How winter damages hardscape, and how to prevent it

Most of the interlock repair we do in spring is winter damage from a plow that did not know where the edges were.

Plow damage

Blades catch raised edges, corners and steps. Shoes set too low scrape the surface and chip paver faces. Staking a property before the season is the entire fix, and it takes twenty minutes.

Salt

Chloride attacks concrete surfaces and can etch some natural stone. It also kills the lawn strip and the plants beside the driveway. Lighter application, applied earlier, does more good than a heavy dose afterwards.

Snow piles in the wrong place

A pile on a planting bed compacts soil, breaks branches and dumps every dissolved salt it carried straight into the root zone when it melts. Piles belong on turf away from beds, or off the property.

Freeze-thaw on joints

Water in worn joints freezes and works the pavers loose. Topping up polymeric sand every few years prevents most of it.

Winter service