How to make a sidewalk w/ interlocking paves & no weeds

[bazinga42]

Some good and... well... odd advice in here :)


Skip the landscape fabric. Yes I know you'll find Internet articles that recommend it and many people use it without really thinking about it. You'll also find articles (here's just one random example I quickly found) that expose it for the logical nonsense that it is.

Basically, weeds don't grow up from deep under the ground! That' isn't your problem, that isn't where they are coming from. So putting fabric UNDER your installation does NOTHING. If you put it on top, now that would work! Of course... then you'd be looking at the fabric, not the stones, so hmm...

The weeds grow in the dirt, dust, dead leaves, etc that inevitably settle in the cracks. Weedblock obviously will do nothing to prevent that.

So what do you do? Good old fashioned regular maintenance (in other words: work). Regular sweeping prevents seeds from grabbing hold and germinating. Annual power cleaning and re-sanding keeps the stability intact.


A word about polymeric sand: its stupid. Again, search around. It shouldn't be used. It never should have been invented. If you understand the concept of "interlocking" pavers, then you understand why you don't want sand that won't interlock! Its expensive and useless. Just get cheap bedding sand (Ensign Bros on the wetside has it cheap) and pour it all over and sweep it so it settles in the cracks. Ideally you'd use a plate tamper to really compact it in there. The sand should be COURSE... that's what the interlocking process requires (some people think "interlocking" means pavers that are shaped so that they "fit" together. its not)


How to deal with existing weeds? Some of the above suggestions are reasonable to try, but I have another one that I think is just as (or more) effective and is absolutely free... boiling water. Try it before you dismiss it. It will kill the plant faster than vinegar and they'll stay away longer. But it needs to be BOILING, not just hot. If its a small amount of weeds I'd recommend an electric kettle and an extension cord so you can have it boiling right where you need it. Otherwise a propane stove and a pot.

Best of luck!

[bazinga42]

Incidentally, while I was typing the above about polymeric sand, I remembered an article I read by some company that claimed to have developed - through extensive trial an error - a process for sealing pavers and preventing weeds. They sell this "secret" for $20. I've been too cheap to fork that money out on something that I'm pretty sure is freely available info... but I admit I'm curious what they "developed".

So if anyone else is curious... I'll split it with you :)

I found the article: http://www.twobrothersbrickpaving.com/p ... 3ZuC_ldU0A