My block paving

[mercurystar999]

The drive was already down when we moved in and as a result i am a little unsure of what to do with it.

Every year i just usually power wash it and seem to be forever spraying weed killer in between the joints to kill the weeds off. The drive has no car on it and has very light foot traffic infrequently.

This year i want to do it properly!! Have i damaged the paving in any way? I have been reading the forum about replacing the sand in the joints?

I suppose i'd just like a way of:

1: Killing the weeds
2: Ensuring as much as possible keeping them away.
3: Will i need to brush some of the fine sand over the joints?
4: Power wash again?
5: Seal it?

From Monday Aldi have a weed blowtorch available, a good idea??

Thanks Neil

[lutonlagerlout]

if you jet wash it ,then you will need to re-sand it when its dry
unless its a very poor construction weeds dont grow through block paving,just the seeds tend to lodge where people have blasted the sand out with a jetwasher :;):
you can seal it but if its as old as you say (sealer is expensive) might be best to relay
regards LLL

[RAPressureWashing]

Neil,
How bad is the weed problem? can you post a photo.
Might be worth getting it cleaned & re-sanded by a pro, then your maintenace side of things will be easy.

[mercurystar999]

Weeds not too bad but enough to iratate me lots! I'll get a picture in a mo. I'd like to think i'd be capable of power washing and resanding the joints.

What's the best way of de weeding? What about the burning one i mentioned? http://aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/2827_9475.htm

I suppose its never been re-sanded, i've been here 5 years and never done it.

How old would you say the block paving would be until it needs replacing on average?

[Amogen]

If the block have never been re-sanded, you may end up doing more damage with a normal pressure washer as the blocks will become unstable.

After pressure washing, always replace the sand.

We did one a while back where the customer had done it himself every year and never resanded it. All that was in the joints was mud and dirt. Even using the proper machinery we started to see the sub-base coming out. At that point we immediatley stopped and used a manual method to at least get some sand in the joints, to then go back to pressure washing but on less than half power to get rid of most of the mud in the joints. it was of course resanded afterwards.

As previousley stated, get a proffesional in to do it this once, as i can envisage a diy job ruining the drive.

As regards to how long a block paved driveway should last... Well properly constructed from the start and proffesionally maintained, it should last many many many years.

[mercurystar999]

Some pictures

[RAPressureWashing]

Nice weeds.
Doesn't look like there is much sand in those joins either.
This really does need to be done professionally as you also have a fair bit of lichen on the pavers and your average shop bought pw is not going to remove this.
Heat and the right chemicals is the way forward on this.
With regards to the weeds yes put a strong weedkiller down say 1-2 weeks before hand to kill off the weeds, then have the area washed and allowed to dry out then re-sand.

From your profile you are in the Hereford area which way out of our area, but I do have a database and could check to see if you have someone local to you that I could put forward to at least quote on the work. Let me know.

[mercurystar999]

Those white things are lichen? What are they?

[lutonlagerlout]

they come from outer space!



look at roger or amogen's webbys , it works out a lot cheaper getting a pro in,the machinery they use costs a fortune to buy or hire and they know how to do it
my neighbour spends a week every year doing his with a lance
epic fail every time
LLL

[Rich H]

Is it my imagination or is that drive falling towards the house with no drainage at the wall?

[mercurystar999]

Yes it does fall to the house. I suppose the water gets to the drain downpipe. Not good?

It isn't actually a driveway as no cars are ever driven on as there is no access for a car, just used for walking on.

[Rich H]

It's not ideal but it looks like it's low enough not to interfere with the DPC and as long as you don't have standing water against the house it shouldn't be a problem.