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“Winter either bites with its teeth or lashes with its tail,” is an proverb from Montenegro that certainly proves true this year. But just because the air is cold, and the wind bites, don’t let your winter maintenance for hardscaping fall behind. Winter maintenance for your hardscaping is important to increase the longevity of your hardscaping, and keep it beautiful year round.
Keep Your Hardscaping Clear
On the morning after a good snow take a picture of the pristine snow on your patio and hardscaping, because as pretty as it is you don’t want to leave it that way.Keeping your hardscaping clear of debris, snow, and ice during the winter is important for more then just safety reasons. Debris, like leaves and dirt, can stain your hardscaping if left on the surface and is damp over the winter. By keeping your hardscaping clear of debris you save yourself the trouble of having to do more serious cleaning in the spring.
Snow and ice are important to clear from your hardscaping because the cycle of freezing and thawing in Maryland’s temperate winter can cause damage to hardscaping. When snow or ice thaw the water seeps into cracks, holes, and pores of your hardscaping. When temperatures get below freezing again the water freezes and expands. The expanding can cause cracks and chips to form. With repeated freezing and thawing cracks and pores are expanded, as with each thaw more water can fill the space before freezing.
When you clear your hardscaping of snow and ice, it’s important that you don’t use a metal shovel. A metal shovel blade can chip or scratch your hardscaping surface. Use a plastic or rubber edged blade instead. Also, you should be careful of the de-icing chemicals you use on ice. Salt and other chemicals can react with concrete and certain types of stone. Make sure you consult with you consult the landscaping professional who installed your hardscaping to find out what’s safe to use on your hardscaping.
Repair, Replace, and Seal
Winter is an ideal time to repair, replace and seal your hardscaping. Finding the cracks in your pavers and between your pavers, and filling them with sandlock can prevent ice and snow from causing your pavers more damage. If a paver is already damaged beyond repair, then replacing it can help prevent damage to your other pavers. Finally, sealing your hardscaping at the regularly recommended intervals helps prevents moisture from penetrating your hardscaping and damaging in the winter. Sealing is a must for keeping you hardscaping strong and looking good.
Need Help with Winter Maintenance for Hardscaping
Call Rhine Landscaping. We’re an experienced hardscaping company that’s served Maryland for years. We know the ins and outs of winter maintenance for hardscaping and have the techniques and expertise at our disposal to make sure it’s done right and done affordably. We also install brand new patios and have done jobs ranging from simple walkways and patios to very elaborate terraced multi level patio systems. If you’re interested in a having an effortlessly beautiful paver patio, call us at (410)-442-2445 or fill out our online contact form today!