What is The Fastest Way to Sand and Seal Interlocking Pavers?
There's two styles of restoration or first time jointing and sealing for brick pavers in Canada,
one has been around forever, the other has just come from the USA recently and is changing the way Canadian contractors and professionals work.
Option 1: Old school polymeric sand and solvent acrylic sealer.
This method goes as follows:
Day 1 deep clean or post construction clean.
Day 2, drying.
Day 3 If dry completely, poly sand by brushing in, compacting with a plate tamper, brush in some more, leaf blow it off, and thoroughly wet to activate the poly resin embeded in the jointing sand.
Day 4, Drying and hoping.
Day 5, if completely dry (tested with a moisture meter to below 20% moisture below the surface) apply your solvent based acrylic sealer with a pump sprayer, and adequately backroll. This day is also shot and not usable if the temp is over 30 degrees and there is direct sunlight causing surface temp to be over 35 degrees.
Option 2: Trident / SEK Sure Bond Joint and Seal System
This method, the faster option, goes as follows:
Day 1, Deep clean or post construction clean, and then immediately push the sand in using the Wet Sand Method for paver joints (push it in with your pressure washer at low pressure, no compacting, brushing, blowing, or resin setting needed)
Day 2, So long as it isn't raining or going to that day, apply a flood coat of Trident CAT 5 urethane sealer for a glossy look, or Trident Cyclone for a matte look. Push the excess into the joints with a brush, apply a second thin coat for longevity, and we're done.
Why is the Trident System so much Faster?
Because the strength of the paver jointing sand is from the Trident system sealers, the SEK SureBond sands can be immediately applied to the joints and compacted with the water. There is no resin in the sand which would cause a haze, or lack of joint depth being achieved by wetting the sand too early.
Then, the speed is further increased by the sealer which does not need the surface to be perfectly dry as all Trident Joint Stabilizers and Sealers in Canada are water based.
What is the absolute FASTEST a paver driveway can be completed?
The fastest we have ever gone is at our live training events, where we typically clean, sand, and seal all in the same day merely letting the surface dry over a lunch break when held on a sunny day. Can you do this, yes, do we recommend it, not really, you should let it dry at least overnight for best results.
Trident being a fancy new system, won't it cost my business more than my poly sand and acrylic?
Surprisingly, no, the cost per square foot for sand and sealer is typically on par and in some cases less than the closest quality traditional acrylic products in Canada. Then, when we look at the cost savings for labour, mishaps prevented, and jobs that say "no I can't lose my driveway / pool deck / patio etc for a week" the cost of Trident is lower by hundreds of percent.
How can I add Trident to my cleaning / sealing / landscaping business?
The first step would be getting in touch with StoneSealer Canada for private 1 on 1 on site training, or signing up for online training + a nearby live training event at Tridents online university page. The online and in person Trident events are 100% free, and contractor accounts from StoneSealer Canada are free to sign up.
