Pros and Cons of Sealing Pavers

6 Reasons Why You Should/Shouldn’t Invest in Interlocking Block Sealants

Whether it’s your driveway or outdoor patio, sealing pavers doesn’t only add utility but also improves its overall look. After all, who wants to find themselves in a driveway or patio swarmed with cracked pavers and significant weed growth.  Paver sealers are exceptionally designed to seal, protect, and leave these areas looking neat and immaculately kept. 

However, as with most consumer products, the paver sealer comes with both advantages and disadvantages. So, check out our detailed outline below as it offers an in-depth review of the pros and cons of sealing pavers.

Pros of Sealing Pavers

As previously mentioned, sealing pavers comes with a heap of advantages, in addition to sealing and leaving your outdoor grounds looking neat and immaculate. The three common pros of sealing pavers include their ability to offer adequate protection, toughness and durability, and improving the overall appearance.

Protection

When you install pavers on your grounds, whether they are made of brick or concrete, they are still quite susceptible to weather destructions and damage.

With paver sealers, substances such as rust and dirt effortlessly wash away. Additionally, pavers are normally built to be quite porous.  Thus, without sealers, they are very penetrateable.  When it rains, they can absorb water and lose their durability as the water settles in.

During cold weather on the other end, the pavers can easily expand and crack to leave your grounds looking rough and unattended. Furthermore, unsealed pavers are more likely to trap moisture underneath which, in turn, results in unstable grounding.  Sealing the pavers helps to prevent these weather prone damages from happening. 

With sealed pavers, you will notice fewer cracks and fewer to no growing weeds on the grounds.

This is because when done without precision, the sealing fades overtime; leaving the pavers especially susceptible to weather damage.

Toughness and Durability

Pavers are built with increased toughness, no matter the material used. However, sealing them helps to reinforce the toughness. This is because by sealing them, you don’t have to worry about any elements penetrating the pavers. Whilst they are tough on their own,  unsealed pavers are less durable due to their susceptibility to environmental and weather damage. 

Appearance

As reiterated before, one of the key advantages of sealing your pavers is to improve the appearance of your outdoor living space. Who doesn’t want to lounge around or even park their car in a neat and well-maintained outdoor space? Pavers are neat when installed on their own.

However, sealing them adds that pop and sheen to their appearance whilst  also protecting the pavers from weather or environmental damage  that would otherwise affect their appearance. Even if you are satisfied with the natural look of the pavers, the appearance will not last that long without sealing them.

Cons of Sealing Pavers

It is somewhat unrealistic to discuss the pros and cons of sealing pavers without addressing the latter. Sealants bring great value to your outdoor living space, however, they boast drawbacks as well.  The common ones include maintenance needs, risk of contamination, and high costs. 

Maintenance

Paver sealers are quite useful in prolonging the durability of your pavers.  However, to ensure optimum functionality, you have to reseal your pavers regularly.  The quality of the sealers and pavers you invest in determines the frequency to which you have to reseal the pavers.

For example, highly porous paver material such as travertine will need sealing more frequently compared to more stable material such as concrete. Whilst the initial purchase of the travertine pavers will be affordable, the regular resealing can be costly and time consuming for some people.

Contamination

A second common problem is the risk of contamination to the grounds. Remember, the sealant is formulated using several chemicals. Thus, it is common for some of the sealant chemicals to seep through the grounds and penetrate the interior in case of sealant overspraying.

Additionally, performing the sealing process in brightly lit conditions reduces the chances of oversight and overspraying.

 Conditions such as wind and rain may facilitate overspraying or spread of the fumes as well.  Thus, it is a good idea to halt work during these conditions.

Whether it’s you or a hired professional that is performing the sealing process, ensure you have on adequately covering clothing as the chemicals can affect humans. Furthermore, ensure the area that needs sealing is sufficiently ventilated to allow the fumes to disperse.

Cost

The cost is a drawback for some people as well because to get the highest quality sealant, you must prepare to spend some cash. This is because less expensive sealants tend to be of cheap quality as they are thin, breakdown faster, and require regular reapplication.

 High quality sealants are thicker, last longer, and don’t require regular resealing.  Either way, you will have to dig deep into your pockets. However, high-quality sealants are a better investment as you don’t have to regularly reseal your pavers.

Conclusion

Even with the pros and cons of sealing pavers pointed out; these outdoor ground blocks prove to be useful to any property. Looking past the high investment costs, maintenance, and risk of contamination during installation, sealing pavers are still worth the consideration.

After all, they significantly improve the look of your outdoor space whilst also prolonging the durability of the pavers, which you must remember are also another significantly priced investment.