Chepstow · Monmouthshire · Forest of Dean
Free quotes — 07947587517
Chepstow · Monmouthshire · Forest of Dean
Free quotes — 07947587517
Cleaning block paving is the straightforward part. What happens to the joints afterwards is what decides whether it still looks right in two years.
Photograph the joints, not the blocks.
A close-up of the joint line tells us how much sand is left and how established the weeds are.
That is what moves the price, far more than the size does.
Independently vetted and monitored
Not left open after cleaning
Certificate shown before we start
The price agreed is the price paid
Yes. Cleaning removes the jointing sand along with the weeds and the moss, and block paving depends on that sand. The blocks lock against each other through the joints, and that interlock is what stops them moving under the weight of a car. Left open, the joints fill with windblown soil, weeds return within a season, and the blocks start to rock.
A driveway cleaned and left unjointed looks superb for a month and worse than before by the following spring. We clean and re-joint block paving across Chepstow, Caldicot, Magor and the surrounding villages. Call 07947587517
Block paying has more joint than surface
A block paved driveway is not really one surface. It is several hundred small ones with a joint around each, and every one of those joints holds a little moisture and a little windblown soil. That is precisely what moss and weed seed need.
The blocks themselves are usually sound. Almost every tired-looking block driveway we quote for has good blocks and failed joints, which is a much cheaper problem to have.
Weeds in block paving are almost never coming up through the sub-base. They germinate in the debris that has collected in the joint, which is why keeping the joints full is the actual weed control.
Once organic matter builds up in a joint it holds water like a sponge. In a Wye valley winter that joint may not dry out between October and March.
What goes back in the joints
There is more than one answer, they cost different amounts, and they behave very differently over time. It is worth understanding the options before anyone quotes you, because this is where quotes differ most and where the difference is least visible on the day.
The traditional answer and what most driveways were laid with. Fine, completely dry sand brushed into the joints and vibrated down. It restores the interlock properly and it is inexpensive.
The trade-off: it is not bonded, so it washes out gradually at the edges and where water runs, and weed seed can still germinate in it. It is the correct baseline, not a permanent fix.
Sand with a binder that sets once wetted, forming a semi-solid joint. It resists washout, suppresses weeds far better, and lasts considerably longer.
The trade-offs are real: it costs more, it must go into completely dry joints, it needs the right weather window, and if it is installed badly it hazes the blocks. On a damp Chepstow autumn day it is often the wrong choice regardless of budget.
This page will state exactly what is included once that is confirmed. What we will always do is tell you at the quote which option suits your driveway and what each costs, rather than deciding for you.
Clean, then rebuild the joints
01
Weeds and heavy moss come out of the joints mechanically before anything else. Blasting them out drives the debris into the edges and the drains, which just relocates the problem.
02
Killing growth at root level is what stops it returning within the season. Surface removal alone is why a DIY clean greens up again by summer. CONFIRM-24 — product and stage
03
Consistent coverage across the whole area, so there are no stripes and no missed edges. Concrete blocks take a firmer clean than most surfaces, but not an unlimited one. CONFIRM-25 — equipment used
04
Jointing goes into dry joints, not damp ones. On some jobs that means coming back rather than finishing the same afternoon, and we would rather do that than seal moisture into the joint.
05
Sand brushed in, settled down into the full depth of the joint rather than bridging the top, then topped up. A joint filled only at the surface looks finished and fails within months.
Three things cleaning will not fix
Worth knowing before you book, because all three get blamed on the clean afterwards when they were there all along.
If blocks are dropping or moving underfoot, the sub-base beneath them has failed. No amount of cleaning or jointing addresses that — it needs lifting and relaying, which is a paving contractor’s job rather than ours.
We will tell you if that is what we can see, rather than cleaning over it and letting you discover it next winter.
The chalky white bloom that appears on concrete blocks, usually in the first few years after laying. It is lime migrating out of the block itself, not dirt sitting on top of it, so cleaning does not remove it and it typically weathers away on its own over time.
Anyone promising to wash efflorescence off is selling you something that will not work.
Older blocks lose colour to years of UV exposure. Cleaning reveals the true current colour, which is usually brighter than the weathered surface — but where real fade has happened, it was already there and cleaning simply makes it visible.
See the difference
Drag the handle across. Every photograph on this site is our own work in the Chepstow area — we do not use stock images.
What it costs
The clean is priced by area and condition, like any hard surface. Jointing is priced by the amount of joint, which is not the same thing — a driveway laid in a herringbone pattern with small blocks has considerably more joint per square metre than one laid in large stretcher courses.
We quote them as separate lines so you can see what each costs and decide. What we will not do is quote a clean without telling you what the joints will need afterwards.
On the Caldicot and Rogiet estates the driveways sit close together. If a neighbour wants theirs done at the same time, mention it — we only set up once, and both of you pay less. All driveway cleaning →
We do not write testimonials on a page we control. These are pulled live from our Google Business Profile, where they are verified and where we cannot edit them.
Caldicot is a block paving town
The estate housing that makes up most of Caldicot, Rogiet and Undy went up when block paving was the default driveway, so that is the majority of what we clean out that way. The newer developments around Magor and the edges of Chepstow are much the same.
Block paving also turns up as patio surfacing on those estates, usually laid at the same time and in the same blocks. If you have both, they are almost always quoted together. Patio cleaning →
Tutshill
Sedbury
Bulwark
Caerwent
Crick
Magor
Undy
Rogiet
Llangwm
Monmouth
Lydney
Bream
Woolaston
Alvington
Llandogo
Thornbury
Olveston
Severn Beach
Pilning
Common questions
Cleaning removes the jointing sand along with the weeds and the moss. Without sand in the joints the blocks lose their interlock, work loose under vehicle weight, and weeds return more quickly.
Refilling the joints is what makes the clean last. CONFIRM-23 — whether re-sanding is included, an extra, or not offered
It depends on whether the growth was killed at root level or just blasted off the surface, and on whether the joints are refilled afterwards.
A clean that only removes surface growth will green up again within a season. Treating it properly and refilling the joints lasts considerably longer.
Kiln-dried sand is fine, completely dry sand brushed into the joints. It restores the interlock and is inexpensive, but it is not bonded, so it washes out gradually and weed seed can still germinate in it.
Polymeric sand contains a binder that sets once wetted, forming a semi-solid joint that resists washout and suppresses weeds far better. It costs more, needs completely dry joints and the right weather, and hazes the blocks if installed badly.
No. Cleaning reveals the original colour, which is usually brighter than the weathered surface.
Older blocks may show genuine pigment fade from years of UV exposure, but that was already there. Cleaning simply makes it visible.
Probably not, and that is worth knowing before you pay for a clean. The chalky white bloom on concrete blocks is efflorescence, which is lime migrating out of the block itself rather than dirt sitting on top of it.
It usually weathers away on its own over time. Anyone promising to wash efflorescence off is selling you something that will not work.
No. If blocks are dropping or rocking underfoot, the sub-base beneath them has failed, and that needs lifting and relaying by a paving contractor.
We will tell you if that is what we can see at the quote, rather than cleaning over it.
The cleaning itself is fine year-round, and winter is usually the quietest time to book.
Jointing is the constraint rather than the cleaning: sand goes into dry joints, and polymeric compounds need a proper dry weather window. On some winter jobs that means returning to joint rather than finishing the same day.
Other surfaces and services
All five driveway surfaces we work on.
Block paving turns up as patio surfacing too.
The other surface that needs a specific method.
The walls above, done on the same visit.
A downpipe discharging onto block paving washes joints out.
What moves the number on every service we offer.
Get a free block paving quote
Send a wide shot and a close-up of the joint line. We will tell you whether it needs cleaning, re-jointing, or a paving contractor — and price the first two separately.
Or speak to the person who will do the work:
