Sandstone · Travertine · Limestone · Pavers
Stone Cleaning & Sealing — Done Once, Done Properly
Sandstone, travertine, limestone and paving cleaned back to the original colour, then sealed so it stays that way. Northern Beaches, North Shore and Eastern Suburbs. Owner-operated — Peter does the work himself.
Typical pricing from $1,800 · most jobs land $3,000–$4,500 depending on area, condition and sealer · $20M public liability
Why sealing is the part that matters
Cleaning natural stone is the easy half. Sandstone, travertine and limestone are porous — they drink in water, oil, tannin from leaf litter, and the salt that comes off the water on an exposed Sydney block. That is why a driveway or entrance path looks superb for a fortnight after a wash and then greys off again.
Sealing stops the absorption. A penetrating sealer sits inside the stone rather than forming a film on top, so the surface still breathes, still looks like stone, and does not go plastic or peel. It is what turns a clean into something that holds for years instead of weeks.
Get the order wrong and you lock the problem in. Sealing over organic growth or an existing stain traps it under the surface, and getting it back out means stripping the sealer first. This is the single most common thing we are called in to undo.
How we do it
1. Test patch first, every time
Stone varies enormously, even within one delivery. We test the cleaner and the sealer on a small, out-of-sight section and let it dry before touching the rest. You see the finish before we commit to it.
2. Clean to the right method for the stone
Travertine and limestone are calcium-based, which means acidic cleaners etch and dull them — a common and expensive mistake. Those get an alkaline or neutral-pH clean. Sandstone and concrete pavers can take a more robust approach. Organic growth is treated at the root rather than blasted off, so it does not return in six weeks.
3. Let it dry properly
Sealer applied to damp stone will not penetrate and can go cloudy. Depending on weather and exposure that means returning the following day on most jobs. It is why a proper clean-and-seal is rarely a one-visit job, and why anyone quoting it as one is cutting something.
4. Seal with the right product for the surface
We use SiF penetrating sealers — Australian-made, water-based, breathable, non-film-forming. Two options depending on the job: a silane-siloxane sealer where water repellence is the priority, and a fluoropolymer sealer where the surface also needs to resist oil and grease. Driveways and anywhere cars park get the oil-resistant option.
5. You get told how to keep it
A sealed surface needs a neutral-pH cleaner, not supermarket bleach, which will strip it. We leave you knowing exactly what to use and roughly when it will want doing again.
What we clean and seal
- Sandstone — entrance paths, steps, retaining and rock walls, pool surrounds, heritage frontages
- Travertine — pool decks, terraces, balconies, courtyards
- Limestone and bluestone — paving, coping, feature walls
- Concrete pavers and exposed aggregate — driveways, paths, alfresco areas
- Council driveways and footpath crossings — the strip most quotes quietly leave out
- Tile and grout — external, where sealing genuinely helps
If you are not sure what your stone actually is — and plenty of people are not — send a photo. It is usually obvious from one clear picture in daylight.
Recent work
Castlecrag — sandstone, whole frontage
Entrance path, two front balconies, driveway, plus the council driveway and walkway. Cleaned and sealed. A repeat client — we had done the post-build clean on the same property previously.
Newport — travertine, 108m²
Balconies, terrace, pool deck and front steps cleaned and sealed, alongside sandstone rock and retaining walls soft washed to remove moss and algae.
What it costs
Clean and seal is priced on area, condition and which sealer the surface needs — not on a flat rate per square metre, because a shaded south-facing path thick with lichen is a completely different job to a clean driveway that just needs protecting.
As a guide: smaller jobs — an entrance path and steps, or a single balcony — start from $1,800. Most whole-frontage jobs (path, driveway, balconies, council strip) land between $3,000 and $4,500. Large terraces and pool surrounds go up from there.
You get a quote inside 24 hours, from photos or a site visit. Not an hourly rate, and not a number that moves once we are on site.