Imprinted concrete cleaning and resealing in Halifax

Halifax sits in the upper Calder valley, and it is high, steep and wet. The town fills the bottom of a valley whose sides climb steeply on every side, with terraced streets stepped one above another, large stone villas on the better ground, and estates up on the tops around Mixenden, Illingworth and Ovenden.

High ground, wet weather

It is a town built of stone, and it keeps the weather in the stone. The Pennines to the west catch rain that the lower towns of the district do not, and the hills add shade. That is a tougher environment for a sealed surface than a flat, open one.

What frost does to a sealed drive

Rain is the obvious factor, and there is more of it. A drive that sees more rainfall stays damp for longer, and the sealer is under constant, low-level assault from standing and running water. The drive stays slippery for longer too, which is a reason to talk about an anti-slip additive, and our guide to slippery imprinted concrete covers it.

Frost is the other. Water that has found its way into a hairline crack or under a lifting edge freezes, expands and pushes the crack a little wider each winter. On the higher ground around Southowram and Ovenden the freeze and thaw cycle is more frequent than in the valley bottom, and it is a major reason that drives here age faster than those in the lower towns. cracks in imprinted concrete sets out what is cosmetic and what is structural.

Shade on the north side of the valley

The valley's north-facing slopes are the hard case. A drive on a north-facing hillside can spend whole winter days in shade, with no direct sun to dry the surface, and it grows moss and algae to match. A south-facing drive on the opposite hillside does the opposite, taking full sun and fading and drying faster.

That is why two houses in the same street can need quite different jobs. We look at the aspect, the shade and where the water goes before we decide what to do, and we treat growth thoroughly, because it will be back quickly on a drive that is naturally damp. A resealed surface sheds water more readily, so it stays cleaner for longer, but it is not a cure for shade.

Drainage deserves a look on any steep Halifax drive. Where the slope ends at a pavement or a roadside channel, a blocked or silted drain at the foot sends water sideways under the edge of the slab instead of away, and that undermines a surface far faster than rain falling on top of it. Clearing it costs very little, and we check it before we start.

Timing the work to the weather

Timing matters more up here than anywhere. A sealer applied in cold, damp conditions goes cloudy and does not cure properly, and the window for good weather is shorter on the hills. We will sometimes recommend waiting for a dry spell, because the best sealer in the wrong weather is worse than none. the best time of year to seal imprinted concrete explains the reasoning.

For a tired but sound drive the usual job is a careful cleaning, a growth treatment, then a reseal through our restoration and protection work. Where the pigment has gone or the surface has been patched, recolouring brings it back to a single colour. Assessments are free and there is no obligation.

Nearby pages on this site include Bradford, Mirfield and Dewsbury. Assessments in Halifax are free and there is no obligation.