Entry, Walkway & Pool Deck Sealing
Vistas at Bonita Bay

Vistas is a 25-story, 98-unit Lutgert tower at 4751 Bonita Bay Boulevard in Bonita Springs 34134, finished in 1998. Its residences face the Gulf, Estero Bay and Hickory Island, and the building has a club room, fitness center, guest suites and underground parking.

Ground-level hardscape here is shared. Owners book their own balconies and glass, while the association decides on the parking entries, shared walks and the pool area, so this page is written for the board and the manager.

Parking entries take every car in and out of the underground garage. Tire marks, oil and drip stains build up at the ramps and spread onto the entry walks.

Oil and tire marks are degreased before anything else. Hot water and a degreaser lift most fresh marks; stains that have sat for years may only lighten, so we test a few spots and show the board the result before quoting the full entry.

Sprinklers along shared walks leave orange rust lines, and salt from the Gulf side adds to the staining near the pool.

Rust removal follows the general clean, using a remover made for pavers or concrete, given time to work and rinsed well. Recent new landscaping may mean new sprinkler heads, so we look at where the spray now lands before treating.

Where walks and the pool deck are pavers, nearly three decades of washing have pulled sand from the joints. Pavers settle and shift, and weeds take hold at the edges.

Joints that have emptied are cleaned out to at least 1 1/2 inches. Alliance Gator, a polymeric sand maker, says the full depth should be polymeric and never plain sand under a polymeric top layer.

For the ramps and entry lanes that cars cross, we use a sand rated for vehicles. Alliance Gator recommends Gator Maxx G2 on driveways, and says Gator Nitro and Gator Dust are for foot traffic only.

The sand goes onto completely dry pavers, is swept in and plate-compacted, swept and compacted again, and stops about 1/8 inch below each paver’s top. It is set with a shower-pattern spray, one section at a time, without letting a section dry part-way.

Re-sanding and sealing restore the joints and close the surface, so tire marks, rust and algae stay on top and wash off at the next cleaning.

The pool and spa at Vistas are elevated, so the deck sits on a structure rather than on the ground. If its pavers are laid over a concrete slab, Alliance Gator treats that as an overlay and wants 24 hours before rain, compared with about 15 minutes over a draining base for its G2 sands.

We confirm the deck material and drainage with the manager before quoting. Cleaners are chosen for the surface, and rinse water is directed to the deck drains.

Pool decks receive a single slip-resistant coat. Techniseal warns that a second coat on low-porosity pavers can leave the surface slippery, and we seal in sections so part of the deck can stay open.

Salt is a factor on the Gulf side of the building. SEK describes its Surebond SB-4000, a penetrating silane/siloxane, as a breathable water repellent and salt blocker that leaves no film on the surface.

Where the board wants the joints held firmly, SEK’s acrylic SB-1300 and SB-7700 coat the paver surface and help stabilize the sand, which also deters weeds and ants along shared walks.

Sealing waits on weather and the label. SEK’s SB-6000 needs 24 hours after cleaning, sand activation or rain, air between 40 and 95°F, and pavers cooler than 120°F; traffic returns after a day. Techniseal’s water-based WA asks for 30 days after polymeric sand, no rain for 24 hours and cars kept off for 48 to 72.

That is why entries are often done in two trips: clean and re-sand first, then seal once the product’s wait is met. Sprinkler zones that reach the sealed area are switched off for the cure, which we arrange with the manager.

White haze on fresh joints is efflorescence, which Alliance Gator links to humidity or damp pavers at installation. It is removed with an efflorescence cleaner or hot water under pressure before sealing, because Techniseal notes a film sealer can trap it.

Residents keep using the garage while we work. We close one lane at a time, place cones and signs at the ramp, and agree start and finish times with the front desk so guests and deliveries are not caught out.

Bonita Bay is bordered by the Imperial River, Spring Creek and Estero Bay, and the community has about 12 miles of walking trails. We keep cleaner and rinse water on the building’s drains and out of planted beds.

Pool deck sealing starts at $499 and a large paver entry at $799. Walkway sections start at $349 to clean and re-sand, and courtyards up to 400 square feet start at $399 to clean, sand and seal.

We are licensed and insured, send the certificate of insurance to management before the first visit, and leave a written record with photos after each section. Call 239-544-1165 to schedule a walk-through.