Stone · Melbourne · Since 2014
Sandstone Sealing Melbourne, done properly.
The stone that sheds its own surface.
From $22/m² inc GST $20 + GST Clean and seal. Stain removal and restoration are quoted from photos.
Quicker still: text us a photo for a ballpark.
The short answer
What to know before you seal sandstone.
Sandstone is the stone most likely to physically come apart rather than simply stain. When moisture carrying dissolved salts moves through it and evaporates at the surface, the crystals that form push the face of the stone off. Sealing sandstone is as much about managing moisture as about repelling spills.
What goes wrong
Fretting: the face powdering and flaking away.
Salts dissolved in groundwater or bedding mortar travel up through the stone and crystallise as the water evaporates at the surface. Those crystals expand and lift the outer skin off. You see it first as a fine sandy powder at the base of a wall or the edge of a paver, then as flaking. Sealing the face of a fretting sandstone with a film can make it worse by trapping the moisture behind it.
The process
How we handle sandstone.
- 1
Work out if salt is active
White powdery bloom, flaking and damp patches say salt is moving. If it is, we look for where the water is coming from before discussing sealer, because sealing over active salt movement is money wasted.
- 2
Clean gently
Sandstone is soft. High pressure carves it and leaves permanent wand marks. It gets low pressure and the right chemistry, and we accept that some staining will not fully leave.
- 3
Use a breathable sealer only
A vapour-permeable impregnating sealer lets moisture out while keeping water and oil from soaking in. Nothing that forms a film on the surface.
- 4
Tell you what we cannot fix
Sandstone that has already fretted badly has lost material. Sealing stops it getting worse; it does not put the face back. We will be straight about which parts are past saving.
Questions
Sandstone: what people ask.
There is white powder on my sandstone wall. What is it?
Almost certainly efflorescence, mineral salts brought to the surface by moisture moving through the stone. The powder itself brushes off, but it will keep coming back until the moisture source is dealt with. It is a symptom rather than the problem.
My sandstone is crumbling at the edges. Can sealing fix it?
Sealing can slow further damage but it cannot restore stone that has already come away. If it is fretting, the honest sequence is to find the moisture source, deal with it, then seal with a breathable product to protect what is left.
Can I pressure wash sandstone?
Not at any real pressure. Sandstone is soft enough that a pressure washer will cut into it and leave permanent striping where the wand passed. It is one of the most common ways we see sandstone damaged, and it is not repairable.
Why can I not use the same sealer as my neighbour's bluestone?
Because bluestone is dense and sandstone needs to breathe. A sealer that suits dense stone can trap moisture inside sandstone, and trapped moisture is exactly what drives fretting. Same product, opposite outcome.
Is sealing sandstone worth it if it is already stained?
Usually yes, but expectations matter. Cleaning will lift a lot of organic staining. Deep iron marks and old salt damage often will not fully leave. Sealing after cleaning stops it going backwards from wherever we get it to.
Get a price
Get your sandstone price.
Three ways to start. Whichever suits you, you'll hear back within 24 hours.