Evan wrote:
On May 20, 12:35 pm, Prof Wonmug wrote:
On Thu, 20 May 2010 12:10:11 -0400, "



wrote:
Bob F wrote:
Prof Wonmug wrote:
On Wed, 19 May 2010 13:54:03 -0700, Oren wrote:
On Wed, 19 May 2010 10:50:29 -0700, Prof Wonmug wrote:
I just went out and took a few photos. The driveway is still in
shade, so they aren't that good.
Post them at tinypic.com and provide a link here in the group.
http://tinypic.com/
Here are 3 photos:
1.http://tinypic.com/r/v78j74/6
This view shows the entire stain. It is rust colored. It looks a bit
darker than the photo shows. Viewing the photo from just below
horizontal gives a good image.
The shape is about the same as the tree shadow. Notice the clean strip
under the hedge. This seems to me to confirm that it came from above.
2.http://tinypic.com/r/i70xlj/6
This is a slightly closer view. The stain area was never "wet".
3.http://tinypic.com/r/21bkaig/6
This is a closeup view. Notice that within the larger stain, there are
areas that are less stained. It seems to me that if it rained down
from above, it would have stained everywhere about the same.
Where the pavers from the same lot?
As far as I know. They arrived on 3-4 pallets and I believe the
wrapper had the same lot number.
In any case, they were all the same color when first installed and the
stain appeared in one day.
Noticeing that the stain doesn't occur below the hedge, it is pretty clear that
the stain is something dropping from the tree. Aphid dew, other bug waste, or
pollen?
I've only looked at the first picture so far. Looking at the lower
portion of the picture, it looks like the strip along the edge nearest
the hedge is of a different color, even where the "stain" isn't present.
You have a sharp eye! I hadn't noticed that before.

I just went out to take a look at that area. The pavers that are under
the hedge overhang do look cleaner or brighter than those just outside
the overhand. Then I looked up at the tree. The tree that I suspect,
actually is wider than the stain. It extends several feet toward the
bottom of the first photo. But there is another smaller tree of a
different species under it. I suspect that the smaller tree prevented
some of whatever dropped down from reaching the driveway. You can't
see it on this photo, but the stain does seem to extend to thge bottom
of the photo.

As you can see, the hedge is not straight. When we put the pavers in,
we had to make a decision about that edge. We decided to have a
straight edge on the pavers knowing that the hedge would overhang a
bit in that area. We planned to cut the hedge back to a straight line,
but haven't gotten around to it yet.

What was there before the pavers were installed?
It was an asphalt driveway that was at least 40 years old. The pavers
are very close to the same footprint as the old driveway.

Contacted the contractor? County extension service"?
And ask what?

Any work done in the area of
the stain since the pavers were installed?
The pavers have been in about a month. The city has been digging up
the street for new utility lines. That started at least a month before
the new driveway and is still not done. But I cannot see how that
could cause a stain like this that has so many indications of falling
from above.

I would not try any
correction or cleaning before finding out what caused the stain.
I may not have that luxury. My wife has a big party on Saturday. I
will be in hot water if the stain is not gone. I even suggested
parking a car in that spot.


Guy... It is tannin from the tree... Your old driveway was
bituminous asphalt, not made out of concrete paver blocks...

Tannin stains concrete in just the manner you have described,
have you never looked at concrete sidewalks underneath trees,
or seen the oak tree acorns in the fall leave such stains after it
rains... Paver blocks are very porous, you will find that they will
stain very easily from tannins and anything you spill on the paver
area which will react with concrete...

So you can either deal with it as a fact of life having the beautiful
tree next to the driveway, you can obsessively scrub the pavers
with a concoction after a rain event when staining occurs, which
will happen more towards the beginning and ending of the growing
season OR replace your driveway with an asphalt one...

~~ Evan

I think I'd try a sealer before replacing with asphalt. Even if it
stains it may come off much easier with a sealant down first. Of course
he'd have to seal the entire driveway so if matches.