The weed-covered wooden slats in your driveway or patio are concrete expansion joints. These are in place to allow the concrete slab room to expand and contract with the weather. However, wood decays over time, and as it does, grass and weeds begin to sprout up. For the most part, weeds are simply unsightly, but that can reduce your home’s curb appeal.
There are two primary ways to replace the rotting wooden expansion joints; you can either dig out the wood and fill the gaps with caulking, or with vinyl strips. Of these two choices, vinyl concrete expansion joints are easier, cleaner, and often cheaper to use. Depending on the length of your driveway, it could take a dozen or more tubes of caulking to fill in all the gaps. That cost can add up. Not only that, caulking is messy to use. On the other hand, vinyl strips are not messy and can be cheaper in the long run.
But, before you can replace the old wooden expansion joints, they’ll need to be removed. This is the most difficult part of the process since you’ll need to carefully pry out the old wood and weeds. Once you have cleaned the gaps, you’ll simply measure and cut the vinyl strips to length, and press them in. Unlike using caulking, you won’t need to crawl on the ground, wielding a caulking gun. It’s neat, clean, and easy.
To explore the different widths and colors of vinyl concrete expansion joints, visit Trim-a-Slab. www.trim-a-slab.com