I've got this big idea to pressure-wash my paver driveway to get rid of extraneous stuff in the spaces between the blocks and then sweep a fine grit sand (sold just for paver construction) "mixture" all over it to fill any spaces between the pavers. What I'd like to know from any of you is what I can mix with the sand as a binder to maintain a level surface and to keep grass and weeds from taking root because there will be no space for roots.
there is nothing you can put in the gap to keep out weeds. Has the weedblock you put down worn away or is stuff growing on top? Once you clean out the debris you could put down some stuff to prevent germination of seeds to stop stuff from growing along with some roundup before you do anything to kill the weeds that are there!
Wayne
Wayne, thanks for responding, but how I'd like to handle the problem is to not have wind-blown soil settle in the spaces between the individual pavers. I want to fill that space with paver sand and a "binder" I haven't discovered yet. I only hope I'm not dreaming about stuff that hasn't been invented yet. I can imagine some may say to mix Portland cement with the paver sand, and brush it in dry, then mist it all so that the stuff hardens. But the idea I have is for the resulting mix to be a bit flexible. What's this "weedblock"? I'm not familiar with it, meaning I did not put any of it down.
You can treat the area with Triox which will kill any existing growth and prevent any new germination for up to a year.
I've heard of something called 'rock dust' which is better than sand for this purpose.
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We had weeds growing by some rough stone/'crete steps that I didn't want. Out of control the year we moved in.
I took a casual approach, since it's not often used, but I really didn't want to poison the area (lots of birds and animals I like).
my SIMPLE approach for a smallish area: When we made spaghetti or pasta or corn or whatever with a pot of boiling water, I dumped from one pot into another through a strainer.
I got the pasta out, I had a pot of boiling water. I took the boiling water (ok, 190 degrees or so by now) out and dumped it over between the steps where weeds came up.
As spring came, nothing grew. A little bit appears towards the end of summer, but for a zero cost, zero poison approach that takes me 90 seconds and an extra wipe with a sponge to the catch pot, so what?
It won't be enough for your driveway in a week, or a month, but boiling the weeds and roots makes them go away. If you're willing to give it a few months, then it works.
Atkins diet obsessives? You're screwed.
No poison, no cost, effective yet not permanent.
"George Del Monte"
"Polymeric Sand" is available and will serve your purpose. It is similar to mason's sand in granularity but has an adhesive mixed in. On wetting it hardens and helps prevent weeds from rooting. I'd forego the pressure washing, I'd probably just spray at the highest pressure setting on your garden hose nozzle. If you remove more than an inch or so of material from the joints with your spraying, you may want to consider renting a mechnical plate compactor to run over the pavingstones to work the top dressed sand into the cracks after you brush it in. A surprising amount will settle into the joints. Use some landscape fabric or cardboard under the plate to prevent scuffing of the pavers.
Check
There is also a solution you can buy to mix with sand, I haven't used it but it would serve the same purpose.
Will Niccolls (ICPI certified installer)
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