Paved driveway questions

thejinkazama

Hello,

We get a huge amount of weeds on our large driveway so I'm trying to do something about it. We've removed them at the root and powerwashed. Once it dries, i intend to spray weedkiller then a few days later brush lots of kiln sand into the spaces. I have a few questions:

Have I missed anything? 

What is a good weedkiller to use and what's the fastest way to apply it to this size of area?

I read that sealing the sand with a small amount of cement can help stop it coming loose but I'm concerned about water not draining away (this is already the case as in the photo). Would you recommend this?

Thank you

FreeBear

Mixing cement in with the sand won't stop the weeds coming up, no will it stop the blocks from moving. If you use a strong cement/sand mix, you may well end up with the blocks cracking.

Also steer well clear of polymeric sand - Whilst it will offer a short term fix, the binder will break down and the plastics will pollute the environment (you would also need to rake out every joint and whack the sand down in to the joints).

You appear to have sections slowly dipping, probably as a result of poor sub-base preparation. Sand/cement or polymeric sand is not going to fix that. Stick with using kiln dried sand, and you will have the option to lift blocks in the sunken areas and pack a bit of sharp sand underneath.

Farway

Weedkiller, I asked ChatGPT, and here's the answer

HTH

✅ UK-Legal Residual Weedkillers (2024–2025)

Active Ingredient	Example Product	Soil Persistence	Typical Use
Imazapyr	Ground Clear, Rosate TF	6–12 months	Industrial sites, fence lines
Diflufenican	Flexidor, Hurricane	3–5 months	Grassland, ornamentals, tree bases
Flazasulfuron	Chikara	Up to 5 months	Paths, driveways, fence lines
Propyzamide	Kerb Flo, Astrokerb	3–6 months (cooler soils)	Winter crops, ornamental borders
Aminopyralid	Forefront T, Grazon Pro	3+ months in manure/soil	Pastureland (persistent in manure)
Indaziflam (emerging)	Esplanade 200 SC (restricted)	6–12 months	Industrial, being trialed in some UK areas

Beeblebr0x

Jet washing removed all the weeds from my drive, although I've noticed a few Michaelmas Daisy weeds reappearing. I just keep on top of things by spot spraying with weedkiller. 

thejinkazama

Thanks for the replies.

I have cleared out dirt and stones from the side of the driveway as per the pictures. i was intending to fill it with cardboard and woodchip rather than weed membrane and more stones (I suggestion I saw on this forum). A family member says this might not be a great idea as it is likely to dry out and make a mess.

What do you think?

FreeBear

I'd go for some decorative stone chips. If you can go for ~50mm of depth, what few weeds do pop up will be easy enough to pull out. Don't bother with any weed membranes. When the time comes to replace the blockwork, any membrane used will end up going to landfill, and as plastic waste is already a big problem, we should be doing our best not to add more.

RipleyG

Agree with everything Free Bear says. We have a similar sized channel between our house wall and patio - dug down slightly and filled with pea gravel. No membrane, it's been there for 16 years, and any occasional weed is easy to pull out. 

here_for_the_tips

I cannot recommend this product enough, moved into our house 9 years ago and the front garden (7m by 4m) is "low maintenance" loose stones all over it as are a few others in the area, first spring here it was overgrown with weeds in a fortnight.

Researched and and bought this, spray this once a year April / May when the weeds appear and we've got 48 hours of sunshine and the weeds are gone in a week and don't show signs of reappearing until August. Plus the time before they come back has been getting longer each year (I used to have to spray again in the summer), seems to be absorbing and making the ground less hospitable to weed growth.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073D1T2XV?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1

silverwhistle

Just be aware that this:

Aminopyralid

Forefront T, Grazon Pro

3+ months in manure/soil

Pastureland (persistent in manure)

persists in the manure of animals feeding on the pasture and if this is used on vegetables can severely impact germination and growth.