Paver sealingin Coral Springs.

Sealer is a lock. Whatever is on and in the paver when it goes down is what you are keeping. Seal over algae and it grows under the sealer, where you cannot get to it. Seal over efflorescence, the white haze that leaches out of new pavers, and you lock in the haze. Seal over sprinkler rust and it is rust for the next five years. That is why the wash is the longest part of the job and why there is a drying day between the wash and the seal.

It is also why Michael will tell you if the pavers are not ready. New pavers still throwing efflorescence, or a driveway with a failing old sealer that has to be stripped, get that handled first, even if it means the seal happens later than you wanted.

Pavers are a floating system. The sand in the joints is what locks them to each other so they do not rock, shift or sink at the edges. In Florida the rain washes ordinary sand out in a season, the joints open up, and weeds, ants and algae move in. Polymeric sand has a binder mixed in. Once it is swept in, compacted and activated with water, it sets firm, sheds water and stays put.

The sealer on top is what keeps it that way. Sealer soaks into the sand as well as the paver and hardens the joint further. Sealing without re-sanding empty joints does nothing for the joints, which is why Michael checks them before he quotes and includes sand when they need it.

Both are the same protection. The difference is what the pavers look like when they are dry. A natural finish soaks in and deepens the color a shade, so the driveway looks like clean pavers on a slightly overcast day. A wet look adds gloss and makes the color rich and dark, like the pavers just got rained on. Wet look is the more dramatic choice on a grey or tan driveway; natural is the safer one on travertine and on pool decks where glare matters.

You do not have to decide from a brochure. Michael puts both on a test patch on your own pavers, in your own light, and you pick. Wet-look film sealers show wear sooner on driveways with daily traffic, which is part of the conversation.

Travertine is the stone on the higher-end driveways and pool decks in Coral Springs and Boca. It is beautiful, it stays cool underfoot, and it is porous enough to stain from a wet planter left in one spot. It wants a sealer made for natural stone, usually a natural finish so the stone still reads as stone, and a lot of care at the joints because the edges chip more easily than a concrete paver.

Sealed travertine sheds the rust ring from a chair leg and the tannin from a fallen leaf instead of drinking them. If your travertine is already stained, most of it comes out in the wash with the right treatment, and Michael will tell you what will and will not before he seals.