Front door steps weeds growing but coming into house : who do I contact to sort out?

noideapleasehelp

Hello DIY experts

This Forum seems to have some really brilliant people with expert knowledge and I'd like to thank you in advance for your help.

I've got a 1905 house and the front steps have weeds growing between the mortar of the front steps which now are growing and coming into the house itself in the bit after the plastic door frame and internally between the brick-work just inside the door frame. 

Who can I get to fix this issue?  What type of workmen do I need to contact for quotes etc?

I moved in 3 years ago, this was not even an issue then but in the last 2 years this has been happening and I applied resolver at the front but it hasn't killed off these weeds.

These "weeds" are now coming through into the house in the gap between the front door.

What kind of expert do I need to call to fix this issue and potentially what is involved?

I'll attach a photo.

Thank you kindly for your response.

victor2

Pour boiling water on the weeds and they die. 

noideapleasehelp

Hello victor2

I tried that .. it's a difficult to get to area at an angle.  And it didn't work.  Used a spray gun and a watering can but didn't seem to sweet the right point to kill the damned weed.

I'll try again, but it's odd that it's gone from the mortar (which looks pretty poor and perhaps needs a brickie to repair) on the front steps and managed to infiltrate into the house itself beyond the door frame.

Defo boiling weeds I've been using on the patio and that's worked!

xoxo

grumbler

If the step can be lifted it's worth taking it out and looking what's under it. Otherwise it's worth pointing all the gaps with mortar. It's an easy DIY job, too small for any workman.

JohnJ76

boiling water sprayed from a spray gun will be too cold by the time it gets sprayed everywhere.

get some systemic weedkiller on them, spray them daily for a few days once they go brown and die, pull out and rake out any dead bits with an old screwdriver/knife.  at the same time clear any bits of broken mortar. 
get a small bucket of ready mix mortar, add water, mix well, shove mortar into joints to fill well. wipe off excess and smooth. done.
keep the remainder of the bottle handy in case any future bits grow. 

plants need moisture and light. some need surprisingly little moisture and can grow from the tiniest of cracks. I've seen 6ft diameter bushes at the top of church spires.  

unless you have no experience of pulling a trigger (on a bottle of weedol) using a measuring jug (to measure some water) and using an old knife (to rip out dead weeds and possibly shove the new mortar in) I cannot see why on earth you would need a brickie to fix that. 

TELLIT01

It certainly looks like repointing the brickwork around the step would help as currently weed seeds can get in their and sprout.  Any local builder or handyman could do the job, but getting somebody to bother with such a small job may be difficult.

Phantom151

If you have a gap, put some rock salt in before you repoint.

Simonon77

Repointing may help temporarily, but weeds will always find a way through as soon as there is a tiny crack. Weedkiller also doesn't always get rid of them down to the roots so they just grow back.

The easiest thing is just to get a knife and scrape out as much of the weed as you can, then keep doing this whenever it grows back. If they can't produce leaves they will often die back eventually 

Mr.Generous

Burn the Ba.......s

ThisIsWeird

noideapleasehelp said:

Hello DIY experts


Thank you kindly for your response.

Could you post a good close photo of the inside too, please, so's we can see where they are coming in?

How DIYish are you - is there any chance you can do this yourself, buying a small bag of made-up mortar and using pretty much anything you may already have  - a paint scraper, for example - to force mortar into small cracks after you've killed the weeds and cleaned out the cracks?

If not, then I'd suggest a competent local handyperson or gardener*- perhaps ask on your community Fb page. When they come round to see the job, ask them how - exactly - they'll tackle it. Report back with what they say :-)

* For 'gardener', many will be very used to doing jobs like making good drive verges, patios, pathways, landscaping - all the skills that would easily handle this job.

Could we also have a close-up of the weeds - are these 'succulents'?

Alanp

To get rid of the weeds 
mix white vinegar, salt and a couple of drops of washing up liquid in a spray bottle, mix thoroughly so the salt dissolves, and spray onto the weeds, it might need a couple of goes before they die, you can buy small bags of ready mixed mortar, just follow the instructions,