Motor Court & Paver Sealing
Port Royal

Port Royal began as about two square miles of marshland that developer John Glen Sample spent roughly two decades turning into buildable land by dredging and filling. Lot sales started in 1950, and by 1973 about 250 homes stood there.

Water caps the neighborhood on three sides, and Sample’s plan gave every home waterfront access, with Gordon Drive as the main road through. Architect Howard Major laid out the master plan, and its tight deed restrictions and generous setbacks are still followed, which is why so many lots open onto long front courts.

Early houses here ran about 2,500 to 3,000 square feet; many of today’s estates are much larger. As homes grew, so did the hardscape in front of them, and a Port Royal motor court is often the largest single paver surface on the property.

Estates here receive a steady flow of landscapers, pool service, caterers and deliveries. Tire marks, oil drips and turning wheels wear on a court and loosen joint sand where vehicles swing around.

The turning arc is where we look first. Where wheels pivot, joint sand loosens and pavers can creep, so those joints are cleaned out and rebuilt before the rest of the court is sanded.

Salt air and full sun fade unsealed pavers and natural stone. Irrigation leaves rust lines, and shaded edges along hedges and walls grow algae.

Rust and oil come out before anything is sealed. Each stain gets its own chemistry and a rinse, and the court is checked again dry, because a film-forming sealer will hold whatever is left underneath it.

Empty joints let pavers shift and give weeds a foothold. Polymeric sand locks them back in place and hardens against washout.

Rebuilt joints are cleared to at least 1 1/2 inches. Alliance Gator, a polymeric sand maker, warns never to put ordinary sand in the bottom of a joint and finish it with polymeric, so we fill the whole depth with one product.

The sand goes onto a completely dry surface, is swept in and plate-vibrated, then swept and vibrated a second time. It is left about 1/8 inch under the top of the paver chamfer so no binder dries on the face.

Wetting is done gently with a shower nozzle, one section at a time, never letting a section dry midway. G2 sands from Alliance Gator take that single watering and are rain-safe in about 15 minutes over a draining base; the company’s broader advice is 24 hours without rain.

A motor court carries cars, caterers’ vans and service trucks, so the sand has to be vehicle-rated. For drives, Alliance Gator points to Gator Maxx G2 and rules out its Gator Nitro and Gator Dust for anything on wheels.

Sealing closes the surface so oil, salt and rust have less to grip, deepens color and turns each future cleaning into a quicker job.

Salt settles on every exposed surface this close to deep-water canals. After cleaning, the court gets a thorough fresh-water rinse so salt film is not left in the paver pores beneath the new sealer.

SEK’s Surebond SB-6000 wet-look sealer asks for a 24-hour wait after cleaning, sand activation or rain, an air temperature of 40 to 95°F and a surface below 120°F. Foot and vehicle traffic resume after 24 hours, and full cure takes seven days.

Techniseal’s water-based WA is slower to schedule: 30 days after polymeric sand, a day with no rain, sprinklers shut off, and 48 to 72 hours before cars return. For an event, we work backward from the guest date using the label of the sealer chosen.

Joint-stabilizing acrylic sealers such as SEK’s SB-1300 and SB-7700 coat the surface and help bind the sand, which also discourages weeds and ants. Where an owner wants a breathable finish, SB-4000 penetrates as a silane/siloxane water repellent and salt blocker, a fit for a property this close to salt water.

Many Port Royal estates combine pavers with travertine, coral stone or other natural materials around the pool and garden. Each surface gets its own cleaner and sealer, and nothing acidic is used near natural stone.

Pool decks get a slip-resistant sealer, applied once. Techniseal notes that a second coat on dense, low-porosity pavers can make the surface slippery.

If a white haze forms on new joints, Alliance Gator attributes it to humidity or damp pavers at installation and removes it with an efflorescence cleaner or hot water under pressure. It is cleared before sealing; Techniseal warns that film-forming coatings can trap efflorescence.

Estate managers get the schedule in advance. We section the court so landscapers, pool service and deliveries can still get in, and the owner or manager receives a written service record after the job.

Most Port Royal motor courts start at $799. Pool deck sealing starts at $499, clean and re-sand at $349, and courtyards or garden paths up to 400 square feet cleaned, sanded and sealed at $399.