Brick Paver Restoration in Port Huron

Paver joints near the Port Huron shoreline can fail from below. The city's common soils include Rousseau fine sand and Wainola-Deford fine sands, and the master plan describes the ground near the St. Clair River and Lake Huron shores as sandy and permeable. Once the joint sand between pavers washes out, rain runs straight through the gaps into the bedding layer and carries fine sand away. Pavers then settle and rock, first along edges and near downspouts where the most water runs. A rocking paver chips at the corners where it knocks against its neighbor, and the bedding under it keeps thinning as storms pass.

Shade and leaves feed the joints from above. Under the tall trees of Sherman Woods, or among the large evergreen and deciduous trees of Edison Shores, a patio stays cool and damp and catches leaves all fall. Leaves left on the brick into November break down into fine soil that settles into any open joint, and weed seed and moss spores follow it. Brown tannin outlines stay on the faces where the leaves sat. A tight polymeric joint gives that soil nowhere to settle, and the cleaning lifts the tannin before the sand goes in.

Restoration is one job in three steps. The surface and joints are cleaned with a surface cleaner and a wand set to clear the old sand without gouging the brick. Once dry, the joints are filled with polymeric sand, a sand mixed with a binder that hardens when wetted and resists washout and weeds. Then the surface is sealed, which deepens the color and slows staining. Paver restoration starts at $399 for the clean, re-sand and seal together, and the drive of roughly 45 minutes from Clinton Township adds no travel fee. Our article on restoring faded pavers shows what to expect.

Where Paver Jobs Go Wrong

On a lakefront patio in Ballentine, the usual mistake is rushing the sand. Polymeric sand swept onto pavers still damp from dew sticks to the faces and hardens into a gray haze. Wetting the joints too heavily washes the binder down into the sandy base, and the joints crumble by fall. A narrow tip held close chips paver edges and digs the joints out below the bedding layer. Sealing over a surface that has not dried traps the moisture and turns cloudy.

When to Book Brick Paver Restoration in Port Huron

Restoration needs dry weather. Polymeric sand needs a dry surface to go in and about a day without rain once it is set, and sealer needs warm, dry days to cure. Late spring through early fall works best in Port Huron, and a wet week near the river can push the date back a few days. After that, check the joints each spring after the thaw. Plan on resealing every three to five years.