Whether we’re talking about your home or your business premises, what’s immediately outside of the building is what people tend to see first, and if it’s got paved areas surrounding it, these will almost certainly attract attention.
From wanting your home to look at its best for you, for visitors, or for potential buyers, to wanting to attract customers to your store and be the best looking business in the street, paving can play an important role, and as such, deserves to be treated with a certain degree of respect.
To help preserve your paving for longer and keep it in excellent condition all year round, check out the 4 tips below:
- Make sure your pavers are professionally installed
If you’re planning to have any areas around your home or business paved, be sure to hire an experienced paving contractor who will install the paving skilfully, and correctly. It may be tempting to go with a friend of a friend who does paving as a sideline, if only because they might charge you less, but nothing beats the professional installation of paving. A shoddy job could not only be an eyesore for your property, but could end up costing you far more in restorative repairs than a professionally installed sidewalk, path or driveway ever would.
2. Be respectful of paved spaces
This generally means not placing heavy items or equipment on pavers, or parking vehicles on them with heavy loads. While you might get away with this on one or two occasions, repeated placing of heavy items on paved areas will almost certainly lead to long term damage.
Additionally, you should make sure that all rainwater is directed safely away from paved spaces with effective guttering and other drainage measures as appropriate. When using water yourself, never let it pool on paving, and check for low spots where water may be able to seep down into the paving and damage it, or cause disruption to the soil below.
3. Always tend to spillages immediately
No matter what you spill on your driveway or other paved areas, you should clean it up as soon as possible to avoid it staining and damaging the material, but oil and grease spillages are the worst. Make sure you have a cleaning or degreasing product available in the event of any spillages, so that you can wipe it up before it causes any damage.
4. Give your paved spaces a good scrubbing
For smaller areas of paving that are grubby, you can simply tackle it with a scrubbing brush and a detergent or dish soap. For tougher, harder to remove stains, some pre-soaking may be required with a solution comprised of white vinegar and water, before the area is washed with soap and water. For larger areas of dirty paving, you could use a power washer.
If you’re using a cleaning product on your paving that you’ve never used before, always test it out on a small corner first, just to make sure it won’t stain the paving or harm it.
You can enjoy many years of paved glory with these tips, and help your home or business look pristine (from the outside at least!), all year round.