Apr 23, 2019
Sandblasting 101
Instead of having a special Easter Sunday meal we were treated to some sandblasting. Back on my April 17th post I gave some history as to why we needed to have this done. We were fortunate to have found this company as there are only two in all of the Kelowna area and the other company wanted $575.00 more which Colin was willing to pay. We have put so much money into this patio, first in building it years ago, sealing it and them trying to remove the discoloured sealant. Not including the money to build the original patio ( we could have gone first to class to Europe three times – for six weeks each time), we must have put in close to four thousand additional dollars. Our mistake was clear coating/sealing the patio to protect it, instead it ruined it. So to pay only $750.00 to get our patio back to near normal compared to when we installed it was an easy decision. Needless to say, the patio will never be sealed again.
The before photo.
The after photo. The deeper colour on the bottom left is part of a sidewalk addition we did with coloured concrete.
Quite the job. The head cover also provided air to breathe. The black on the patio is the sand.
As all the noise and dust was going on, this fellow just paddled on past. Fortunately we had warned the renter next door and the folks behind us in our old place ( they don’t know that we built that home, they are the third owners ) that there would be nasty dust flying around.
The sand used was of a black color. Turns out that they used 600 pounds of sand on our patio.
You can’t even see the sand coming out of his hose because of the high pressure. The fellow told us that the pressure was so high that it would take the flesh off your arm right down to the bone, instantly. Funny thing is that he is only wearing running shoes as his steel toe boots were rubbing his ankles. Good thing he had a steady hand. You can see here how only a part of the slab has been cleaned.
This is his Dad who had started the company. His job was to blow the sand away so that his son could see what he might have missed.
Another example of the difference of the sandblasted slabs vs the other slabs. The sandblasting has returned the slabs to their original colour.
The sand did not fly far, it merely nestled in the grass and the rocks along the waterfront. However the blasted debris of clear coating, a layer of the hydro pressed slabs and dirt flew everywhere. Including covering our vehicles at the front of the house.
Despite having the windows closed the sand still found a way inside.
Actually everything from our patio furniture to the BBQ to our windows ( which we just paid to have cleaned only thirteen days prior ) had a film on them. The fellows used their strong blower on most things but the windows needed to be redone. I was texting our window guy when I saw Colin out there. He did do all the ones that had been affected. In fact he worked very hard to clean the entire yard up. And later the inside of our home.
The patio looks nice and fresh, no longer multi coloured and dirty.
A lovely change to our patio. Looking forward to all of of summer visitors sitting here enjoying a sunset with us. And maybe a glass of vino 🙂
<< Older Posts Home Newer Posts >>
Nice to get that patio back to good shape once again . looks wonderful.
Thanks George.
A wonderful job. Looks much better. Collin is a dear, doing all of that work!!!
He is a real sweetie. Normally when we get back he is full on working and making sales calls so this is a real change this year. I love it.
Really messy but the results are amazing. Enjoy.
Definitely messy and the I am staring to love the new look.
That does look really good.
It is very good despite the stress of it all.
Wow – what a big difference! We are installing a back patio next year (extending the concrete or going with something else cheaper). I think we need to budget for more than we expected. We thought about putting that sealant on our driveway, our neighbors did that last year but I am hesitant because of your experience. I think I will wait and see how that ages first – plus we have so many other jobs we want to do first it is definitely not a priority. Definitely wine and book ready!
Coin says that if you star to seal then you have to do it annually. Depending on so many variables including the product you use it just might be better to leave it natural. The guy who did the sandblasting told us that everyone is now leaving everything unsealed.
It looks so much nicer now!
A huge improvement.
Your patio looks great. I can tell that you take pride in your place