A nice driveway or brick walkway is a nice addition to the aesthetics of most homes, and even though they are highly durable, like most hardscaping features, they still require occasional maintenance. The damage to these features is often caused by poor installation, heavy machinery, and weather.
The summer heat has a nasty effect of damaging or bleaching several hardscape elements, especially if the difference between a hot summer afternoon and a cooler evening or UV rays causes cyclic thermal load. But not to worry, you can do the following things to protect your hardscape from heat damage during the summer.
1. Perform Regular Maintenance on Your Hardscape.
If you hope to protect your hardscaping features like the patio or driveway, then the easiest way you can do so is to clean them regularly. Leaving dust, debris, and algae might appear innocent enough, but it is not a good practice as it will easily build up and stain the stone features, defeating the purpose of adding the stone in the first place. This is why it is essential to keep them clean and free of algae or mould that may grow on them.
By pairing this with a comprehensive and regular maintenance, you can extend the lifespan of your hardscape. This maintenance involves typically removing and preventing weed growth, refilling the joints between paved stones with sand, and sealing up any cracks before they get worse.
2. Apply a Sealant.
One way to protect your hardscape during summer is to make use of a sealant to seal bricks and patio stones. These sealants not only prevent dust and debris from staining the floor but also prevent moisture from seeping into the hardscape, causing cracks to start forming. Sealants also protect the hardscape from the penetrating UV rays during the peak of summer, which discolors it and ruins the curb appeal of your home.
Sealants come in different forms, from the film covering sealant, which is best for smooth surfaces, to the penetrating one, which is best used for porous surfaces, and the frequency at which you apply this sealant depends on the intensity of the summer heat and the amount of foot traffic that hardscape experiences during this season.
3. Replace or Repair any Damaged Hardscape.
In the summer, one should attend to damage to the hardscape right away, before it gets worse. Cracks should be immediately sealed with cement, and sand should be used to fill in the spaces between pavement to assist in stability and dispersing weight when heavy machinery is moving on it.
In cases where the damage is too extensive or the hardscape has gone through heavy discolouration due to UV rays, then you should replace it. If they aren’t quickly replaced, especially during summer, then the cracks and chips will worsen, and it will ruin the curb appeal of the home.
4. Provide Shade to any RecShade Installed or Repaired Sections.
A simple way of protecting hardscaping features during summer is to provide shade over them to shield them from extreme heat. This will reduce the amount of UV rays hitting them and insulate the hardscape well enough to reduce any thermal load.
This is especially important when you’re dealing with a recently installed or repaired section in which the hardscape is still highly susceptible to thermal loads, and any extreme heat will cause cracks that will reduce the structural strength of the hardscape. Plastic netting and bags are a good way to cover the hardscape for a few hours during the peak of the summer heat.
All these show that maintenance is essential for the lifespan of your hardscape, and you should be more intentional about it. This is why lots of homeowners choose Lola’s Landscape for their hardscape installation and maintenance services. They do quick, reliable, and affordable work.
