The expansion joints in my driveway are toast. Looking online I see many options to replace and all is does is confuse me. Anyone have advice or experience to share on how to proceed? Gracias.

Text me. 979-eight two o -l87o. Gary

I have a driveway related question also. my driveway is concrete and appears to be poured in 6 different sections that appear to be three to four inches thick each. One section has been elevated by a tree root that grew under it and is almost all the way above the other sections. Now it's basically causing a trip hazard.What's the best way for me to take care of this?

Remove the elevated section, remove the root, install root barrier, and replace.

Alternately you could mud jack the other sections until they matched, but that root will continue to cause movement.

My church had similar issues and paid a concrete contractor to grind down and remove the lip/trip hazards.

Pull out all the old material and clean up the joint, pack in backer rod and fill with self-leveling sealant like Sikaflex Pro Select. Watch videos online for tips and tricks. Make sure you have no gaps between backer rod and sides of the expansion joint, else your sealant will flow where you don't want it. You can twist two pieces of backer together then pack it in if the gap is big/long or put some sand in to fill in the gaps. I buy the 29 oz tubes which require the larger size caulk gun.

Sikaflex @ Home Depot

Col. Steve Austin said:

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Pull out all the old material and clean up the joint, pack in backer rod and fill with self-leveling sealant like Sikaflex Pro Select. Watch videos online for tips and tricks. Make sure you have no gaps between backer rod and sides of the expansion joint, else your sealant will flow where you don't want it. You can twist two pieces of backer together then pack it in if the gap is big/long or put some sand in to fill in the gaps. I buy the 29 oz tubes which require the larger size caulk gun.

Sikaflex @ Home Depot

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This is what i would recommend. Make sure you follow the directions, use the right backer rod, and give it good cure time. Will last a long, long, long time.

Hope the old expansion joint has regular wood or backer rods. The genius that designed built my driveway used expansion joints almost 1 1/2" wide, I guess for aesthetics and it does look good? Problem was when I had to replace 1 section it was a huge PITA to get the old material out. Picture basically a 2" x 4" (on edge) that has been there since early 80's that is wet/soggy, but not rotted. You couldn't pry it out because it was so swollen. I couldn't break or chip it out because it was so saturated it wouldn't splinter, just bends and springs back to shape. Ended up having to rip it over and over with a skill saw until almost half was gone before I could pry the rest out.

On my list of projects. so following.

Aggietaco said:

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Remove the elevated section, remove the root, install root barrier, and replace.

Alternately you could mud jack the other sections until they matched, but that root will continue to cause movement.

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Thanks for info. I will have to go with the first approach I believe. If I raised everything else, it would be 4 inches above my sidewalk that meets it on both sides. I'll try to add some pics later.

I've watched that video, as well as others and I just want to choose the right product. The wood is completely gone in mine. Can treated wood be used as a backer, or should I go with the factory made stuff?

Aggieangler93 said:

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Aggietaco said:

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Remove the elevated section, remove the root, install root barrier, and replace.

Alternately you could mud jack the other sections until they matched, but that root will continue to cause movement.

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Thanks for info. I will have to go with the first approach I believe. If I raised everything else, it would be 4 inches above my sidewalk that meets it on both sides. I'll try to add some pics later.

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I have the exact same scenario playing out on my driveway so I am very interested to hear how yours goes. Our stupid HOA requires two trees in every front yard, but the one that is causing my driveway issue is on my hit list. Its roots are not only lifting up a section of driveway but also seem to be getting more and more shallow in my yard, which is unsightly and also a pain to mow around. So far I have been using a sawzall to cut the roots right as they start heading under the driveway. Of course I'm sure there are deeper ones that I can't get to, but I secretly am hoping to cause the demise of the tree.

Round up and get ready to plant a new tree for your quota of two

Troutslime said:

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I've watched that video, as well as others and I just want to choose the right product. The wood is completely gone in mine. Can treated wood be used as a backer, or should I go with the factory made stuff?

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Go with the,foam backer rod. Cheap, easy to install.

Your expansion joints are really unnecessary and dont need to be that wide. So, with that width, the joint sealant can get costly even when using a backer rod.

What i recently did on my driveway was filled the expansion joint with concrete (use cement mixed with sand/ water) and placed cardboard on 1 side of the joint to leave a smaller space for movement. Once the concrete hardened, i pulled the cardboard leaving about an 1/8 wide joint. I then used a 1/8 diameter paracord rope as my backer rod and filled that in the the sika self levelling sealant. This is working well...much cheaper.

Interesting solution. Did you have to coat the cardboard with anything to prevent the cement from sticking to it?

maddiedou said:

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Round up and get ready to plant a new tree for your quota of two

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LOL I like the way you think!! Will Round Up take care of a live oak?

Rachel 98 said:

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maddiedou said:

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Round up and get ready to plant a new tree for your quota of two

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LOL I like the way you think!! Will Round Up take care of a live oak?

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It would..

Easier long term solution (assuming the tree is far enough from the driveway) - trench along the driveway to cut the roots and place a root barrier.

agcivengineer said:

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Your expansion joints are really unnecessary ...

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I must have taken a different class then you.

tamc93 said:

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Rachel 98 said:

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maddiedou said:

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Round up and get ready to plant a new tree for your quota of two

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LOL I like the way you think!! Will Round Up take care of a live oak?

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It would..

Easier long term solution (assuming the tree is far enough from the driveway) - trench along the driveway to cut the roots and place a root barrier.

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Far enough away?

Nope. It stuck in some areas, but only a minor amount.

I actually debated whether or not to do that and in fact there are some areas where i did it. There really isnt enough concrete length in the driveway that could possibly expand enough to justify expansion joints other than where it touches your house foundation, but even then the mortar would probably crack / crush anyway if you didnt use sealant. The other issue is i wasnt sure how well the new concrete would bond longitudinally to the sides on the old concrete, so the sealant allows for the differential movement.

Not much besides the cement type. I actually used a quickcrete with small pea gravel in it...i wish i used a material of only sand / cement as that would have been easier to place.

tamc93 said:

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agcivengineer said:

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Your expansion joints are really unnecessary ...

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I must have taken a different class then you.

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Im fairly certain i took quite a bit more classes in concrete pavement design and have more credibility on this topic than most. I now actually serve the senior capstone design classes at A&M as an industry advisor to them on pavement design. Im guessing my father probably taught the class you took on this topic....

Probably so. I would probably cut a trench 6-inches or so off the driveway a couple of feet deep or until you hit rock (I think you are in Austin). I doubt removing those roots would damage the tree, but you were also considering round up.

The panel in the picture looks like it has settled/lifted. It may be worth looking at replacing it in the future, but probably not that big of deal other than asthetics.