What is the black plastic strip along my pavers? That plastic strip is called paver edging or paver edge restraint. This should be installed along every paver surface that doesn't but up against a house or concrete or any other fixed object.


Why do I need paver edging? Paver edging is designed to hold the paver system together by not allowing outward shiftments of the pavers. As you walk across the pavers or as cars drive across pavers they want to spread and the edging holds them tightly together maintaining a solid pavement. Without edging your pavement will spread and the structural integrity will be comprised. It's not a matter of if but when.

Why can I see the edging? Edging is degined to be shorter then the paver so that it is not seen. If your edging is showing there are 2 reasons for it. the first is that the paver system is higher then surrounding areas and these areas were not backfilled. If the edge restraint is still below the top of the pavers then this problem is easily fixed by backfilling with dirt or mulch.

The other reason edging shows is when it rises above the surface of the brick pavers. The reason for this is frost heaving. The edging is held in the ground by driving 10 or 12" steel spikes through holes in the edgin just big enough to fit the spike. Every winter when the ground freezes and thaws these spikes get squeazed up and out of the ground just a little bit. Repeat the process over a few years and often times the spikes rise up to a few inches bringing the plastic edging along with it. The main areas you will notice this is in mulch beds. There is not enough weight or any roots systems to help hold down the edging. In grassy areas the edging will stay in place longer but can rise up.



Do I need to fix edging that is above my pavers? Yes, for a few reasons. If the edging rises high enough above the pavers it will not be holding the brick pavers in place and spreading can occur. If the edging starts flexing out you can also notice the paver joints opening up which will cause sand loss and weeds/moss starting to grow.

Another reason to fix rising edging is for liability issues. It is easy to trip or stumble over anything that is higher than the surface of the pavers. And the last reason, usually the one that people call us for is the overall bad look of edging that is showing.  To have a black plastic piece showing along pavers can ruin the overall appearance of you investment in a brick paver patio or walkway. Your eye is always drawn to what looks out of place and here that would be the edging poking its head over the bricks.

How can rising edging be fixed? There are a couple methods that Paver Protector uses to fix brick paver edging. The first is to remove the current edging and install new edging. Old edging is not reusable as spikes will be rusted and stuck in the edging which does not allow for proper installation.
Paver Protector removes the old edging, digs deeper along side the brick pavers and installs new edging at the correct height. We take a few installation measures that will delay the edging from rising as quickly.

Another method of edge restraint that Paver Protector uses is pouring a concrete edge to brace the pavers. This route often holds stronger and lasts much longer than plastic edging, especially in mulched areas.

How do I hire Paver Protector to fix my edging? Thats the easy part, just call us at 630-488-0069 or email at Info@PaverProtector.com Paver Protector serves the following communities and those neighboring these. Barrington, Inverness, Schaumburg, Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Lake In The Hills, Woodstock, Huntely, Hampshire, Dundee, Sleepy Hollow, Elgin, South Elgin, Bartlett, Wayne, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, Elburn, Wasco, Saint Charles, Del Web Huntley, the Fox Valley and nearby areas.

Paver Protector was called in to clean the moss, mold and old joint sand out of the brick paver patio, walkways and driveway at this Geneva, IL residence. We were also contracted to install new joint sand and to seal with wet look brick paver sealer. Power washing of the moldy retaining wall was also part of this job. Since we have a few photos of this work I'll keep the words minimal and let the pictures speak for themselves.




 

















For Brick Paver patio, walkway or driveway cleaning joint sand installation or sealing call Paver Protector at 630-488-0069 or email us info@PaverProtector.com PAver Protector Services msot of Northern Illinois including Geneva, St. Charles, Batavia, South Elgin, Wasco, Wayne, the Fox Valley, Barrington, Schuamburg, Inverness, Huntley, Del Web, Hampshire and the surrounding communities.

This Barrington, IL Blustone walkway and patio that had been down for 7 years became dirty and covered in mold as most natural stone patios do. The porous natural stone takes on and holds moisture creating a great environment for mold and moss to start growing and giving dirt all kinds of nooks and crannies to collect in.

Paver Protector was hired to Clean and Seal this Bluestone walkway. By using the correct combination of power washing equipment and mild detergents we were able to remove all of the mold, moss and dirt from the soft blustone without damaging the stone or the surrounding flowers, shrubs and grass. The result is a bluestone patio and walkway that look like new.

After Cleaning & Sealing


To prevent mold from growing as soon in the future, Paver Protector also Sealed the Bluestone Patio with a natural looking water repellant sealer to prevent the bluestone from retaining water and stains.
Before Cleaning


After Cleaning & Sealing




If you have bluestone or other natural stone surface such as flagstone or limestone, please call Paver Protector at 630-488-0069 to get a free quote on cleaning and sealing bluestone. Paver Protector services the towns of and surrounding Barrington, Inverness, Dundee, Huntley, Hampshire, Elburn, Wasco, St. Charles, South Elgin, Elgin, Geneva, Batavia, Bartlett, Schaumburg, West Chicago and more.

Will sealing make my brick paver driveway, walkway or patio slippery?

We get this question from almost every homeowner that we meet with. The answer is dependant on what type of sealer is used on your brick pavers and what type of brick pavers you have. There are some sealers that make brick pavers extremely slippery in wet conditions and there are others that do not change the texture of the paver at all.

The sealers that we use at Paver Protector DO NOT make brick pavers very slippery. A sealed asphalt driveway is much slicker than brick pavers sealed by Paver Protector. On most brick pavers you cannot feel the difference between sealed and unsealed brick pavers. On some newer more dense pavers you will notice a slight change but it is nothing that will cause slip and fall conditions.

The acrylic in our sealers is so fine that it fills the pores of the pavers as opposed to sitting on top of the pavers which would make sealed pavers slippery. Acrylic in cheaper sealers found at big box stores is not as fine and will create a slippery surface since it all sits on top of the pavers making them glossy and in turn slick in wet weather. The cheaper the sealer, usually the more slippery you can expect it to be.

We get a lot of requests to strip these cheap sealers from brick pavers not only because they are slippery but also due to premature failure and white hazing. In this case you do get what you pay for.

When Paver Protector comes to your home to provide an estimate and more information about sealing brick pavers, we will shw you a sample of a brick half sealed and half unsealed. So you can feel it for yourself. The sealed side has nearly as much traction as the unsealed side. You will be able to see and feel the sealed brick paver to make the decision for yourself.

For more information on sealing your brick paver driveway, walkway or patio please call 630-488-0069 or email Info@PaverProtector.com Paver Protector services much of Northern Illinois including St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, West Chicago, Elgin, South Elgin, Bartlett, Wayne, Barrington, Inverness, Schaumburg, Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Cary, Nutley, Hampshire, Woodstock and surrounding communities.  

This Unilock brick paver patio in Huntley, IL had been previously sealed and looked good expect for the fact that a landscaper tried to install polymeric sand and left a whitish haze on the surface of the brick pavers.

Paver Protector Inc. was called in to clean and powerwash the paver patio to remove the white haze and failing polymeric sand, install new polymeric sand and reseal the brick paver patio.

Although the before pictures did not turn out due to rain and weather conditions, the below pics after Paver Protector sealed this Huntley brick patio show how great the patio turned out. The Homeowners were very excited to see that there patio was restored and that the white haze was not permanant.

The below photo shows the patio being sealed. The ledt side has a wet look sealer and the right remains unsealed.



Below show the brick paver walkway after being sealed with a wet look brick sealer.



Below shows the Unilock brick paver patio after being sealed with wet look sealer. Since it is still wet some spots still appearshiny, which will go away.



To have you brick paver patio or walkway in Huntley, IL or the surrounding areas cleaned, joint sand installed, sealed or repaired, call Paver Protector Inc. at 630-488-0069 or email us at Info@PaverProtector.com

This is one of the commercial projects that Paver Protector has completed in Dundee, IL. The brick pavers at the outside area of Banditio Barney's we're covered in Gum, grease stains from food, spills from drinks, citronella candle wax and mold/moss.



Paver Protector powerwashed the brick paver patio with hot water and used cleaning agents to remove the stains.



The sealer used for this patio was a solvent based wet look sealer that really brought out the colors of the pavers and will protect the brick pavers from soaking up future spills. The sealed surface will also be much easier for the staff at Bandito Barney's to clean. Brick Paver Sealer prevents pavers from absorbing stains, both liquid and solid.


The Sealer that Paver Protector uses drys quickly so this business was able to return use to the patio within 24 hours.



To have your brick paver patio in Dundee or the surrounding areas cleaned  and sealed please call Paver Protector at 630-488-0069 or email info@paverprotector.com

Paver Protector Inc. was contracted to powerwash, install polymeric sand and seal this brick paver patio and retaining walls with wet look sealer.



This patio had a lot of moss and mold as it was in the shaded areas of the house. The most noticable point was the area that had a hot tub sitting on it for over 5 years. The hot tub was removed and the pavers below it were vibrant with color. The color that the pavers originally had. The pavers that were not under the hot tub were all faded pretty badly as you can see below.



So if anybody ever tells you that you should not seal your brick paver patio or driveway, show them this picture as proof that concrete brick pavers can and do fade from direct sunlight.

With the homeowner of this South Elgin brick paver patio now feeling the effects of fading pavers first hand, they decided to have Paver Protector seal their brick patio. After installing polymeric joint sand we applied a liberal coat of a wet look sealer to bring out the natural colors of the pavers and to help hide the area where the hot tub once was.







To have your brick paver patio, driveway or walkway in South Elgin, IL cleaned and sealed, contact Paver Protector at 630-488-0069 or email info@paverprotector.com

If you have a front stoop or steps with brick pavers, chances are one or more of the pavers has come loose and you are wondering why and how it can be fixed.

The good news is you are not alone and it IS fixable. Most of the stoops and steps that have loose brick pavers are often original concrete steps that have brick pavers overlaid and glued to the steps with hardscape adhesive or a mortar like mix. This system is bound to fail and it is a matter of when, not if it will fail.

Brick Paver Installers often use this method of overlaying pavers on concrete steps because it is much cheaper then removing the concrete steps and building a gravel foundation with segmental wall blocks. It is also used because sometimes you cannot remove a stoop without possibly affecting the foundation or structure that it may be tied into.

What happens is the concrete stoop holds moisture which causes the adhesive to weaken and even pop off during winter freeze thaw conditions. Over a few years you are bound to loose a paver or two to this.

Another cause is that the pavers are overhung off the step to give a better look and when someone steps on the overhanging part of the paver it puts upward pressure on the back of the brick to pop off. Get enough foot traffic on steps like this and the pavers will be popping off.

The good news is it is fairly simple to remove the pavers that are loose, grind or chisel off the old adhesive and reglue with more modern superior adhesives. This will work for a while but do anticipate that they will eventually come of again. Depending on the layout you may be able to cut the pavers to eliminate the overhang to further prevent pavers from becoming loose on stairs.

In some situations it is best to completely remove the step system and install a new base from compacted gravel and retaining wall blocks and then install the paver system the way is was meant to be installed with a draining base.

Every step is different so give Paver Protector a call at 630-488-0069 or email us at Info@PaverProtector.com to get an idea of what the best fix is for your loose brick paver steps in Northern Illinois.

If you’re looking to have a brick paver patio, driveway, walkway or segmental retaining wall installed on your property you are probably overwhelmed with the dilemma of what contractor to hire. It is difficult to know what questions to ask a hardscape installer when you’re not an expert in the field so Paver Protector has listed some questions below that should help you in picking the right brick paver installer to complete your project.

-How long have you been installing brick paver hardscapes?

-Do you have training by ICPI(Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute), Brick Paver Manufacturers or other industry associations?

-Do you have a portfolio of past work?

-Do you have references where we can see your work?

-Can you provide proof of liability and workman’s comp insurance?

-Do you provide a written proposal including specs of the paver system including how the base will be prepared, how thick of a compacted gravel base will be installed, how much sand the pavers will be set on, etc…

-Do you provide a written start and finish date?

-How long is the work warranted for? What is included in the warranty

If you have any questions about hiring a brick paver contractor please fell free to email Paver Protector at Info@PaverProtector.com

How long should I wait before I have my brick paver patio or driveway sealed?

This is a question we get from many homeowners that want to protect the investment they have just made in concrete brick pavers. Our answer is 30-60 days but it really depends on the type of pavers you have and the extent of efflorescence present in your pavers.

What you really want to avoid is sealing in efflorescence, which is the white chalky substance that is on almost all new concrete brick pavers. Once this is sealed in it is not coming off until the sealer breaks down over years or is stripped away. Sealing efflorescence in gives a horrible look and can ruin a perfectly good hardscape.

Efflorescence goes away naturally with time and with exposure to moisture and evaporation. Most pavers will be fairly efflorescence free within 1 year naturally. To speed up the process you can water the pavers on a daily basis to cause the evaporation process which is what brings the efflorescence to the surface where it can be cleaned away easier.

Efflorescence can also be removed with an efflorescence cleaner which is a mix of chemicals that will break down the efflorescence on the surface. While this typically works very well there are some pavers that come with a lot of efflorescence present that these cleaners will not break down. It will also only clean as deep as it gets in the paver so it takes a good soaking.

To find out if your concrete brick pavers can be sealed yet, give Paver Protector a call and we will be happy to come out and let you know if your pavers can be sealed right away or if it is better to wait and if so how long.

Paver Protector Inc. Servicing Northern Illinois including Barrington, Inverness, Algonquin, Crystal Lake, Woodstock, Huntley, Hampshire, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, Elburn, wasco, Schaumburg, Bartlett and more.