Achieving the Perfect Patio Seal -

Direct Sealants Guide to Achieving the Perfect Patio Seal

The sun is shining. You’ve spent the last two days hard grafting, creating a beautiful patio mosaic for the first summer BBQ of the year. Time to sit back and relax, right? Unfortunately, not there yet.

Not protecting your patio can cause the bricks to change colour and even erode.

We don’t want you hard work to spoil over time. So, lets protect that patio against weeds, chemicals and water.

Here are our choices to help you seal your patio quickly and with ease.

Geo Fix Stone Protector

Geo Fix Stone Protector protects stone and paving from staining from most liquids including oil, petrol and water, prevents damage from water penetration and erosion and also provides an excellent release coat for chewing gum, making it’s removal much easier.

Geo Fix Stone Protector is fully compatible with Geo fix Jointing Paving Compound and can be used internally or externally on natural stone, masonry, cementicious substrates, grout, marble, terracotta, limestone, slate, brick and terrazzo, fireplace surrounds and hearths, floor tiles, paving.

Uses for Everbuild Geo Fix Stone Protector

– Seals and protects, paths, patios, natural stone, concrete and  block paving from the effects of the sunlight, water, oil, petrol and fungal/moss growth.

Benefits of Everbuild Geo Fix Stone Protector

– Solvent free formulation – non-flammable, low odour.

– Can be used internally or externally.

– Dramatically improves water and mar resistance – High degree of water repellency in dried film.

– Does not alter appearance of surface to which it is applied.

How to apply

Wet the paving surface. The paving must be kept wet during application but free from standing water.

Failure to wet the paving surface will result in temporary staining.

Ensure that the areas where you are not working remain wet at all times.  This is particularly important in warm or hot weather conditions.

Carefully open the vacuum-packed bag and sprinkle sufficient Geo Fix All Weather Jointing Compound over the wet paving to cover an area of 2-3 m²(see coverage table below).

Using a soft brush, push the Geo Fix All Weather Jointing Compound into the joints ensuring that they are filled with the compound.

The material MUST be compacted into the joints.

Compact Geo Fix All Weather Jointing Compoundinto the joints with a pointing tool. Top up and compact ensuring a fully compacted and topped up joint. Carefully sweep off any excess with a soft brush ensuring that the material is swept at a 45⁰angle to the joints.  Finish the surface decoratively giving a smooth flat finish with a pointing tool before moving onto the next area to be jointed.

Geo Fix All Weather Jointing Compound can withstand almost any amount of rain without the quality of the product being compromised.  Heavy rain may cause the smoothed surface of the joint to be disturbed that may require re-finishing.

Any residue left on the surface when cured can be simply cleaned off by sweeping with a stiff brush.

Material or residue that has been left exposed for more than 30 minutes should NOT be used, as it will be adversely affected.

Use Geo Fix All Weather Jointing Compound within 45 minutes of opening. In temperatures exceeding 25^oC the material must be used within 30 minutes of opening the bag.

WATCHPOINTS

It is essential that all surfaces are wetted prior to application, and joint widths are a minimum of 6mm wide and a minimumof 25mm deep. A trial area should always be undertaken prior to full scale application. Whilst Geo Fix All Weather Jointing Compound eliminates the staining problems associated with using sand/cement mortars by not sticking to the paver it should be noted that on certain types of paving, differences in porosity, texture and colour may be highlighted by using the jointing compound. Geo Fix All Weather Jointing Compound is not suitable for joints subjected to continuous water immersion and is not suitable to fill to the top of chamfered joints (N.B – always finish to level or below the start of the chamfer)

IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT GEO-FIX ALL WEATHER JOINTING COMPOUND IS FULLY COMPACTED INTO ALL JOINTS OTHERWISE POOR STRENGTHS WILL OCCUR.

Do not use this product on solids concrete beds without sufficient falls and water drainage.

Geo Fix All Weather Jointing Compound should not be considered to have any structural properties; therefore it is important that there is no paving movement

Never leave the compound on the surface of paving for a period in excess of 30 mins as it will part cure, giving poor strength once compacted into joints and may give staining issues in area of contact.

Cement based pavers: This product may also highlight problems due to differential curing of cost effective cement based paving.

Why not try take a look at our in depth analysis of the Everbuild Geo Fix Range?

Everbuild 409 Block Guard

Everbuild 409 Block Guard is a block paving seal and joint stabiliser based on a clear solvent based acrylic formula. Block Guard is designed to form a durable seal over block paving and other mineral paving/flags.

409 Block Guard penetrates deeply into blocks and sand then cures by solvent evaporation to give a long lasting seal which is resistant to sunlight, water, oil and petrol.

Uses

– Block paved drives and pathways.

– Natural stone patio areas.

– Cement based flagstones.

Benefits

– Long lasting acrylic formula.

– Helps facilitate easier cleaning.

– Contains a powerful fungicide to help prevent the growth of mould, fungus and weeds.

Preparation

Ensure the paving surfaces to be treated are clean and free from any mould or fungal growth. If oil stains are present, remove with detergent and hot water. Ensure cement composite pavers are thoroughly degreased and free from release agents which will affect penetration.

All artificial stone (cement based) and all block pavers must be left for three months minimum after placing before over coating with this product. This will allow salts to leach out which otherwise may cause unsightly white patches appearing beneath the sealer, especially when the patio is wet. Application to a wet or water saturated surface will give poor adhesion. In very dry and hot conditions, increase humidity by sprinkling surface with water, then leave pavers to dry. This will leave sufficient moisture for polymerisationto take place.

Application

NOTE: DO NOT APPLY BELOW +5˚C.

Apply Block Paving Seal direct from the container using a watering can and long pile roller.  Work well into joints for maximum penetration.

DO NOT LEAVE SURPLUS MATERIAL ON THE SURFACE.

Ensure an even and thorough coverage, especially on textured flags/pavers where “ponding” of the product must be avoided. An uneven coating will give a blotchy/white appearance to areas where excess product has been allowed to settle and dry. These areas will look worse in wet conditions. Once finished, do not re-seal or store a partially used container. The quality will rapidly deteriorate and carbon dioxide may be released which could cause container rupture. Leave part used kegs open and add a little water to cure the product for disposal.

After using either of our choices, we believe your patio will be fit and ready to handle anything!

Now go ahead, sit back relax and enjoy the blissful sunshine.