Outdoor natural paving stones like granite pavers are known to readily absorb stubborn stains like water stains, oil, and grease stains.
Moreover, the absorption rates of stains by these natural stone pavers are quite high in comparison to the respective porosity.
With the major landscaping project and its overall expense, you would like the respective investment to pay you returns for a long time. Therefore, it is essential to take proper care of the granite pavers in your driveway or patio.
When you are going for the installation of the granite pavers at your home, it is always recommended to consider natural stone sealing at the same time.
Sealing not only helps in improving the overall aesthetics of the paving ground but also imparts a great deal of strength and durability to the given paving surface.
When you go for the process of sealing the pavers right during the installation, it helps in providing instant protection to the tiles in your driveway.
About Granite Pavers
Granite is the igneous rock that is formed due to the crystallization of magma. Granite serves to be a very hard stone –harder than marble.
Granite is known to feature the hardness scale of 7 on the respective Mohs Scale. This helps in determining the hardness of the given material. Given its impressive hardness value, it can be safe to stay that granite is highly durable and not easily prone to scratches or other common damages.
The most popular range of granite tiles out there is available in multiple distinct color options –right from the classic black & white to brown, tan, pink, red, off-white, blue, and so more.
As such, granite is a highly preferred material for installation as pavers at the driveways, walkways, patios, swimming decks, and so more.
Sealing Granite –Providing Protection
Granite tiles can sometimes turn out porous. When you wish to ensure whether or not granite tiles require sealing, you can leave a few drops of water on its surface.
If the water droplets bead up, then the granite pavers do not require sealing. On the other hand, if water drops get soaked up inside the granite surface, then it is high time that you should consider sealing the surface.
There is a wide range of high-quality sealers available out there from the leading suppliers in Australia that offer the overall ease of sealing and ensuring good care of the granite pavers in your patio or driveway.
These sealers are not only capable of removing the stains and dust from the stone’s surface, but also help in preserving the overall natural appearance of the beautiful granite pavers by creating a barrier between the granite pores and the stains. This results in simplifying the overall process of granite maintenance.
How to Seal the Granite Pavers Effectively?
Sealing the granite tiles will keep most of the stains suspended at the tile’s surface. This helps in creating an effective barrier for providing protection against deterioration, chemical attack, and contamination of the delicate surface of the natural stones.
Therefore, sealing serves to be the first-ever step in the direction of protecting the investment against major damages.
Some of the effective ways to achieve the same are:
#Cleaning the Stones
- Spray the degreasing agent directly onto oil & grease stains –quite common in the driveway stones.
- Scrub the entire paved region with a mild detergent solution and a scrub brush.
- Spray the area with a garden hose for removing all possible debris while thoroughly rinsing the stones.
- It is recommended to clean the stones at least a day before the sealing process such that there is ample time to dry.
#Sealing the Stone
- Wash as well as seal the natural stones on a hot day to ensure proper drying.
- Shake the stone’s sealer properly while pouring the sealer into the paint bucket or tray.
- Roll the sealer across the stones with the help of the paintbrush roller using even strokes. It is recommended to apply the sealer thoroughly to allow the stones to absorb the sealer while allowing the surface to remain wet. Roll the sealer over the stone once for preventing steak marks.
- Enable the sealer to dry for around one hour. You can touch the stones physically for ensuring that the stones are dry completely.
- Apply the second coat of the sealer across the entire paved surface. Allow the stones to get dried around 48 hours before you allow the inflow the traffic across the driveway or the given area.
Conclusion
There are several benefits of sealing across granite pavers. You can enhance the overall aesthetics as well as durability of the granite pavers with the help of proper sealing. With the help of some simple DIY tips, you can easily take care of the granite pavers while improving its overall lifespan instantly.