My installer said I do not need to seal. Who is right?

Start by granting the point. Asked in its FAQ whether pavers should be sealed, Tremron, a Florida paver maker, answers: “It is not necessary to seal the pavers.” An installer who tells you that you do not need to seal is saying what a paver maker prints.

The paving association writes it the same way. ICPI's construction guide, Tech Spec 2, revised 2022, says “Optional sealers or joint sand stabilizers may be applied,” and adds “Using stabilized sand may have advantages in areas prone to joint sand loss.” Its cleaning and sealing guide, Tech Spec 5, says “Joint sand stabilization is generally optional and not required for many interlocking concrete pavements,” and that sand in the joints will likely stabilize over time without treatment. What joint stabilization means has its own definition.

The structure does not rest on a coating either. ICPI says joint sand stabilizers “do not add to the structural (load bearing) capacity of the pavement,” so neither a stabilizer nor a sealer stands in for a sound paver base. The finish does not change that reading. Tremron sells some shapes only tumbled, and its answer on sealing is given for its pavers without a separate line for a tumbled paver.

Tremron does not stop at not necessary. Its answer goes on: “Sealing does however retard fading the color of the pavers and provides a measure of protection from some stains.” One maker, in one answer, says both things. Sealing is not needed for the pavement to do its job, and it changes how the surface holds its color and resists some stains.

That is the whole disagreement in small. A statement that you do not need to seal speaks to the pavement: the units, the joints, the base. A sealing offer speaks to the face of the pavers: color and stains. The fuller list of what a sealer does for a paver surface is set out under whether pavers need to be sealed at all, and why heavy rain makes joint sand a local question is covered under joint sand, weeds and the Naples rain.

Performance is routed to the product, not promised by anyone else: in ICPI's routing the sealer's own manufacturer or supplier answers that, and neither a paver maker's FAQ nor a sealing offer replaces that product's own paperwork.

On timing, Tremron says the frequency of sealing depends on the type of sealer used and tells owners to follow the sealer manufacturer's guidelines, and it warns that sealing a paver project too soon between intervals can cause discolored pavers. ICPI commits only to reapplication after a period of wear and weather, depending on the use, climate and quality of the sealer. What a sealer is carried in, and how a worn one is renewed, is covered under sealer carriers and renewal.