Stained Driveway/Birdcage Upkeep and Maintenance
 

I had my driveway and inside of my birdcage stained when I bought my new home last year. The stain still looks great. I received a call from the contractor (actually someone who the contractor “subs” out to), saying it’s time for my yearly power-wash and “sealing” of my driveway and birdcage. Was quoted a price of $250 for this work. Questions: 1) Is this a type of maintenance that I should be conducting yearly? (Or is this something that I could do less frequently)? 2) If I go forward with this work, does the price sound reasonable? (I’m in a patio villa with a very short driveway, and a long, narrow, enclosed birdcage on the side of my home).

Thanks for your replies, always helpful.

We resealed after one year. Then every two years after that.
The price you’re being quoted actually seems too low. I would question the quality of sealer they want to use.

ETA: Given the size of your driveway and lanai I guess $250 might be realistic. I would still do some research on the sealer they are going to use.

The company that did our lanai floor last month said it was good for 10 years before needing to be resealed. We haven’t had driveway done yet, but I think the warranty is the same if we use them for the job. Every year sounds excessive to me, but I don’t know what kind of paint was used on yours. Ours is solvent based (still have a lingering odor out there since it’s enclosed, but it’s fading), and it soaked into the concrete. It’s not just a surface paint.

Is there an alternative that does not require resealing every few years?

Our driveway, lanai and birdcage were are stained, and the original installer stated they would be back in 6 or 7 years to clean and seal, after 8 years I called and asked why they were not back and was told, they are no longer sealing as it was not necessary. We are going on 10 years for the driveway and it still looks very good, I do need to power was it. The lanai was enclosed and new flooring installed, and the birdcage is over 7 years old and still in great condition.
So, IMHO yearly seems a bit much unless the original installer used cheap materials in the first place.

Did your original contractor give you a warranty on the staining that requires periodic cleaning and resealing?

I got a 10-year warranty for peeling, chipping and fading but requires cleaning and resealing every two years.

Every year seems excessive to me.

The best alternative is to leave your driveway alone. After 8 years, our driveway looks fine.

When our house was being built, we had Kool-Deck put on the concrete floor of our lanai and it still looks great after 8 years.

you are being scammed by a cold caller!

I had my decorative driveway done three years ago. They told me from the start it would not need to be sealed for three years. I followed up with them one and two years and nope not till three years. I recently had it done by the same company. Power washed and sealed. Cost $350. Looks like new.

I use Edison Concreations and he did it all for me. His words, clean and seal every four to five years, I let it go for almost six years. I'm having him in around July to do the job. 250-300 sounds reasonable to me.