Do’s and Don’ts when Deciding on Interlocking Surfaces

Enhancing your outdoor living spaces with interlocking surfaces can bring a touch of elegance, functionality, and durability to your home. Whether you’re considering a new patio, driveway, or walkway, understanding the do’s and don’ts of installing interlocking surfaces is essential to ensure a successful and long-lasting project.

Interlocking pavers can enhance the look of your outdoor surfaces and it will definitely boost the property value and resale potential. Yet, interlocking pavers are not the right paving type for anyone! Why, you might ask?

Replacing your asphalt driveway with interlocking pavers is first of all expansive procedure. Yet, it gives you better curb appeal, boosts property value and resale potential, yet pavers need to be well maintained over months and years to come. Proper maintenance is crucial for the success and longevity of interlocking pavers.

Understanding Interlocking Surfaces

Interlocking pavers laid down to mosaic like pattern is a very old technique of paving roads, driveways and even entire plazas. Technique used back even in ancient times. Back than, stones were carved to block and installed similarly to todays procedures. Before the installation of pavers begins, the soil and structure that will support the pavers needs to be prepared correctly. For pedestrian traffic, 3–4 inches of compacted foundation needs to be added on top of levelled soil; for vehicular traffic, 4-5 inches is needed; and if heavy vehicles will be travelling over the paver installation, 6–8 inches of compacted base is recommended. Many contractors choose to install even stone plates under the compacted quartz sand for more stability and durability. Using a vibrating plate compactor, he necessary quantity of paver base material needs to be added to the excavated area and compacted. For the base to offer a level, smooth surface for the bedding sand to be laid upon, it has to be well-compacted. Proper drop in elevation needs to be considered for water drainage. In some installations, concrete sand is used to add another inch of compacted payer on top of quartz sand.

Only after this underlayment is properly done, pavers can be installed. Are pavers installed and edging secured, vibrational compactor is used to compact pavers into underlayment for better stability. Further step is to add polymeric sand in between pavers for final stability. Polymeric sand hardens after it is sprayed with water and dried. Final step for interlocking surface installation is to seal the pavers with clear sealer coat.

Why could interlocking surfaces be a bad choice?

Interlocking surfaces are excellent choice for anyone who is dedicated to beautifying outdoor surfaces. Yet, for anyone who has no time to do so, or for someone who is looking for very few to no maintenance routines, interlocking surfaces could be a poor investment choice. Interlocking as already described consist of interlocking pavers connected with polymeric sand, pavers and sand need to be cared for over time in order to stay dirt and weed free. Over months and years, dirt and grime accumulates on and in between pavers, leading for grass and weeds to germinate and grow. If this is allowed to happen, your pavers can be permanently damaged and an expansive renovation or replacement is eminent.

Interlocking Pawers full of weeds — Weed infested pavers

Grass and weed roots destroy interlocking surfaces

Grass and weed roots can dig deep channels into the underlaying sand, capillaries will let water to sip through and the underlayment sand will start to wash out. Harsh winter months will freeze all the water trapped in between and under the pavers, further undermining the structural stability. Repeated water action and weed root element over months or years will bring the pavers to undesirable shifting and sinking. Unavoidable repair or total replacement is waiting.

If a new interlocking installation costs about $30 000, repair or total replacement can cost anywhere from 10-150% of the new installation.

Interlocking pavers can last for decades if properly cared for. Failing to do so, it will dramatically decrease the lifetime and it will cause safety hazards down the road.

Proper Interlocking Maintenance

After the new installation, interlocking surfaces need to be free of any debris that can contaminate the surface. Remove tree branches, leaves and stones as soon as possible from pavers. Branches, leaves and other organic materials can discolour your pavers and stones can damage sealer and polymeric sand.

Snow and ice is a tough one, over winter months snow and ice will collect on top of pavers, what to do? Will shovelling snow scratch sealant and pavers? Shovelling snow is not without risks, yet it is recommended to remove fresh show as soon as possible, compacted snow will turn into ice which will be a much bigger hazard to interlocking surface rather than removing fresh show.

During spring months, wash interlocking surfaces with garden hose to remove debris and salt residue. Keep your pavers free from debris, dust, dirt and other contaminants. Clean your interlocking surfaces as much as possible to prevent dirt buildup in between the pavers.

And this is the entire maintenance you can do to your pavers for a year or two. After two years of new installation, a new clear sealer coat is recommended to prevent water penetration. At this stage, it strongly recommended to hire a local interlocking maintenance contractor to do the job for you. Any local contractor who is in interlock maintenance business for years will know how to properly clean and choose the right sealer for the job. Sealers used by contractors are usually if not always better that hardware store sealer types and therefore your interlocking surfaces will get the best protection possible.

These steps are to be repeated and your interlocking surfaces will continue to perform well.

Should you get weed growth in between pavers for some reason, the best way to care for your interlocking surfaces is to contact your local contractor again and inquire of possible causes and how to fix the issue. Just plucking the weeds out will not help in long run. The damage that roots have caused will persist to exist. In this case a throughout cleaning, weed removal is necessary, adding new polymeric sand and sealing would be the proper procedure in most of cases.

Should you need a reliable and highly skilled team for your interlock maintenance in the Greater Toronto Area, Como Maintenance Services stands as a bright beacon among many interlock maintenance contractors. Perfect track record and top customer reviews are here to show the dedication and hard work this top interlock maintenance contractor offers to every client.

Whether you live in Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill or any other location within the GTA, Como Maintenance Services will spotlessly clean. add polymeric sand, seal and repair your interlocking surfaces with your complete satisfaction the very first time, every time.