Whether your business has a driveway, or simply a pavement out front. The chances are that you can clean the surface and make the exterior of your establishment look more appealing. An attractive exterior will improve potential customers impressions of your business.
Most businesses in the US and UK have either tarmac (asphalt) or standard pressed paving (concrete flags) outside. Both of these surfaces can be jet washed clean, usually within a day. The other most popular surfaces are block paving (concrete blocks) and pattern imprinted concrete. However these cost more to lay, so they are usually reserved for residential properties.
Whatever the style of paving your have outside your company, it can always be cleaned by a professional with a steam washer or pressure washer. The only surface which cannot be cleaned is gravel (pebbles), which is very rare to see outside a business anyway.
Once dry a day or two later; a sealer should then be applied. This stops you from needing to clean the surface again in the near future. It also protects the surface from the elements, such as ice which can cause cracks. Applying a sealer is just as important as cleaning your paving.
Different types of paving require different sealing procedures. Here are the top options:
• Concrete paving slabs – After pressure washing wait until dry and apply a matt finish concrete paving sealant. If grout comes out of the joints it may be necessary to re-point the joints before adding the sealer. Natural stone paving will require a similar process.
• Tarmac – After a gentler pressure wash (ideally using a steam cleaner instead of the high pressure water spray), a tarmac paint should be applied to keep the colour black or red.
• Block paving – After washing; the joints need to be re-filled with kiln dried sand. You may need to wait an extra day or two to ensure the joints are fully dry for this. Then a stabilizing solution should be used, which helps keep the sand in the joints. Then finally a block paving sealant.
• Imprinted concrete – After cleaning; this surface will require either a matt or glossy sealer with colouring. I recommend going with a matt finish because pattern imprinted concrete can be slippery with a glossy finish.
How to find a company to clean your paving?
There are usually lots of paving cleaning services in all towns and cities. Just Google your nearest town name with “paving cleaner” or similar, for example I typed in driveway cleaning Stockport to find the company we used (Sale Exterior Cleaning – who were excellent by the way).
Once you have brought up some example companies in Google; use Google+, Facebook, Yell and Yelp to look for reviews. You will soon find a company offering a quality service for a reasonable price.
My recommendation for anything like this is to always ask for three quotes from three different companies. This way you can get a feel for the correct price (some of these guys really try it on with businesses by raising the cost).
Make sure you get a written quote, which will then act as a contract. There is no need for a proper contract for such a small job. Make sure the company is willing to take “official” forms of payment instead of just cash. This way you are sure to be fully compliant with the tax man and will be protected should anything go wrong. Never ever pay upfront.