[Eric H]

Hello! everyone I have been watching and learning for quite a while now,so a big thank you to everybody for their input on this forum. I have been washing drives and patios for about six months, and have just been asked to seal a 150 sq M blockpaved drive. Can anyone advise me if thay have used Tecseal, I have lookd at the resiblock site but this looks a bit much for a domestic job.

  Eric H.............

[preston powerblast]

Your customers must understand that they are paying for quality, plus they are paying for something that is tried and tested.
I have seen some terrible sealing jobs in my time.
That is why i dont personally do it, but i recommend a guy who does as he does all types of surface sealing.

[keith b]

Eric,

Have you attempted any driveway sealing at all?

It can be a pain in arse in terms of waiting for the right conditions weather wise, plus keeping people/animals/ and leaves etc away from entering the area before coating with a second layer !

Basically the immediate undersoil and the driveway area has to be bone dry before applying the sealant (about 3 or 4 days depending upon whether the area is shaded. otherwise it can look terrible.

I would buy or hire a damp meter/probe to test area first.

Resiblock is expensive but think they do a training course.

There are other companies that supply different sealants, but i have not used them to say whats best!

Apparently the polyurethane based sealants are the best in terms of wear & quality, but most are acrylic based.

For a two car driveway size area, i would charge a minimum of £350.

good luck

[Eric H]

Thanks for the replys I have not sealed any drives before, but to add another string to my bow couldent do any harm. I will have a look at the resiblock course but bieing in Essex I think it is a bit far, then again if it gives me another means of income it might just be worth the traveling.

[mark.laycock1@ntlw]

hi where can i get a damp meter/prode from?

[premclean]

ive just started pressure washing drives and patios and sealing as well. I just wondered if anyone in the Kent area is worried about the hosepipe ban thats around the corner. I know the wfp window cleaners are getting a bit stressed. I cleaned a block paving drive and re-sanded it yesterday with a view to sealing it today. unfortunately its been raining most of the morning and the stone has to be completely dry. This can be a wind-up waiting for a dry day and you have to go back for a second visit. The area cleaned was 56sq metre and we charged 275 pound with sealing as well. Im going to use the Thompsons sealant from Homebase which should do the job at 21 pounds for 5 litres.     

[gb property care]

Premclean,
                 Did you clean and re-sand the drive on the same day?

[premclean]

            GB,   
                   Hi there, yes i did resand on the same day after leaving it to dry for two hours in the bright sunshine we had in kent yesterday. As i said in my earlier post does anyone have any thoughts about the hosepipe ban that is imminent in Kent?

[gb property care]

There's no way it could have been dry enough to re-sand after 2 hours.

[premclean]

GB
    didnt seem to be a problem to me, the block paving was totally dry within the two hours.Admittedly im a novice and on other jobs i have waited till the next day but as i said it was warm sun beating down and wouldnt have touched it unless it was dry. I videod it on my camera with the times documented if you want to kill a couple of riveting hours! Whats your timescale between pressure washing and re-sanding and do you have any tips or reasoning for leaving it longer? 

[gb property care]

There is'nt a specific timescale, it can take 4 hours or 4 days.The important thing is that the job cannot be done properly unless the blocks are completley dry, not just dry on the surface.

[Paul Forster]

I think screwfix direct might do a damp metere. I will ree sand as soon as the surface is dry. One some of the baking hot days (very rare) this can be as little as half an hour after cleaning.

[keith b]

You can buy a good quality damp meter (model 7200 looks a good bet) from www.etiltd.co.uk

To get a acurate reading will mean removing a brick or two and taking a reading from the sand!

Also on the thought of trying to speed up the drying process on smaller block paving areas etc, i wonder if a large "air mover/extractor fan" might be the answer along with tarpaulin sheeting suspended around a make shift framework to keep the weather out?

Any thoughts anyone?

[Ged]

i've heard of some people using triple head propane torch to dry out paving but never tried it.


Ged

[Eric H]

hi where can i get a damp meter/prode from?

Try Aldi, Starting April 6 thay are selling a damp detector for £9.99
Moisture measurement range 0 to 100% l@@ks ok for the money .
Thay also have 5lt water seal for £6.99.