How $20.00 Can Protect a Large Investment on Your Property
Most concrete contractors were taught to place an expansion joint about every ten feet when they are forming concrete. They do this to protect the life of the concrete and don’t realize that they are also damaging the concrete.
Most all driveways are sloped to drain water away from your property. As water flows down the top of the concrete it also falls into the cracks of the expansion joints and continues to travel down underneath the concrete. This weakens and erodes the soil which leads to your concrete driveway getting cracked.
To prevent the early demise and expensive replacement costs of a new driveway you can buy a polymer concrete crack sealant that will self level and expand and contract during hot and cold temperatures. It also stops bug and weeds from popping out of the cracks which can be an eyesore. An average driveway will only need about three bottles of crack sealant that can be bought for about twenty dollars.
It is surprising that most concrete contractors don’t realize this problem. Have they ever wondered why road crews place road tar sealant over cracks in our roads even though it looks ugly?
Preparation is ninety percent of most any job. I place a wire disk bit into my cordless drill and go through every crack to clean it out and rough up the surface. This will normally yank the weeds out also. Next I sweep away all debris away from the expansion joints and spray a natural weed killer into the crack such as vinegar. If you have any deep cracks to seal then you can either use backer rod (weather stripping) or sand to fill and level the cracks. Then you apply an even stripe of polymer across the expansion joints to seal any and all cracks.
Since most people don’t realize this common problem that could save them a bundle of money, it creates an opportunity. If you wanted a little hustle on the side or to teach your children free enterprise, this would be a step above raking leaves. (Watch their shoes before you let them in the house)
