One of the main concerns we get when talking to homeowners about sealing brick patios or driveways is the effect sealer will have on slipperiness or traction. Nobody wants to make a perfectly good surface slippery or dangerous when wet or icy.
The sealers and application methods used by Paver Protector will not make your brick pavers any more slippery than a seal coated parking lot or driveway. When walking on your patio when dry you will not notice any difference. When wet, your shoes will squeak kind of like on a gym floor. That doesn’t mean it’s slippery, it’s just the moisture between your shoes and the acrylic sealer making the noise. Most brick pavers have enough texture and pores that the sealer does not form a solid film over the surface of the paver.
This is not to say that there aren’t sealers or brick surfaces that become dangerously slippery when wet. A wet cast brick paver has a more dense and smooth finished surface. Sealing these with certain types of brick sealers will make them very slippery when wet. There are special penetrating non film forming sealers than can be used on these pavers. Recommendations can be made at the time of the estimate.
Some Sealers even when used on rough porous brick pavers can lead to a very slippery surface. The solids content of these sealers is very high which fills the paver pores and creates a solid layer of sealer on the surface which will make things slippery when wet. A lot of the cheaper sealers that can be bought at the big box stores have these characteristics. A real high shine often indicates a slippery surface. Inexperienced applicators can also over apply even the best sealers and cause the brick paver surface to become slick. This is why it is important to hire a paver contractor that specializes in Brick Paver Maintenance.
Your best bet to avoid having a brick sidewalk or driveway becoming slippery is to have an experienced paver restoration company that specializes in brick paver sealing evaluate and perform the work on your brick pavers. A company like Paver Protector can tell you if a surface will be slippery or not when sealed. Hiring an inexperienced contractor or saving money by doing it yourself could lead to slip and fall hazards.
We have come across many driveway and patios that had sealer over applied or had cheap sealers used that made the surface very slick and dangerous to walk on when wet. Paver Protector has stripped and resealed many of these projects to increase traction and eliminate liability risks.
If you have further concerns about Brick Paver Sealer making a surface slippery please use the contact us form or call at 630-488-0069.
