Filling cracks in sidewalk and at curb

Stan in Oly, WA

Well-known Member
The streets by my house are asphalt. The curbs and sidewalks are concrete. I would like to fill the worst cracks in the sidewalks, and those between the edge of the streets and the bottoms of the curbs, and maybe some cracks in the asphalt that are within a foot of the curb, to be done with having to deal with weeds and grasses there. I haven't calculated carefully, but I estimate that addressing this with products made specifically for this problem might cost me several hundred dollars. I've got many more important issues to deal with on my house and property, so hundreds of dollars for nuisance weed control isn't going to happen.

Is there another way to do this that would work? For instance, some kind of concrete additive that would keep it from failing within a short time? I welcome any suggestions.

Stan
 

In my city - Wichita, KS - the city would send a crew out to tear up whatever you did, then send their 'preferred licensed' sidewalk/street contractor out to repair what they tore out (and they will tear out much more than necessary), then send you the whole bill. You would be lucky to not get a fine on top of that.

I learned the hard way that property owners are not allowed to repair sidewalks or curbs.
 
The only thing that comes to mind is a flowable, non shrink grout, similar to what's used under steel column base plates to make up the difference between the plate and the column base/footing, sometimes there's a discrepancy, between the steel fabricated and the footing elevation, this material is structural, but I am not sure about bonding, abrasion resistance and or weathering, maybe someone knows of another similar or newer material, portland cement based with structural properties, that can be used to fill, is non sag and will bond.

On the other hand, if the joints between the (substrate) ie; existing concrete to existing concrete can be cleaned, prepared, possibly primed for a sealant,(caulk) that may be another alternative, but it needs to achieve a bond, with adequate resistance to pull out, (this is a common test with sealants) and something that is also elastomeric enough to tolerate expansion and possibly compression, and not lose its bond. There are joint sealants for concrete, our local masonry supply house, would have something used commercially. It has to be compatible with the substrate, may require cleaning and priming depending on what the material is.

With bituminous asphaltic concrete, (asphalt paving) and you have either one side of the substrate,(the joint) is a bituminous material, or both sides of the joint, are bituminous, you will likely need a material that is bituminous, (asphalt, tar, etc.) to achieve a bond, but also elastomeric enough to not fail under the conditions of a paved roadway. Is there a fine cold patch or similar, possibly a driveway sealer with filling properties, perhaps a roofing patch material, fibrous or similar, substrate may have to be prepped, possibly heated, way out of my league on that, but N.Y.S. D.O.T. commonly seals cracks in asphalt paved roads, that material, along with the specified installation instructions may just suffice. In both you may want to apply substantial dose of weed killer prior too, I have seen that called for in similar repair specifications. Not sure how many lineal feet you have, but the material quantity would not to appear to be that costly from what you describe, the results however could be disappointing, these kinds of materials and repairs may not be the most durable under the conditions, at worst it will be a maintenance item at some point again.
 
In the paint/caulk department at Home Despot they will have a product in caulking tubes called butyl rubber.
Buy some tubes of that and caulk it into the cracks.
It is very runny so you will need to dam up the ends of the crack or else it will run out. Duct tape works fine.
You also need to make sure it doesn't run out of the bottom of the crack. You can buy styrofoam rope and push it down into the crack to keep it from running out of the bottom.
It will set up in a day or so and become quite tough yet plyable.
It's what they use on city sidewalks around skyscrapers and the like for expansion joints.
Will last a long time.
 
Excellent point, in NYC, often times the shear face of the building, (street side) is the property line, although buildings may be allowed to have ornamental, removable, cornices or similar projecting architectural features. You can have a contractor do repairs to sidewalks or replace an existing one, but it calls for a permit, plans to be filed, and approved, and likely the city indemnified as a rider on the contractors insurance policy eqyual or greater than what the city requires for insurance, + I am sure things I am forgetting now, you don't want to become liable for any work and resulting injuries potentially attributable to the repair work you did. I'm thinking along the lines of repairs to be helpful, meanwhile I'm forgetting this very important detail, (Stan... look into that before you do proceed, it has merit I am sure, you will want to know whose property you are on or propose to work on beforehand, it may require more than just your initiative, check with the municipality first) Again, excellent point !!!
 
Call your city if street or sidewalk repairs are needed on city right-of-ways.

A string trimmer or a $7 spray bottle of Roundup are probably your cheapest alternatives. You can mix concentrate to refill your spray bottle at lower cost.
 
I've used this a lot.Good stuff and does come in different colors.

http://www.mudsupply.com/Vulkem-116-Gray-10-1-oz-Polyurethane-Sealant-p/2877.htm?gclid=CN76js39_L4CFeFAMgodc2gARA
 
Thanks, I wouldn't have thought of that. The Public Works Dep't in this small city is very friendly and helpful, but we've got our share of a/h's in local government, just like anywhere. The safest thing to do would be to call and ask what I'm allowed to do to deal with the problem.

If I've got no choice but to keep fighting the weeds, I can promise you I won't be using any Monsanto product to do it. I'd happily see that corporation at the bottom of the ocean.

Stan
 
Stan:

I am responsible for weed control and crack filling on our local (asphalt paved) airport, along with maintaining my own taxiway. I have years of experience with this!

Roundup is very effective in killing existing weeds, but does nothing to keep them from growing back. Putting a filler in the cracks does slow weed growth, but they will soon come back stronger than ever.

Instead, we use an herbicide named "Ground Clear." It is a pre-emergent rather than the post-emergent Roundup. That means that it will prevent the germination of weed seeds rather than just killing what has already sprouted. We first weed whack any existing vegetation, then apply Ground Clear directly in the crack using a point spray nozzle rather than the much more common fan-type sprayer. That both controls the area of the application as well as reducing the amount required. DON"T get Ground Clear on any soil that you want to grow anything in the next several years!

After treating with Ground Clear, we fill the cracks with a material designed for repairing the cracks in the substrate. There are several of these available. We find the most effective ones to be those requiring some sand mixed with the asphalt-like liquid material. We use a sack of fairly coarse builders sand, and trowel the mixture in place. There are several of these available at most building supply stores.

As to the concrete, I would weed whack any vegetation, apply Ground Clear as above, then repair the crack with a commercially available mortar. Mortar, as opposed to cement, is designed to adhere to adjacent concrete surfaces and has a very low shrink factor. Follow the directions carefully for the best results.

Just recognize that failure of paved surfaces is an on-going process, and you will most likely need to follow up as time goes by. Our airport runway is ~3000 feet long by 50 feet wide, and it really keeps us occupied during the weed season.

hope this helps!
 
(quoted from post at 19:24:09 06/15/14) Thanks, I wouldn't have thought of that. The Public Works Dep't in this small city is very friendly and helpful, but we've got our share of a/h's in local government, just like anywhere. The safest thing to do would be to call and ask what I'm allowed to do to deal with the problem.

If I've got no choice but to keep fighting the weeds, I can promise you I won't be using any Monsanto product to do it. I'd happily see that corporation at the bottom of the ocean.

Stan

Monsanto is not the only producer of glyphospahate.
 
No license required, even here in 'The Peoples Republik of Kalifornia.'

At first look, Ground Clear seems expensive: A gallon of the concentrate is around $30 at the Home stores, and only makes 5 gallons of mix.

On the other hand, a little of this stuff goes a long way when applied in cracks and crevices with a point delivery nozzle.

The blurb says it prevents vegetation growth for a year, but we have found that it lasts somewhat longer. I treated the sand filled spaces on my brick walkway about 2 years ago, and still do not see any return vegetation growth. I'm certain your milage will vary depending on conditions.

I would not recommend using it where the goal is simply to kill existing vegetation. Roundup is less expensive and less environmentally damaging for that purpose.
 
How well would Ground Clear work around my HVAC unit?

I just checked and can get a quart of concentrate
at Walmart for about $8.50
How does this stuff mix and how much ground does it cover?

I have always used Round Up for my weed-eater needs but
this year with my health I have fallen way behind.

Pooh Bear
 
Look at your local home depot or like wise and in the concrete dept you'll see a polyurethane that's self leveling. It comes in a caulking tube and you apply it with a caulking gun. Easy , quick and done.
 
Ground Clear easily mixes with water just like Roundup. A quart of concentrate makes 1.25 gallons of
mix, and that should be plenty for something like an air conditioner / pad. At $8 for a
quart, it is still only about $32 / gallon, so not much of a premium cost for the smaller
quantities. If you need two quarts, it is still affordable, and probably makes sense to not
have a half gallon sitting on the shelf for a year or more.

I can't tell you what the square foot coverage is, but where we want vegetation eliminated
semi-permanently, we just apply it like we would Roundup, except for controlling it better.

We are careful to not get it on the places where we grow natural grasses that are baled and
sold for hay, as we want to maximize that crop.

Note that GC labeling is about the same as Roundup (other than the "Nothing will grow there cautions," so no real extra worries about environmental damage.
 

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