Why do the joints look empty after cleaning?

Because the old sand has come out with the dirt and roots. That is normal and it is exactly why re-sanding follows cleaning on block paving.

Can too much pressure damage block paving?

Yes. Excessive pressure or holding a lance too close blasts sand out deeper than needed, can chamfer the block edges and may loosen blocks near unsupported edges.

Do I have to have it sealed?

No. Sealing is optional and depends on the paving, its age and what you want from it. Cleaning and re-sanding is a complete job on its own.

How long will it stay clear of weeds?

Properly filled joints slow regrowth considerably, but airborne seed lands in any drive. Expect maintenance, not permanence.

Block paving specialist work

Block Paving Cleaning Ipswich

Cleaning block paving is as much about the joints as the blocks. Done properly it is a sequence: clear the growth, clean the surface, let it dry, then put the sand back.

Free Quote Call Now

Block paving is the standard drive surface on most Ipswich estates built in the last thirty years, and it fails in a predictable way. Fine dirt collects in the joints, holds moisture and gives moss and weed seed somewhere to root. Algae spreads across the block faces, particularly on the shaded half of the drive. Within a few years a red or charcoal drive reads as a uniform grey-green, with green lines running along every joint.

What we are actually dealing with

Weeds and moss between the joints — the visible symptom, and the reason the joints have lost their sand.
Algae and surface grime — the film that dulls the block colour and makes the drive slippery when damp.
Silt build-up — years of fine material sitting in the joints instead of clean sand.
Localised staining — tyre marks, oil drips and leaf tannin, which respond differently to each other.

Macro view of clean block paving joints refilled with kiln-dried sand

The sequence

Assess the paving

Block type, joint condition, any sunken or rocking blocks, edge restraints, drainage and where the water will run.

Clear growth from joints

Weeds, moss and root material removed from the joints and edges before the main clean, so it does not simply smear across the surface.

Clean the blocks

A rotary surface cleaner for an even pass across the field of the drive, then a controlled lance for edges, gullies and detail.

Rinse and clear debris

Silt and spoil flushed off the paving and cleared away rather than left in a ridge along the kerb or washed into a gully.

Let the joints dry

Sand will not brush into wet joints properly. Depending on weather this can mean waiting hours, or returning another day.

Re-sand the joints

Kiln-dried jointing sand spread, brushed in and settled until the joints are full and level.

Why excessive pressure is a problem here

Block paving relies on interlock. Each block is held by its neighbours and by the sand between them, with edge courses and kerbs restraining the whole field. Blast the joints too hard and you remove sand well below the surface, wear the block arrises, and in weak spots — beside a soakaway, along an unrestrained edge, or where the sub-base has settled — you can lift blocks entirely.

The aim is to remove what should not be there and leave the structure intact. That means measured pressure, an even pass and then a proper re-sand, rather than the hardest setting the machine offers.

Sealing: optional, not standard

Once clean and dry, block paving can be sealed. Depending on the product this may reduce absorption, make the next clean easier, lift the colour and help hold the jointing sand in place. It is a separate decision with its own cost, and it is not right for every drive — see re-sanding and sealing for the detail.

Local paving

Drives around Kesgrave, Rushmere, Broke Hall, Whitehouse and Purdis Farm are largely concrete block paving of one generation or another, and the joint condition varies wildly depending on whether anyone has re-sanded since it was laid. That is usually the first thing we look at.

Before & After