[gr cleaning solutions]

Good morning all ive got a driveway booked in to clean tomorrow then going back to sand it and seal on saturday but the weather is sunny and rain all week should i re book this in for when the weather looks better , i did 5 driveways last year bit they were done in the summer when we had no rain

 thanks gavin

[Matt Gibson]

Clean it in the rain.

Get paid for cleaning it.

Go back when its sunny and re-sand.

Get paid for sanding it.

Go get a pint.

 

[Roger Oakley]

If it was me, I'd re-book it in later, say May or June time, weather is a pain at the moment and also temps to low to seal properly.

[mike roberts]

Sealed a large drive yesterday existing custy ... really lucky with the weather! 
As Roger said need to be carefull with min temps at night as it can damage seal whilst it is still curing ..

We try to avoid sealing due to the headaches caused by the weather ......

[Blast Away]

Sealed a large drive yesterday existing custy ... really lucky with the weather! 
As Roger said need to be carefull with min temps at night as it can damage seal whilst it is still curing ..

We try to avoid sealing due to the headaches caused by the weather ......

I try to avoid sealing all together as sealants are crap and don't last. Although I've got 3 driveways to seal this week! 
I've been overpricing them this year as I can't be doing with the headache of going back to sand and seal them around the weather and other work booked in.

[drive surgeon]

blast aways correct!!  sealants are a load of rubbish!  just clean and sand!

[Alan McTernan]

We have got 3 drives to sand and 2 decks to oil!! Bloody rain. Sealing is a pain we only do at the right price and if the client is adament they want it done.

The biggest pain is the fact we don't take payment until the job is complete

[mike roberts]

We do the same as Matt   

[Roger Oakley]

We have got 3 drives to sand and 2 decks to oil!! Bloody rain. Sealing is a pain we only do at the right price and if the client is adament they want it done.

The biggest pain is the fact we don't take payment until the job is complete

Know the feeling, same here with the decking re the rain

[Kev Martin]

blast aways correct!!  sealants are a load of rubbish!  just clean and sand!

Sorry guys you are all wrong!  The correct sealers applied properly are a tremendous help.  They prevent spills from penetrating deeply, offer a good degree of protection and help ongoing cleaning!  You just need to treat sealing as a chargeable option and not something you do under sufferance.  A good water based penetrating sealer that is MVT (Breathable) can be applied as soon as the surface is dry and is simple and quick to apply.

Ready for barrage

Kev Martin
Marble Life Ltd

[mike roberts]

the problem with sealing kevin is the bit you mentioned - once dry! Can take ages for blocks to dry especially if you do the job properly and compact vibrate tends to bring up the moisture, with the weather in this country we have to keep moving customers to suit conditions, if you have enough std cleaning why bother? Plus usually works out cheaper for customer to have it cleaned regularly as oposed to sealing..

[Kev Martin]

the problem with sealing kevin is the bit you mentioned - once dry! Can take ages for blocks to dry especially if you do the job properly and compact vibrate tends to bring up the moisture, with the weather in this country we have to keep moving customers to suit conditions, if you have enough std cleaning why bother? Plus usually works out cheaper for customer to have it cleaned regularly as oposed to sealing..

Mike

The point is though only the surface needs to be dry as long as the sealer is water based and breathable then the water that transported the sealer into the stone just evaporates with the rest of the water from the blocks.

Kev

[mike roberts]

kevin, do you use this on block paving ? Is it designed to stabilise jointing sand ?

[Kev Martin]

I seal it as soon as the surface is dry and then go back on a dry day to resand.  The sealer does nothing to stabilise the sand

Kev

[mike roberts]

So you go back to jobs atleast 3 times.... To use a sealer on block paving which offers no stabilisation is frankly a waste of time cheap acrylics would do a better job if they are applied to the letter weather conditons prefect ....well laid drive blah blah .... hence previous comments from the other guys

How do you sell that seal to a customer ? Does it help inhibit weed growth? er no... But it helps protect the block if you spill on it (but not the sand ) 

[Roger Oakley]

Mike
This is how the Americans do there block paving, and no offence Kevin, complete waste of time in my opinion, as clients over here want block paving sealed which will include sand/joints. Just surface sealing block paving is a waste of money to the client IMO.

[mike roberts]

Mike
This is how the Americans do there block paving, and no offence Kevin, complete waste of time in my opinion, as clients over here want block paving sealed which will include sand/joints. Just surface sealing block paving is a waste of money to the client IMO.

Say no more!

How are you enjoying the weather! Took pictures yesterday in Potters bar it was like a monsoon flooding everywhere....We now have 3 drives to sand plus 1 seal ! .. it must take an age for the decking to dry out..

[Roger Oakley]

Mike
This is how the Americans do there block paving, and no offence Kevin, complete waste of time in my opinion, as clients over here want block paving sealed which will include sand/joints. Just surface sealing block paving is a waste of money to the client IMO.

Say no more!

How are you enjoying the weather! Took pictures yesterday in Potters bar it was like a monsoon flooding everywhere....We now have 3 drives to sand plus 1 seal ! .. it must take an age for the decking to dry out..

Have one deck waiting to be finished and 2 more starting next week, pain in the arse at the moment.

[gr cleaning solutions]

Hi guy thanks for y,our replys just another question once you have cleaned the driveway how long do you have it seal it ,  the customer wants it sealing i cleaned the driveway on wed and fingers crossed it looks a good day tomorrow but if i dont because of the weather and the week ahead does not look to good so it could be the week after.

        cheers Gavin

[Kev Martin]

So you go back to jobs atleast 3 times.... To use a sealer on block paving which offers no stabilisation is frankly a waste of time cheap acrylics would do a better job if they are applied to the letter weather conditons prefect ....well laid drive blah blah .... hence previous comments from the other guys

How do you sell that seal to a customer ? Does it help inhibit weed growth? er no... But it helps protect the block if you spill on it (but not the sand ) 

I normally go back once to sand as I try to seal on the day of cleaning if it's not raining.  I also want to make it clear we do very few domestics these days because we found that we needed to book up 3 or 4 in a street minimum to make any economical sense of it and then customers used to moan and say things like "Why are we paying you so much"  You have only been here 2 hours.  Pressure washing these days is just an add on for us to large restoration works.  Everyone is entiltled to their opinion about sealing but if it is treated as an add on extra it pays well and prevents deep staining and aids ongoing cleaning.

Kev Martin
Marble Life Ltd