Block Paved Driveway Question
Discussion
Hoping someone out there will have some suggestions. We moved into our house about 3 years ago, and one of the best things was the pathway and drive being quite classily done in Block Paving. However, after a few years, it is now showing its age a little. The biggest problem is weed growth through the gaps in the paving. These vary from the odd bit of moss and grass, up to some fairly beefy looking weeds with quite deep roots. I spent an afternoon on my hands and knees today pulling up the little blighters by hand. This resulted in a bad back, and about 2 square foot of clear paving with big gaps in between the paving where the roots used to be. I reason that a proprietry weed killer may help, but even if this works, the dead weeds will still need removing. Presumably the gaps will need to be filled ith something, sand or sand / cement mix?
Really looking for tips and suggestions to try to make the driveway look better.
Thanks in Advance
JC
Treat the weeds with Roundup to kill them off right to the roots. Once they are dead pull them up. While you are doing this you want to try to get as much soil out of the gaps as you can to prevent future growth. Once that's done, brush lawn sand (available from your local garden centre) into the gaps. That should keep you going for quite a while.
BliarOut said:
Treat the weeds with Roundup to kill them off right to the roots. Once they are dead pull them up. While you are doing this you want to try to get as much soil out of the gaps as you can to prevent future growth. Once that's done, brush lawn sand (available from your local garden centre) into the gaps. That should keep you going for quite a while.
Did this myself the other day, all looks fine again.
Word of warning dont be tempted to use the jetwash as it blows away all the sand!
BliarOut said:
Treat the weeds with Roundup to kill them off right to the roots. Once they are dead pull them up. While you are doing this you want to try to get as much soil out of the gaps as you can to prevent future growth. Once that's done, brush lawn sand (available from your local garden centre) into the gaps. That should keep you going for quite a while.
I would have suggested a cement mix for the gaps instead of sand. (Granted I live on the coast = very windy) Would it not blow away eventually? Would it not make it easy for new weeds to grow through?
Don't understand the sand idea so this post may be a bit irrellevent. Just curious as much as anything.
You could try a flame gun on the weeds to kill 'em off - should be able to get this in a garden centre. Then use a persistent weedkiller like pathclear to try to keep them down for a few months and repeat as necessary - Watch for runoff with this though if you're worried about plants/grass around the driveway.
Kiln dried sand is the stuff you need for filling - it's really fine and falls down all the way into the gaps. Get this from a builders merchants and brush in while dry.
With my drive I kind of get in the habit of picking at weeds when ever I see them and try to keep it under control that way - they are persistent and I don't think you'll ever really win.
Kiln dried sand is the stuff you need for filling - it's really fine and falls down all the way into the gaps. Get this from a builders merchants and brush in while dry.
With my drive I kind of get in the habit of picking at weeds when ever I see them and try to keep it under control that way - they are persistent and I don't think you'll ever really win.
Get one of those huge tubs of bulk weedkiller, about £10 should get you 250sq.M worth of stuff. Don't faff about with little pathclear guns, those are for tiny areas where you're worried about the other plants on either side IMO. Cover the entire area with it from a watering can according to the instructions.
Don't just do the currently weedy bits. They'l only come up somewhere else next week if you treat it a bit at a time.
Don't just do the currently weedy bits. They'l only come up somewhere else next week if you treat it a bit at a time.
I am a Marshalls Approved Driveway Contractor and unfortunately block paved driveways are never immaculate after a couple of years (my own looks dreadful at the moment).
You could pressure wash the surface gently and remove all of the moss and general crud that has built up. The bigger weeds need pulling out by hand. The remaining gaps if the driveway has been laid properly should not be too large. You then as has already been suggested sweep in some new kiln dried sand. You might need to do this a couple of times because the sand will immediately filter down to the sub base.
Once complete you will need to do regular maintenance with weedkiller to keep on top of the problem - again as suggested by fellow pher's.
I that doesnt work you could consider lifting the lot and relaying with a weedproof membrane under the blocks.
You could pressure wash the surface gently and remove all of the moss and general crud that has built up. The bigger weeds need pulling out by hand. The remaining gaps if the driveway has been laid properly should not be too large. You then as has already been suggested sweep in some new kiln dried sand. You might need to do this a couple of times because the sand will immediately filter down to the sub base.
Once complete you will need to do regular maintenance with weedkiller to keep on top of the problem - again as suggested by fellow pher's.
I that doesnt work you could consider lifting the lot and relaying with a weedproof membrane under the blocks.
We had a man come round with a large pressure washer type machine that gently scrubbed the whole diveway. Apparently, the water he used had weedkiller in it. This got it looking clean and new, he then brushed fresh sand into all of it. Cost about £80 all in for a big drive.
Two years later looks like it needs the treatment again.
pp
Two years later looks like it needs the treatment again.
pp
cnjohnson_uk said:
I that doesnt work you could consider lifting the lot and relaying with a weedproof membrane under the blocks.
When you consider you can lay terram for about £1/m² - to save a lifetime of weeding - it is awfully cheap of these block laying companies to skimp on it, isn't it?
rsvmilly said:
I that doesnt work you could consider lifting the lot and relaying with a weedproof membrane under the blocks.
When you consider you can lay terram for about £1/m² - to save a lifetime of weeding - it is awfully cheap of these block laying companies to skimp on it, isn't it?
surely the weeds are growing in the sand in the gaps , not the sub base .
B17NNS said:If that was the case then why don't you see plants growing through block-paved estate roads?
surely the weeds are growing in the sand in the gaps , not the sub base .
And what would the weeds feed upon in sand?
They grow through the sub base.
To see just how effective some plants are at growing through pavings, read up on Japanese Knotweed
www.cabi-bioscience.org/html/japanese_knotweed_alliance.htm
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