Lanai & driveway pavers: is having them sealed worth the $$ (Bonita Springs: house, mold)

[illini7173]

We've been in our Bonita Springs house about 1 1/2 years and are considering having the pool area and driveway pavers professionally sealed. Would appreciate any comments and/or recommendations (both positive and negative) experiences regarding this process.

[movin1]

We had a lot of black funky mold on our Lanai. House was new, but the humidity and conditions on our lanai are ideal for mold. We had it professionally cleaned and then sealed. It was quite a process and I'm glad I didn't try to do it myself.

From what the guy told me, it will help keep the mold from coming back and protect them from aging. The pavers look much nicer too, more color. He also told me, if the mold starts to come back, I should go to Home Depot and get outdoor bleach to kill it before it gets bad. I can handle that.

It's not cheap and it only lasts 2-3 years. It's an expense I had not figured into our budget, but it seems like it will be necessary.

If you don't have mold and just want to seal them, you could save a lot if you did it your self, my neighbor did.

Be aware, if you power wash, it blows out a lot of sand and you might need to resand too. One bid I got was higher, but they did not power wash and resanded. In retrospect, it might have been worth the extra money.

By the way, my wife and I are from Champaign, IL. I worked for the U of I for 32 years, retired in 2010.

[ron e wheels]

The bleach is the way to go. We use it for any mold which starts around the pool (concrete) and then I power wash it away. I've done a lot of power washing in the past. You don't need a lot of pressure to clean the concrete or pavers. Because of the nature of the pool, we use bleach about every 4 months, It may take longer but less spray everywhere. I use an electric 1800 psi machine. Does the job. Good luck.

Moved from Illinois in December and spent many a day in the Sagatuck / Douglas area. Had a place east of South Haven.