[Richy L]

i have been given 3,300m2 of blockwork to clean, then seal.

drainage is fine, water supply is fine.

How much do you think i should put in?

Thanks guys

[Richy L]

does anyone have a rough ballpark figure?

i need to phone in a rough quote tonight really

[drive surgeon]

£1 to £1.50 a sq metre?  as they say the bigger the job the smaller the metre sq rate??

[drive surgeon]

what is it rich? car park?

[Richy L]

yeah, a car park and lots of paths. All blockwork.

Have you ever done any sealing?
If so, how long does it take to apply it?

[mark.laycock1@ntlw]

how will u be applying the sealer?

[Richy L]

i'll be rolling it probably as im not used to using the sprayer and i want an even finish.

How long sould it take with a roller, and how long with a sprayer. And happens if you spray the sealant and some goes on the grass?

[Roger Oakley]

Richy,
Don't want to spoli this but be very careful offering sealing at this time of year. Sealing is so weather dependent, no damp spots etc, as any sealer will mess-up and we are now in mid-October, damp mornings not much warmth in the day etc.
Re cleaning price for that size area £1.50 minimum for that size, adjust if you have too, but try to get this sort of rate.

Re sealant of grass, DON'T.

[drive surgeon]

did you get the job richy?  how much did you go in with?

[Richy L]

they have decided they only want nearly half of it done, so i need to recaulculate and resubmit it.

Ive priced it on £1.50 a metre, and allowed 2 men 2 days to seal it.


How much do you think is an average amount of blockwork to clean in 1 day for 1 man with 1 machine?

[drive surgeon]

i reckon 500 sq metres will take most of the day up on block paving with moss on.  maybe.  so 3 thousand odd sq metres will take a while. i would give myself at least 3 days??  not to sure, depends on how bad it is.  what you think??

[Richy L]

there will be a lot of bagging up of the the "gunk" aswell mind. that takes time

[drive surgeon]

actually i would give myself 5 days probably to do it.

[Richy L]

what area can you seal per hour if you

a.roller?
b.spray?

thanks

[drive surgeon]

80 sq metres?

[Richy L]

is that a guess?

[drivewasher]

they have decided they only want nearly half of it done, so i need to recaulculate and resubmit it.

Ive priced it on £1.50 a metre, and allowed 2 men 2 days to seal it.


How much do you think is an average amount of blockwork to clean in 1 day for 1 man with 1 machine?

Have I missunderstood this post? You've quoted £1.50 Per Sq metre cleaned, sanded AND sealed! The cost of seal alone is about £1.30 per sq metre give or take a bob or two!  So you're cleaning and resanding for about 50p a metre.

I would clean and resand 1500 mtrs for around £1 per metre sealing would be extra but I won't do it I would pass it on and let someone else have the hassle and phone calls/callbacks

Also as it's a car park the seal will wear off VERY quickly with the frequency of traffic movements

[Richy L]

£1.50 per metre is just for cleaning.
The blocks are very close together so no need to resand.

I can work out the cost of the sealant and i will be adding that to the final amount.

I just dont know how long it will take to do the sealing.

[drive surgeon]

block paving has to be resanded to stabilise the blocks, the sealant bonds together the sand particles to stop weeds etc. your wasting your time sealing if its not to seal the sand in, its not worth it.

[Richy L]

seriously? how much do you think i should charge to sand and seal 1,500 metres then?

[drivewasher]

It depends on the costing of materials, most of materials cost will be resin/seal depends how much you pay for it and how much it will cover. Manufacturers tend to overstate the coverage.
I would say 20 litre tub applied properly should cover about 20 to 60 sq metres, but the porosity of the blocks is a large factor in the coverage rate.

As it's a car park I'd try to talk em out of it, and just do the clean and resand

[drive surgeon]

how long is a piece of string?    no seriously this depends on what sealant you use.

labour
firstly   £1.50 a sq metre to clean

resanding labour can be £1.00 a sq mtre or more ( some people say it should be the same rate as cleaning otherwise your losing out money wise as you could be cleaning instead. )  

sealing labour  can depend on what your using to apply the stuff.

i would charge £2.00 or more a sq metre>

then you have material costs

sand £3.00 a bag, (work out how much you will need)

sealant - use a good one like resiblock ( very dear but i would not risk any cheaper ones)

it will be a lot when you add all this up mate!  

make sure all the joints are bone dry before you resand or the moisture will  dampen the sand and ruin the job.,

[Richy L]

i can work out how much resin i will need.

I just dont know how long it will take to sand 1500 metres, then how long to seal it.

[drive surgeon]

dont forget,

if using a 2 coat system make sure you charge double for labour as you need 4 hours inbetween coats,

dont let traffic on for 24 hours after last coat or walking on for 4 hours after last coat,

wear a mask with special filter as the fumes can cause cancer.  it gets on your chest when breathing it in.

if using a roller and a 2 coat system make sure 2nd coat is at right angles to first coat.

count the cost of rollers or expedibles in your quote.

[Richy L]

cheers mate.

Any idea how long it will take though?

[drive surgeon]

it might take a day or two to sand 1500 sq metres, but it will take longer if your sealing as you need to make sure the sanding is perfect if your sealing otherwise the sand will be sealed all over the face of the blocks.  sanding neat is crucial when sealing blocks.   you will prob need to do a job this size in sections as you will be lucky to get the right dry conditions in the winter to sand and seal a job this size, especially if you want no come backs.

[Richy L]

they have only asked for a clean and a seal. They didnt ask for a sand mind.

Sorry for all the questions guys, but

1.is there no way i can seal without sanding? and the weeds will stay away?


2.how much sand do you think i will need too?

3. how long will it take to seal 1500 metres?

[drive surgeon]

well ask them these questions

do you want the blocks to sink or move? because when i clean it it will remove 20mm or more of the jointing sand and that should always be replaced to stablise the blocks.


why seal?  is it to stop the blocks getting dirty or to stop weeds?  because it wont stop weeds if there is no sand in the top layer of the blocks, the sealer will be sealing nothing in the joint to stop weeds.

[Richy L]

so, to sand it it should take 2 days, but how much sand will i need?

and to seal it will take how many days?

[drive surgeon]

well i forgot myself how many sq metres one bag of sand does,

if i was to guess it would be say 15 sq metres,  can anyone tell me exact?

so it would be 15 into 1500 to get the amount of sand,

if it was summer and hot and dry i would give myself at least a week (5 working days) easy to clean, resand and seal a project this size to my high standards i guess/  it may even take 7 working days.  its a big area.

[drive surgeon]

you might be able to sand it yes in two days but always remember you need to clean it leaving 20mm depth on each joint, leave to let joints dry out totally, can be a day or two in dry weather, then you need to sand and seal on the same day, ( unless the forecast is good for a week),  you cant let the fresh sand get rain on it or the sealant wont bond together with the sand properly and you will get weeds coming through.

like i said you might be best doing the job in sections. or put it off till spring.

[Richy L]

i can do a day here and there on this job, that will be no problem.

So 5 days to clean, 2 to sand, and 5 to seal? = 12 days in total?

[drive surgeon]

actually one back of sand will prob do more than 15 sq metres, maybe around 25 sq metres?  but get more sand than not enough as you dont want to be short.

[drive surgeon]

what sealer are you using?  and is it one or two coats?  its not east guessing for me as i dont know what its like etc but i hope i have been of use,  it might take a while if your doing 2 coats.  espacially to get the right weather.  if it rains on it when not fully cured it will ruin it. be carefull. this is why most people are just doing clean and sand now.

[Richy L]

yeah, you have been a help mate. cheers


the sealant is one coat, apperently.

i didnt think it would take 5 days to seal, maybe 2 days. Is that being optimistic?

[drive surgeon]

whats the make of sealer? i would give myself at least 3 days to seal a job this size . how are you applying the stuff?

[drive surgeon]

her is what i would do if trying to seal in this weather,

clean the whole area to a depth of 20mm

if your doing the job in winter sand and seal in small sections so you can get the job done right,

for instance choose 500 sq metres, sand that then seal just that section and cut into the joints with a paint brush. then get the other two 500 mertre sections done the same.  you see if you clean the whole area, then after 2 days of dry weather re sand the whole lot your then going to be very pushed to get the sealing done before rain falls. doing the job right is crucial.

[drive surgeon]

hey richy where do you advertise your graffiti removal?  do you get many calls?

[Richy L]

good idea.

This is the sealant i planned on using:
h ttp://www.advancedsealingsolutions.co.uk/product.php?productid=16135&cat=3&page=1

It will not be the carpark, just 1,500 metres of pathways.

[Richy L]

hey richy where do you advertise your graffiti removal? do you get many calls?

I have a free listing in Yell, and a few other free listings online.
i dont get many calls in really, would like few more. How about you?

[drive surgeon]

not started to advertise graffiti yet need a hot washer and biggger van first to hold a 1000 litre water tank.  hot water is best.

[Richy L]

i only use cold, and it does a good job.

i dont have enough work to justify buying a hot washer

[drive surgeon]

i know, i was looking at one for 7 grand. jesus its not a good time to be investing. need to get a big van forst, do you have a water tank fitted inside your van mate, you need to keep it topped up on big jobs.

[Richy L]

i have a couple of drums i can take out of my van. about 300ltrs each.

You dont need much water really though, unless you're there all day

[drive surgeon]

did you bang a quote in for blocks rich? any response?

[drivewasher]

i have a couple of drums i can take out of my van. about 300ltrs each.

You dont need much water really though, unless you're there all day

My machine is a pretty standard one uses 15 litres a minuite so 2x 300 liter tubs will only keep me going for 40 mins MAX

[drive surgeon]

you using 1000 litre tank dw

[Richy L]

Yeah, it only lasts about 40 mins for me too on full power, but you dont need full power for graffiti removal.

I did put in a quote, and its being concidered. I think it looks promising!!

[drive surgeon]

well done rich!  lets hope you get it.

[drivewasher]

you using 1000 litre tank dw

I use A large wheelie bin tank in van (380 litres aprox). But I keep it filling with a hose and a large bore ball valve

[Richy L]

looking promising... I should be doing it around christmas time

[drive surgeon]

well done rich, were theyhappy with the price, are you sealing it?

[trevor perry]

hi richy
 if you get the job how do you intend to move the chewing gum if you only use a cold powerwasher, are you thinking of using a hot box or will you hire a steamer.

[Richy L]

hi richy
 if you get the job how do you intend to move the chewing gum if you only use a cold powerwasher, are you thinking of using a hot box or will you hire a steamer.

there is no chewing gum. Its a posh private hospital so they dont have a problem with it

[Richy L]

well done rich, were theyhappy with the price, are you sealing it?

yes they were and yes it will be sealed

[drive surgeon]

how did job go?

[Richy L]

im going to be doing it at Christmas time.
Just hope we get some dry weather.

Would sealing be a problem if its dry, but cold?

[drive surgeon]

yeah as the joints wont dry in cold weather unless you get all joints out to around 15 mm depth, leave for a few dry days,  get the sand in, then seal quick before moisture soaks up into fresh sand!  no rain withing 12 hours of sealing, no vehicle traffic for 24 hours, foot traffic 8 hours!

[Richy L]

... may end up loosing it now!
Was due to start monday too!

[drive surgeon]

  why rich? bad news?

[Richy L]

they may have their maintenance team do it instead now.
It will be cheaper, obviously, but somethings are best left to pros eh