Crazy Paving Crack Filler

[Big Tone]

Is there something I can use to pour over crazy paving which will effectively fill-in the cracks?

It’s an area outside my back garden of about 20’ x 8’ where you can eat outdoors or relax on a deck chair etc. Every year, at this time of year, I get ants crawling out from in between. It's also a magnet for weeds

I thought maybe I could kill two birds here by not only keeping the ants at bay, by forcing them to emerge elsewhere, but also level the area which gets more uneven and dangerous each year. I can't afford a major decking revamp or proper paving so I'm looking for a cheap quick fix if possible, if there is one?

This is the only picture I have which is of the front driveway but the back one I refer to is is exactly the same this. (Excuse the moggie)

 

[Richard C]

Exterior self levelling compound but not exactly cheap;
http://www.ardex.co.uk/ardex_k301.asp
unless you sort out the paving, it’ll most likely crack in the same places before too long. Or you can always go looking for the local ***** ashfelters who’ve "got some left over from another resurfacing job" up the road.

 

[JohnD]

if you were doing it in concrete, what thickness and mix would you need to do a proper job?

I have a patio laid with incorrect fall, so rain collects against the house. I'd like to put a layer on top with a bit of a slope to the garden

 

[Big Tone]

I don’t know if you’re asking me John, about mine, or as a general question to Richard.

Mine looks like an ideal candidate for Ardex but I don’t have the funds or experience to do it myself. I was going to start by pressure washing all the lose bits and weeds away to give a better key though.

Good point about the slope! Mine comes right up to an air brick. If I get it wrong I could be channelling the rain down into the ground under my lounge. I'll get a better picture of the actual place I want to do in the back..

 

[JohnD]

in your case, I think I'd lift the crazy, excavate a bit (especially round the edges) and lay a new slab. I would have thought skimming over the crazy would cause the screed to crack around the old pieces.

 

[Big Tone]

in your case, I think I'd lift the crazy, excavate a bit (especially round the edges) and lay a new slab. I would have thought skimming over the crazy would cause the screed to crack around the old pieces.

Yes, that does sound better and certainly in the long run. I think the cost would be prohibitively high for me though.

If a 2’x2’ slab costs ~£5 and I need 40 of them at a discount of ‘by two get one free’ from B&Q I’m still looking at about £130 just for the slabs. Then, according to my mate at work, I’d need 10 bags of sand at whatever they cost..

I’m fit and strong enough to do the labour but I’m not very good at the levelling. I could do it but someone experienced would doubtless do it much quicker and better - but then I’d have to pay him of course.

This is why I was thinking of Ardex. It sounds quick, relatively cheap and having seen professional plasterers at work it wouldn’t take long. I’m not sure what to do for the best to be honest.

 

[JohnD]

by "new slab" I meant pour concrete into shuttering and let it set into a slab. If you put paving slabs down you will still have just as much work consolidating the base.

 

[Big Tone]

What's a "shuttering"? ADD: As I was writing this my mate, ( who was looking over my shoulder and I asked him), told me.

Sounds like a good option and the cheapest. Thanks John.

P.S. He said I could paint it with something too afterwards to help waterproof it or better still add something into the mix. I should get him to post on here I think

I don't like to bother him too much; he's not a happy camper here at work