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I like watching home improvement videos. Much easier than actually doing any home improvement.

It’s weird, I get grass where I don’t want it and weeds where I want grass. It’s like hair, I get hair in my nose and ears where I don’t want it and I’m going bald on my head where I do want it, crazy!

Salt. I buy two 69 cent cartons of salt from the grocery store and pour it in along the crack and lightly spray it with the hose to melt it. No more weeds for a year or more. Ancient armies used to salt the earth of their enemy's land to keep their crops from growing. The process still works great. 😄

I don't even have a house or a driveway what am I doing here

Since I am lazy, I just pour boiling water on the weeds. If you hit them early in the season, the weeds won't come back. I also do this method to remove the weeds from the patio. In a couple of days the weeds are dead and they can be broomed away. Also, environmentally cleaner than herbicides.

I appreciate that you sped up the film instead of taking extra time just to make a longer video and put more ad in.

As an Engineer - I'd like to give some advice: Foam is great and I am all for sealing expansion joints. I want to suggest you find 'Polysulphide' sealant (not easy to find). The preference for polysulphide is that it has a 'garlic' type smell which keeps insects away. . Insects tend to find a gap in your expansion joint sealant and love to dig under the sealant and concrete itself and create the gap for weeds to come back.

Really nice job. I was going to do this a few years ago on one of my homes, and replace the ghastly wood trim the previous owner had jammed in the joint. I like the sand touch, too. Thanks for the visuals on what it would have looked like had I done it. I still have the products with me.

This looks really nice. I have used polymeric sand in the joint between the driveway and garage slab, and I absolutely love it.

Well done man. Looks very professional. Cant wait to try your process on my driveway.

You're an EXCELLENT teacher. Not only am I now assured I can do this, And do it well, I actually WANT to do it! 😅 Thank you

Great info. I work in the Lawn Care industry, and this is a very common issue that customers want addressed. Thanks for the help👍🏾

The perfectionism in this video is wildly satisfying.

The sand finish is great. I've been meaning to do this same thing this spring but without a topper. Glad I watched.

In grade 10, we learned of the Roman method of salting the fields. I use left over winter road salt to sterilize areas where I don't want plants.

Nearly every single crack and joint failed until I used Sika flex! I used every other brand. I finally broke down and bought a large calking gun and the large tube of Sika Flex. Shocking how much better it is!

I used that a couple years ago on all the relief cuts and cracks. Sika is the mfr. It works great. It also is an inhibitor of ants. They use those cracks as a highway to the home.

This my new weekend project. I'm getting tired of mowing my sidewalk. Thanks

awesome video...love the sand trick....I would've never thought of doing that and just settled with the "caulk-look".

What a fantastic idea to use the rod to block the weed. Good video . Thank you from Jose from Melbourne Australia.

Good tips. Some fleshy noxious weeds can cause eye or skin irritation, and they can be killed by pouring boiling water on them, without touching them or using strong chemicals

I use inexpensive table salt poured heavily in the cracks after cleaning out the cracks. This keeps them clear of weeds for most of the summer.

I did this process to install automower line in the expansion joints of my driveway. Great tip on the sand, wish I did that!

I have done that before but never thought of using the sand. Just great.

Self leveling caulk does tend to bubble if you try to fill too deep of an area or you trap air below it. That's why you need backer rods and the backer rod needs to fit tightly in the gap.

Thanks for your video... White vinegar is a lot cheaper than Preen and works the same. I use it on weeds myself. It kills weeds immediately.

Came here looking for the effects of weed and cracks but I definitely need this as well

Wonderful video. Great explanation and hints. 🎉

50 years ago my dad put something black in the cracks, possibly tar of some sort, and one year later we kids were instructed to dig it all back out as it was bubbling up from the heat of the sun and making a huge sticky mess.

Better is to use Polymeric Sand, or stuff used for filling joints of brick patio. It fills and stays firm, and self adjusts when it gets damp. That silicone caulking tends to shink and come out after a few years.

This was great. Thank you!

This drives me nuts on my huge driveway!! Great diy fix… thx!!

I have a slate paver patio 15' x 20' and have made numerous attempts to keep the joints clean and clear. But after spending way too much time and money doing so, I now just let the vegetation grow (except the dandelions) and keep it trimmed down. It actually looks really nice, takes minimal time and effort and blends in nicely with the rest of my natural backyard.

Excellent DIY lessons! Great job on the explanation of techniques and materials used.

Super cool video. Loved the sprinkling sand idea.

hey, you're a brave guy kneeling without kneepads. Good job!

I’m at my wits end I could never find how to outwit Mother Nature those weeds don’t quit. I can’t bend anymore so I use roundup it gives me a break for a while at least. ❤❤thanks for video it’s useful.

Fill the gaps with a dry mixture of 1 part cement 4 parts polymeric sand. Then spray it with water. That should stop vegetation growth and still be flexible enough to handle the shifting of weights between concrete slabs.

EXCELLENT EXPLANATIONS AND DEMONSTRATIONS

No bullshit straight to the point information and links given well done! That kind of presentation gets a thumbs up.

Great work! Although I've always used the Sika self-leveling material w/o the backer rods😂 now I know better 😂

If I don't do weed control every other Saturday, my wife will just find something else for me to do 🤔

Great Tutorial!!! I'm dealing with this same issue. This will be a game changer for me. Thank you!

The sand trick is great. Looks awesome, im still just zippin out with weedwacker for now, might have to add this on my to-do list 😏

I did the self leveling about 3 years ago. I had to pull out 1 weed recently since. Works great. I do have to bleach it once in a while because mildew grows on it.

You could skip couple of labor intensive steps by using a 3,000 psi power washer and blast everything out all at once in the cracks/control joints. The self leveling filler for cracks works pretty good for indoors like in my garage but it only lasted couple years for the driveway and sidewalks. I had an extra bag of stucco mix just to try it out by chance, not 100% but so far held up pretty good after couple of years. Much easier to use and cheaper.

My husband and I have been tackling these weeds in expansion joints for 24 years! I am so going to show him this and ask to get this done! Thank you so much! Do you suggest preen first then the gap and sealer?

WOW, this is the biggest headache for me but now I have a solution, thank you.

Great idea, but those are called control joints. If/when the concrete cracks ,it will more than likely crack in that joint.

I saw a paved walkway where the paving stones were arranged so that grass grew between them in a checker board design. The design looked really nice. Of course, that might work with a drive way or other places. Stepping on the uneven surfaces could cause a fall or twisted ankle.

Hello Every day home repairs I just found your channel and subscribed. Thank you for posting this video. I will be trying it out. Again thank you 👍

Took me a day . Worked excellent. Alot of work

I have found that rock salt is good to preventvweeds from growing. I use the pourable tar solution but putting sand on top sounds like a good idea over black lines. 👍

Applying Preen periodically to my expansion joints works very well. Affordable and just takes just a few minutes.

Great idea I never thought about putting sand to blend the color

Thanks for this video. I need to do this soon.

I have found the weed torch to be very fast effective and economical. Weeds always find a way.

Prep concrete and stone with sealer. Commonly known as Waterglass. Sealing the mortar or porous material by "plasticizing" the contact surface adds longevity. On the ground...under 5 years in 4 season weather.

Thank you for posting this helpful video

Very helpful, thanks.

Great idea ! I was considering filling them with small flower seeds for lawns which should fill them with flowers instead of weeds.

Scott, I first met you virtually on P24 years ago and never really made an effort to reach out to you (probably should have though)...since then I've been making videos on grass and weeds and lawn care for the last three years and never made a video as explosive as this one you put together! Insane results, well done, excellent delivery, great tutorial and info! As a creator in this space I'm planning on doing some of the techniques you highlighted in this video soon and I will be sure to reference many of my beginner viewers to this video over the coming seasons. Well done and Turf Mechanic approved! :D

Great info! I have this issue and have tried everything. Will definitely do this. Thanks!!

love this vid, also the few others you made for filling gap b/w foundation and walkway. used legit backer rods all sizes and also a couple of not poodle noodles but that foam you put on pipes for condensation, did my entire house last fall and saved the garage for this year. this killed my back though being on my knees for a couple days straight (I had to remove the previous homeowners old backer rod). i also found it interesting that not a single home depot in southern ontario had the dap polyurethane available i use that over any self levelling material. it actually just came back in stock last week. i had to drive to Buffalo home depot to get some dap a couple of months ago when I did the porch. one new thing i learned form this vid is that to sprinkle sand 30-40 min later I'm not sure if you ever mentioned that timing in your previous vids. this is my fav diy channel on the net. can you do a vid on how to replace really old seals on bathtub knobs... late 70's ish????

Looks great, Scott, but what about showing the neighbors your proper command of a propane torch weed burner? "Send a message," I always say.

I tried the same task using polymeric sand. All that happened was getting weeds popping up through the sand and binder.

Thanks for the video 😊!

What an amazing video! Really helpful. Thanks!

Ten years ago you could buy a butyl caulk to fill the joints and it lasted more than ten years-able to expand and contract. The self-leveling material dries hard and cracks and lasts less than a year I've found.

So fun to watch the video, thank you for sharing!

This is awesome! Thanks for sharing

I use rock salt in the spring time. Works all year. Cheaper than weed killer and no other chemicals.

Scott, what you are doing is 99.9% accurate. However I didn’t heard why you used the backer rod. Myself I know and if you don’t mind I’ll explain. For the adhesive in this case driveway sealant to stay in place you must make the surface you are attaching to twice the surface area as the width of the cavity you are filling! So if the width of our cavity (joint) is one half inch wide then you should clear out the debris to a minimum of an inch deep! Once done I would use a wire brush to really clean both sides of the joint the power wash out remains debris! Let dry as you describe but myself I’d try and find a compatible primer and I’m not sure what Sikaflex recommends but I’m sure Sikaflex will do fine with or without primer on most porous surfaces! So now the joint is clean and dry….. time to add the backer rod! To install the backer rod you must keep in mind the width of the joint…… so if the joint is one half inch wide then use a half inch close-cell backer rod and push the backer rod so that the (top) rounded surface of the backer rod is slightly deeper then a quarter of an inch from the top surface of the concrete and once that’s done you’ll see that the backer rod automatically will be one half inch on the edge to be sealed!!! The quarter inch at the center of the joint will allow for the concrete to move with the joint’s expansion! Now after getting this written done I see that it’s is kind of wordy! However if you want this to be permanent (which is not possible) these are the precautions you will need to follow!!! I expect Sikaflex should last several years but nothing is permanent when dealing with concrete and the weather!

Great video, thanks for the information. Keep it up please

Appreciate your video beautiful work

I use my string trimmer on them and then spray grass killers to kill the roots I might have missed, works pretty well. Bleach also works well if you are just spot treating.

I use boiling water on my brick paver driveway when the weeds are still small. Unfortunately, they do come back in other spots but it’s cost efficient. I think sprinkling salt in the cracks would also work as long as it doesn’t all get washed away. Another option is using sand that sets hard like concrete.

Interesting! All this time, I thought I had to live with the grass growing in the cracks. Thank you.

Thanks for these tips, we usually dig the weeds out of this crack and then spray them

my eye: "Yes, that's easy, I can do it." my hand: "No, you can't"

I use "round up." It kills everything!!!

Nice video, greetings from Argentina🙋‍♂

Bravo. This is what I do. This is Sooooo worth it. I see people spraying poison on their driveway, year after year after year……..

How lucky are you to live on such a quiet street. I think I only saw 1 car drive by during your timelapse. Also great suggestion with the backer rod. BONUS TIPS: #1: If you're in a rush & don't want to wait for the water to dry, you can either skip the water and use an air compressor to blow out the debris, or use the air compressor to blow away most of the water. Just make sure to wear eye protection and maybe a dust mask. #2: To ensure any remnant of weeds are fully gone, you could fill an old dish soap bottle with vinegar and squirt a gentle stream along the joints. If your joints are NOT on an incline (where any of the liquid could dribble down towards a sewer), then you can use some diluted bleach instead (which eventually breaks down to water and salt. Saome people say to use gasoline, but not only is that more expensive, but also harmful to the environment. #3: Another alternative for the caulk is to use expanding foam. There are specific types made exactly for this purpose.

The best sidewalk joint detail IMO: 1. Clean joint as shown in video. 2. Place pea gravel or 1/4" fine crushed rock into the joint to within 3/8" of Top of Slab. 3. Lock the pea gravel down with a light coat of clear floor epoxy poured over the top making sure to brush the epoxy along the verticals as a primer. 4. Once the epoxy is cured, place your favorite caulking over gravel/epoxy matrix without backer rod. Top with sand as needed. 5. This creates a relatively thin caulking layer over a relatively weed-resistant sidewalk joint. Recaulking is as easy as peel away the old, hose out the dirt, and recaulk.

Thank you for the nice detailed video

I’m glad you mentioned the pool noodle. It works great.

I’ve been using Ground Clear spray for years. No weeds for 1 year! I’m working on a video explaining it that will be out shortly.

I've been using a cheap string trimmer for many years. It only takes a few minutes. I don't even have to bend down.

Thank you, some great ideas! 👍

Another awesome tip. Thanks. Appreciate your videos

I want to know how to stop the weeds from ever growing again. What would you suggest, what's better, plutonium or uranium?

I've used those self-leveling fillers on my driveway a couple times, but after a year or so, I find they shrink and have separations all along the way. Still, it's better than nothing.

I clean it out, then used only the grout and paver sand since i have pavers. on another awkward 1x4 gap: taped overlapping edges 3 inches back -used can spray foam then placed cardboard on top as it expanded, light trim, quick shot color match spray paint. No weeds since 2 year ago and holding

Thank you very much, you have no ideea how much you help me. God Bless you thank you so much for sharing this.

You can also use pipe insulation foam. It is black and already cut down one side with a straight factory cut. THANK YOU for the preen idea. Simply brilliant! 🤦‍♀Why didn't I think of it?

The Preen doesn't break down and is bad for fish.

Very useful step by step instructions. Thank you.

Thanks for sharing! Great ideas flor DIYers.