My driveway was laid 30-odd years ago with, it think, redwood used as expansion joints. Needless to say, the wood has disintegrated, decomposed, and is singing in the heavenly choir. Weeds in the cracks are the result. String-trimming followed by Round Up is the usual next step. Fooey.
Ruminating on how to deal - permanently - with the ugliness, several obvious possibilities come to mind:
- Pressure-wash out the decayed elements and insert wood replacements. This will be a LOT of work inasmuch as I have about 300 feet of joints. Not to mention the not-insignificant expense.
- Obtain several rolls of press-in rubber/plastic tubing made by "Trim-A-Slab" ( think that's the name). It comes in 50' rolls (at 9.99 per roll at Ace Hardware) which is press-fitted into the gap between concrete sections. Obviously even MORE expensive than the aforementioned wood solution.
Finally, I came up with an idea which, on the surface, seems to be ideal: Roofing patch.
One could, I assume, just pour the tar-like material into the crack where it would: a) Double-sticky itself and seal to the edges of the concrete, and b) Harden sufficiently so that it would not adhere to tires or shoes or the dog.
On the experimental level, it might take several differing products to zero in on the best one for the project, but, if a tar-type sealant works, it should be cheap(er), easy to apply, and an adequate weed-preventative.
Your thoughts, results of a similar project, and warnings, would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.