A simple way to renew old pavement

Pavement can look so inviting when it’s ugly at first, but like any outdoor surface, it suffers from the weather. The most common things that dull the look of pavers are mold and weeds.

Pavers come in a wide variety of materials, including clay, concrete, and natural stone and a variety of shapes and forms. Typically the cheapest materials are brick from older houses and dry-formed concrete pavers, both of which are porous. For this reason, they easily absorb moisture, especially if placed in shady areas, which in turn encourages mold and weed growth. Mold can be very slippery when wet.

Natural stones such as limestone, sandstone, basalt and granite are usually very dense and absorb little moisture, although I have come across some poor quality porous sandstone. Clay pavers fired at high temperatures are the most impervious to absorption, although they will eventually mold in heavily shaded areas, such as driveways or roadsides where vegetation grows too large. Concrete products vary considerably in their water absorption, but they are always the most vulnerable pavers to staining and are the most difficult to fully restore.

Most pavers are ugly with a grout of fine sand between the bricks to allow the surface to flex and drain naturally. If the pavers are placed on mortar, they are grouted with mortar. This virtually eliminates weeds. Even when unconsolidated pavers are filled with cement or cement-based grouts, the grout crumbles over time.

The shape of a paver and where it is placed will have the greatest influence on the eventual growth of weeds in the spaces between the bricks. Rough or cobblestone bricks with their rounded edges have a lovely old-fashioned farmhouse look, but they trap weed seeds in the large holes and depressions. Precise, sharp-edged pavers are the least vulnerable to weeds. If the pavement is on a rural property there is naturally more availability of grass and weed seeds to sprout on the pavement. Also, if the water flows regularly or settles in one section, it will surely encourage growth.

So what can be done?

Well, if you haven’t chosen a product yet and maintenance is a big concern, use the tips above. Also considering using a sealant.

On the other hand, if you’re looking at your worn and dirty pavement right now, I have a very simple solution.

I have already established that weeds will grow. They do not come from below; its seeds germinate in the small holes. Moss grows on the surface and is easily removed by hand (although some people like the look of a mossy path). Weeds are much more difficult to remove. You can pull them out, pour boiling water on them, or use herbicides, but those things are labor intensive, rather ineffective, or quite toxic. Lastly, mold appears on the surface of the bricks, but it is actually deeply embedded into the surface and rubbing it off is a very temporary fix.

Try this:

Purchase some granular pool chlorine from a grocery or hardware store. You can get it in plastic containers in a variety of sizes from 1 liter buckets up to 10 liters. If you have an area of ​​50m2 or less, 2 liters will serve you.

1. Moisten the area to be treated. Do not saturate it so that water remains on the surface.

2. Wearing a pair of heavy rubber gloves, open the container and scoop out small handfuls and spread the granules lightly and evenly over the pavement. Do not walk on it or put it in contact with your skin and avoid breathing it.

3. Using a garden hose, spray the granules with a fine mist until they begin to dissolve. Again, do not saturate or wash them.

4. In about an hour, depending on how well the granules have dissolved, hose down the pavement. While it works, it smells like a public swimming pool and it is better to stay away from it and not let children or animals cross it.

5. That’s it! The chlorine will soak into the pavers and kill all mold and burn weeds and moss. Sometimes if the weeds were heavily infested a high pressure spray is necessary and any sand slurry that has washed out can be easily swept away when the pavement is dry. If the chlorine is allowed to dissolve without washing it away, the first few plants and the grass next to the pavement are not affected because the chlorine is converted to ordinary salt after the reaction.

Depending on where you live and what you are using, 1-2 treatments a year is enough. I use it on bricks in old houses and they end up looking as new as when they were laid. You can also try it on stone steps and treads.