Can Pavers Be Restored?

Pavers can significantly switch up your outdoor scenery. They add a unique feel to the house and improve overall aesthetic appeal. Unfortunately, as a result of the forces of nature and time, they tend to lose their vibrant colors. When this happens, they start to lose the beautiful effect that they once had on your house. So, can pavers be restored?

Yes, pavers can be restored. You can definitely restore your pavers provided you still want the same pattern and color you had initially. Before proceeding with a restoration, you should also determine whether they are in good structural condition.

When your pavers get dull and they start to lose their vibrant color, you are posed with the choice of having to replace or restore them. The decision here should be a no-brainer especially if you are considering the financial obligation, a restoration is more economical relative to having them replaced.

Why Are Your Pavers Faded?

You might be interested in knowing why your pavers get faded, and the root cause is their composition. Pavers are made of an aggregate consisting of sand, Portland cement, and small gravel which is then mixed with dry-shake pigments. Given that these pigments have a flour-like consistency, they do not mix into the aggregate.

Instead, it just provides an ultra-thin coating of color. After installation, the pavers are then exposed to the sun and interact with other elements like rain, air pollutants, particles carried by the wind, and harsh chemicals like bleach. This gradually erodes the color coating, causing them to turn white and fade.

How to Restore Your Pavers

Restoring pavers is a pretty extensive process that requires a degree of expertise. Whether you are restoring clay pavers, which tend to retain their color for a long time, or stamped concrete pavers that lose theirs faster, the process is about the same.

Clear

The first step to take in the restoration process is to clear the surroundings. You want to take out anything that does belong around the pavers. That includes objects like plants, pots, toys, and tools. Consider taking time to take out any moss around and in between the pavers. Sweep up any loose dirt in the surroundings as well.

Soak

The next thing to do is to soak the pavers with water using a bucket or a hose. Do not use a pressure washer to avoid further eroding the surface of the pavers. Once the surface of the pavers is well soaked, it will be easier to apply the cleanser.

Clean

After soaking your pavers, it is time to get cleaning. Get a cleanser. They should be available at any home improvement store. Alternatively, you make your own solution with detergent and hot water. Mix them together and pour the mixture all over the pavers.

Using hot water allows for deep cleaning without causing any damage to the pavers. It helps to remove mold, mildew, and joint material that require very hot water to remove. The hot water also emulsifies any moss or weeds that are still present.

You can then proceed to work the area with a bristle broom or a scrubber.

Rinse

After thoroughly working the pavers and they are looking clean, you can go ahead to rinse them. To do this, get a hose or a bucket and give the pavers a gentle rinse. If you are dealing with tougher stains, you can consider using a pressure washer for the affected regions.

Restore

Once your pavers are totally clean, you have to leave them to dry. After they are perfectly dry, you will have to fill in new joint material. For this, the best option you should go with is high-quality polymeric sand. This is because most other low-quality sands can constitute some problems later on.

Cheaper sands that are gotten from random sources like a local quarry can leave the joints of the pavers susceptible to insect and weed intrusion almost right away. With high-quality polymeric sands, you can easily avoid all of that. This is because polymeric sands offer a lot of flexibility.

The angular nature of polymeric sands makes them withstand wet conditions like rain and they revert to their solid nature once dry again. While it is worthy of note that polymeric sands are considerably more expensive than other alternatives, they offer the best results in the long term.

Spread

After sourcing the sand for restoring your pavers, you need to spread them around. You can do this effectively by pouring the sand into small heaps around the pavement. Get a dry broom and gently sweep the sand into the joint regions. Applying a light mist can help the sand get into the necessary areas.

After doing that, leave the sand to dry. Once the sand is dry, you can gently brush or sweep away any excess sand off the pavers.

Seal

This is the final step in restoring your pavers to prime beauty. Sealing offers a lot of benefits for your pavers including helping to protect the surface of the pavers and the joints in between them while restoring their aesthetic appeal. You can use one of two types of sealants:

a film-forming sealant that gives your pavers a gloss or semi-gloss finish
a non-film-forming sealant that gives the pavers a matte finish

Once you have sealed your pavers, they will start to look bright and vibrant. If you need to install pavers in San Diego, California, Aviara Pavers are certified experts who can help you install pavers for your outdoors, entry ways and pool decks following ICPI standards so that you won't have to worry about maintenance or repairs for years to come.

Conclusion

While restoring your pavers may seem pretty basic and straightforward, it is still best to have experts handle it. They are in the best position to appraise and determine whether your pavers might require special treatment or perhaps, you would fare better with a new installation altogether. Also, you can rid yourself of the stress involved by allowing Aviara Pavers to provide you with excellent service.

Can Pavers Be Restored?