Sealing cobble-lock driveway

chewed

I've just finished power washing my cobble lock driveway and it looks great.
I was just wondering is there any point in sealing it? It's quite a big driveway so just checking if it's worth the hassle?

If so, then what product/technique would I use?

Also, should I put in the sand before or after sealing?

Luckysasha

Resand before sealing. The proper way to resand is to use a whacker plate to vibrate the sand in to the full depth of the cobbles. Just brushing it in will leave Air pockets that will sink overtime and leave gaps between your cobble. Sealing the cobbles then will give a wet look to the drive but also it sets the sand hard which makes it a lot easier to wash the cobbles the next time as the sand won't blow out from the joints. I used a product called "picseal" before and found it very good. If you google picseal Ireland the distributor I think is in Wexford but you can pay him over the phone with a card and he will send the sealer via courier.

chewed

Thanks a million for the tips! I'll have to see whether I'm up for another 2 days of hard labour whacking sand!!! I'm already knackered from the washing.

Luckysasha

The whacking is the easy bit after the washing. Make sure you use the right sand. It's called silica sand or kiln dried sand. Just spread a fine layer of sand over the entire area and run the whacker over it a couple of times. Just make sure the cobbles are bone dry when doing this don't spread the sand if the joints are still wet or there is dampness in the air. The sand will go in to clumps if it gets damp. When you finish whacking brush the remaining sand away using diagonal sweeps. Don't brush in the same direction as the joints or you will pull the sand out. I usually leave it a couple of hours after the final sweep and then go over it again just to be sure. Don't have any sand left on the surface of the cobbles when applying the sealer or it will show through and leave a rough looking surface.

doyler55

This thing your talking about (picseal) does this make the sand go hard?

Luckysasha

Yes. Just make sure to put a good heavy coat on and let it soak in to the sand. I use a paint roller but rather than rolling it on like paint I kind of push a puddle of sealer along in front of the roller if that makes any sense. Just make sure there are no loose bits of sand still on the cobbles before you start or the roller will lift these and leave a bad finish on the cobbles