Minneapolis MN Landscape Care: Maintaining Your Pavers

Many homeowners begin to put together their spring to-do lists during the winter time.  If you plan ahead now, you should be ready as when the weather warms up.  If you’ve got hardscaping pavers, cleaning them well should be near the top of the list.   The winter weather and many other conditions can cause the pavers to look less than their best when the snow melts and the days get longer. Knowing how to properly care for your hardscapes is always a good thing to consider when it comes to making your yard look the best for warmer weather use.  Here are the basics for paver care.

Regular Maintenance for Your Landscaping Pavers

02feb10f6a14Give your paver lsurfaces a good visual inspection as soon as the snow melts.  Immediately repair any damages that happen on the pavers. If you let the small things slide when it comes to it, they can become big things and this can ruin the overall appearance of the pavers that you have. You need to ensure that you look through them when you walk down them to see any problem areas that require attention.

You should make sure to regularly  remove dirt, dust, leaves, and anything else that is piled up on your pavers.  Debris sitting on the pavers can break them down and cause grass and weeds to grow in between them. It can make them look less than their best as well. Just a quick sweep and you can be on your way to having a good looking walkway once again. No matter what the pavers are made from – stone, rock, concrete – these all still apply.

Giving the stones a good scrub can be beneficial once in a while for these types of walkways. A little soap and some water goes a long way. The soap that you choose should not be acidic, since this can break down the stones and actually ruin them over time. You want to make sure to concentrate on those areas where mud and other debris is caked on them. Power wash the pavers once you’re done scrubbing to remove anything that wasn’t able to be removed with your scrubbing.   Note:  If you’re unfamiliar with using a power washer, we suggest you practice on a surface such as an asphalt driveway or concrete sidewalk to get used to it.  Also, you’ll want to use it on a low setting to avoid accidentally dislodging pavers.

Some landscape installers recommend using sealants and jointing material to keep the pavers together. This will ensure that they are able to last longer when they are being used a lot. You want to ensure that nothing cracks or gets through the pavers when you put them down. Joint substances were probably placed on them when they were first added to the area, but they do need to be redone every so often.  However, sealants and joint compounds may not be the solution for all paver installations. The best advice?  Check with your installer as to whether this is recommended for your particular situation.

If your pavers are in need of repair, or if you want to include more hardscape surfaces in your landscape, contact us.  Architectural Landscape Design can install landscape solutions such as pavers throughout your yard. Give us a call today at 952-292-7717.