Weedy block paving

For 17 years I manually brushed out moss and weeds. Now not so able to do the same (4 car drive) so have someone power wash and resand. Then I apply Spray and Leave. Driveway came with new build. It is better than the tarmac type applied in somestyles s of the houses but they have suffered cracking and sinking. Why did they all change from just having stone chips layed?

A couple of years ago I spent the equivalent of ten full work days removing the weeds from my block-paved drive with a long handled wire brush.
Of course the weeds were back within weeks.
I've since bought a Ryobi weed remover, which does the same job in roughly four 35 minute sessions.
I've also finally given in to the use of chemicals, and spray white vinegar with a little added salt and washing up liquid on to any weeds that appear after the Ryobi sessions - although I hand pull where I can.
Doing this every few weeks keeps it down.
I would also very much recommend the use of Wet & Forget once a year to tackle the algae, mould and lichen.
As you can probably tell, I've (necessarily) become a bit of a paving connoisseur
Graphite, I really don't think you can compare large slabs to small block pavers.

We just strim it occasionally and it is quick and easy the green looks fine and we don’t let it seed

A second for wet and forget but you have to be patient as it is not instantaneous. In some situations it last more than 12 months. I think it depends on how damp the area is and how much sun it gets

Pouring boiling water on the weeds kills them in a day or two. It obviously requires several trips outside with the kettle, so if you have a large area it might not be very practical.

You can use a good weedkiller. I always scrape the weeds as this is the most wildlife friendly. If you power wash you will need to treat the blocks because power washing damages the surface of the blocks. If you regularly sweep the drive you will reduce the amount of tiny seeds that find their way between the blocks.
It wont have made a difference having the weeds scraped out, unless your driveway had a cement mix hich would have sealed the gaps, instead of just sand to fill the gaps.

We have a small block paved drive. Takes 3 cars. There's what appears to be small white circles all over it. Not sure if it's mould. I did read up on the cleaning process & it says you should only use kiln dried sand to replace the sand that's been removed.

Azalea, just thought, but could someone handy put concrete between all the ‘bricks’ to completely fill the cracks, like grouting? You can also buy ready mix powder concrete, brush it into all the cracks and gaps, and water it in using a watering can, that would solve the problem, and stop any more growing, plus you would have a very individual and smart looking drive!!

Luckygirl3

Salt every time. Cheap and effective.

Yes, it was Lily of the Valley.

Mamar, these white circles are probably lichens. They are completely harmless and are also a sign of clean air.

About once a year I bruise the weeds by standing on them then I pour a thick washing up liquid (Fairy) on them followed by a layer of salt .
It has to be a dry day and I don't always bruise them that carefully -my method works well anyway .
I've got rid of many dandelions in the lawn and the weeds in the drive without much effort and expense.

Macaydia

David49

I just use Roundup weed killer, it's been in use for 60 yrs and has never been proved to harm any kind of animal life, unlike salt, vinegar or washing powder and many other so called harmless remedies.
It's easily the easiest and cheapest too.

Roundup is very toxic to every sign of life including yours. Look it up

After 60 yrs of research all they can say is that it "probably" is cancerous.
How bad is that, there are hundreds of materials that we use every day that we know cause cancer and worse if abused, but we still use them.
GM is another one there is no evidence that it has harmed anyone, it has been in use in the US for 30 yrs, scientists still cant find any harm yet many demonize it. In the US and UK the main health problem is obesity. So we try to cure that with Mounjaro how sure are we that is not cancerous.

It is the bane of our lives, we have had the drive cleaned and re sanded several times. We have considered having it taken up and a resin drive instead, some neighbours have done this and we did look into it but it is very expensive, the man who gave the estimate said that because our drive is good he could put resin over it which would bring down the cost but we are uncertain about that. I have recently found out that Wickes do a sand with added weed killer so when we have the drive cleaned again we will get some and get them to use that instead of the normal sand.

grandMattie

*Mamar*, these white circles are probably lichens. They are completely harmless and are also a sign of clean air.

We have a number of those - of different sizes - on our crazy-paved patio. Apparently they take ages to grow - I rather like them.

My neighbour has a flame thrower thing..Seems to do the trick.

We use bleach on ours

As long as he doesn’t bridge your damp proof cours

I’ve got a wonderful little gadget that I use; discovered it last year. You can get long handled ones, too.

MayBee70 we have one of those but it tends to lift the bricks up when I use it.

The huge pine tree next to my house isa lifting all of my bricks up with it's roots that go under my drive anyway!

MayBee70

I’ve got a wonderful little gadget that I use; discovered it last year. You can get long handled ones, too.

That looks positively dangerous, Maybee! 😀😲

We have blocked paved drive, the weeds are a nightmare. We now use a strimmer then weeds killer then, sand that’s seems to keep it under control a bit.

I use a Wolf Garten patio scraper.Easier to use it after its rained and paths and drive are damp.I actually find it quite enjoyable and do it every 3/4 months.Then afterwards when its fine I mix up acetic acid and salt and water and uses a watering can with a rose.That keeps it looking tidy.I don't mind a little bit of moss anyway but haven't had any serious weeds for years now.

Apparently, bicarbonate of soda works. Sprinkle it over the paving on a dry day, brush into the cracks and wait. It kills the weeds and it is important to NOT remove the dead stuff as this leaves space for something else to flourish. I saw this on fb by a bloke called Imnogardener!

I've been strimming mine for a couple of years. Now I notice that dwarf-looking varieties are coming up. I don't mind those, or the ones that grow flat. I would like to sow alpines in the cracks, but not sure which seeds to choose or how to encourage them.