“Will it damage the stone?”
Not when the pressure is matched to it. Natural stone is layered and will lift in sheets under too much force, so it gets low pressure and solution. Block takes more. Knowing which is which is most of the job.
Hardscape does not fade so much as disappear under a film of moss, algae and lichen. It comes on slowly enough that nobody notices the day it happened — then a section gets cleaned and the difference is hard to look away from.
A cleaning solution with the right pressure lifts that growth out of the texture without tearing up the surface underneath. What comes back is the color the stone or block was laid with, and a walking surface that is no longer slick after rain.
The same four steps whether it is block, pavers or natural stone.
Manufactured block, natural stone and cut limestone all behave differently. This decides the pressure before anything else.
Beds, plantings and lawn along the edges get soaked with plain water before any solution is mixed.
Cleaning solution does the work. High or low pressure depending on what the surface will take.
Joints rinsed clear, everything around it watered again, then a walk-around together.
Same angle, same framing, no filters.
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Not when the pressure is matched to it. Natural stone is layered and will lift in sheets under too much force, so it gets low pressure and solution. Block takes more. Knowing which is which is most of the job.
Some movement is normal on any paver clean. If the joints were already washed out, re-sanding is the second half of the job and it gets talked about up front, not after.
Growth comes back on any surface eventually. Killed at the root rather than rinsed off, most patios here hold up a season or two. Shade and tree cover shorten that.
Brad did an awesome job on my old, very dirty, moldy, mossy retaining wall. He even took extra care to protect my plants and bushes. Courteous, efficient, prompt, an excellent communicator.
He laid out all the options and services available to me, but I never felt like there was a heavy hand directing me to the most expensive route. The quality was exactly what I was hoping for.
Very professional and thorough. Attention to detail was very evident and I would absolutely recommend Pristine.
Every joint between pavers is a seam that stays damp after the surface has dried. That is where moss starts, and it spreads out from there across the faces.
Water in a joint freezes, expands and lifts. Over enough winters the sand works loose, the gap widens, and there is more room for growth and weeds every year.
Patios under trees or on the north side of a house stay damp most of the season. Those are the ones that go slick first and come back soonest.
Tumbled pavers and split-face block have far more surface than a smooth slab. Growth gets down into that texture where rain alone will never shift it.
No. A driveway is one flat pour, so a surface cleaner handles the whole thing evenly. Hardscape is hundreds of separate pieces with joints between them, and the material varies — manufactured block, natural flagstone and cut limestone all take a different amount of pressure. It gets matched to the surface, not set once and run.
Some of it will move, and that is normal on any paver clean. It is also why cleaning and re-sanding usually get talked about together. If the joints are already washed out and weeds are coming through, the wash is the first half of the fix, not the whole of it.
Yes, and it needs a gentler hand than block. Natural stone is layered, and too much pressure lifts the face off in sheets. It gets low pressure and a cleaning solution rather than force.
Not always. If the sand is still full and firm, a clean is a clean. If it has washed out over the years, joint sand or polymeric sand goes back in and the whole thing is far more stable for it.
It holds color longer sealed, and a solvent-based, color-enhancing sealer locks the sand in at the same time. Sealing runs June through August only, because the surface needs a dry stretch to cure. If you want it, the clean and the seal get scheduled together.
Send this over and Brad will get back to you, usually within a few hours. Every patio is looked at in person before a price is given — no phone quotes.
Monday–Friday 8:00–5:00Saturday 9:00–4:00 · Closed Sunday and holidays