining walls to retain the paver patio and paver steps leading into the doorwall were capped using the pavers, not the proper cap units for the retaining wall blocks.   This would not be such a big issue if they had properly installed the paving stones without gaps that allowed the paver joint sand to seep out.

As a result of this poor paver capping, the pavers behind the brick caps settled all along the perimeter of the paver patio, paver steps, and sitting walls.  The inexperienced landscaper did not use the right size paver to cap with so it would allow them to mitre cut nice & tight.  This fear or neglect of cutting has now cost this customer aggravation and money to correct.

We removed all the old brick paver caps and lifted about 16" behind the wall to reset sunken paving stones through out the paver patio.  We could NOT use the proper retaining wall cap units because they are 3 1/2" thick and the brick caps were only 2 3/8" thick.  For us to install the proper retaining wall caps, we would either have to re lift ALL of the paver patio to reset the height or lower the modular retaining wall blocks.  Both these options are more expensive than recapping the raised patio wall with a larger paving stone and cutting them in properly.

The new brick paver caps were cut to fit tight and re adhered to the modular blocks. The paving stones behind the brick caps were reinstalled, compacted, and finished with paver joint sand.  Brick Doctor Bill and his experienced staff have made another customer happy & confident.

Remember to hire an interlocking brick paver specialist for your next brick pavers or retaining wall project.

Brick Paver Sealing is for the Brick, NOT the sand in the joints!

After completing a brick paver sealing of a paver patio today, the customer said while handing me my check, "so I will not get any weeds, right?". It drives me crazy that customers are only concerned with the sand in the joints being sealed and not the patio stones. Sealing pavers is for the brick, NOT the sand!

Today's customer never commented on the enhanced color and appearance of the brick paver patio. They never asked any questions regarding the long term performance of the paving stones surface or protection from natural elements. They were never concerned about the cost or frequency of an approved brick paver sealer application. They were only concerned during my estimate and my completion of services about a 100% guarantee of NO WEEDS!

I usually have to slowly explain to potential clients that sealing of pavers is for the enhanced appearance and performance of the concrete paver. But as predictable, customers only hone in on the sand in the joints. They believe that the brick paver sealer is for sealing the joints, therefore making the sand permanently hard like mortar so weeds can not grow. It is true that the paver sealer will typically flow into the joints and temporarily harden the sand. But as the interlocking brick pavers expand or heave due to winter frost, these joints will absorb the pressure and loosen. Snow, ice, rain, and wind will eventually erode the sand and create opportunities for weed seeds to germinate.

I could have saved this customer 100's of dollars if the paver joints were their only concern. I could have simply used some brick paver polymeric sand in all the paver joints to harden for the season. Simple touch ups of paver joint sweeping each Spring will keep joints filled and hardened to deter any chance for a weed seed to establish. I always tell customers that the number one reason to seal brick pavers is for aestheitc values of the paving stones, NOT for the sand in the joints!