How To Remove Wood Expansion Joint

Trim-A-Slab Production Info

Trim-A-Slab is a replacement for rotted and onetime wood typically establish betwixt slabs in driveways and sidewalks. This wood was used during the slab construction, and is part of the 'formwork' used to define the size and shape of the slab. One time the cement had cured, information technology remained to suit movement of the slab equally it is heated in summertime and cooled in winter. This forest and then functions as an 'expansion articulation', but not very well.

The problem is that what makes good formwork does not necessarily make a adept expansion articulation. The elements conspire to attack and destroy the wood, fifty-fifty if it was a rot resistant variety or pressure-treated to resist rot. Moisture allows leaner to attack and suspension it down, movements open gaps which allow dirt and roots in, and eventually, the formwork looks a lot more than like potting soil than wood.

Unless treated with weed-killers, your driveway can easily look like the one pictured below. Of course, chemical weed-killers are likewise undesirable, equally driveways are near always very shut to tempest drains. The best way to keep chemicals out of your local watershed and fisheries is not to use them at all.

Trim-A-Slab

Trim-A-Slab is made from a safety-similar material that flexes and holds itself into the gap between concrete slabs. It is immune to rot, moves with slab expansion and contraction, and is non affected by wet. It provides a redundant barrier to weed growth, and most importantly, does not trap clay and debris like wood and other less flexible products. It volition make your driveway easier to continue make clean.

Trim-A-Slab is a patented design (United states of america 8,132,380), and is intended for slabs with radius (rounded) edges, and will fit and stay just below the surface without any special training. The exposed surface is slightly recessed, and is resistant to damage from foot and car traffic.

The clean, finished appearance is something your family unit and your neighbors will notice right away. You don't have to accept our word on it, our customer testimonials say it better than nosotros can. It's virtually maintenance costless, and in case you need to run wires beyond your driveway for Christmas lights or an irrigation system, Trim-A-Slab tin can be removed and re-installed, no problem.

Trim-A-Slab is available in half dozen sizes, three/sixteen″, 3/8″, 1/2″, 3/four″, 1″, and 1-3/eight″. Trim-A-Slab sizes follow THE GAP THAT You lot ARE FILLING. Trim-a-slab comes in black, cement grey, or walnut. Cull black for the lowest maintenance or an accented appearance. Choose grayness to alloy in. Walnut goes well in stamped or stained driveways. Delight note, Walnut and Grey volition testify tire marks after a while, but they clean upward easily with soap and water. All are guaranteed for up to 10 years for structural integrity, and then whichever await y'all prefer, you tin can be sure it will terminal.

Trim-A-Slab is bachelor in pre-cut rolls, which weigh less than 20 pounds each, and so if you do desire to install yourself, it's like shooting fish in a barrel to handle. Visit the DIY installation page for all y'all demand to know about installing Trim-A-Slab. If y'all aren't the do-it-yourself type, visit the professional installation page for a list of installers, who will take care of the whole job for you lot.

Cost Comparing

When information technology comes to expansion joint repair, there are a few options to consider. You lot can supervene upon the wood with new forest, supervene upon it with caulk, or replace it with a filler strip. Of these options, wood is clearly the worst. Information technology is the hardest to fit dorsum into the infinite, and there is no easy manner to secure information technology. Whatsoever warping tending to lift information technology out of the joint volition create a protruding trip hazard. Nevertheless bug explained above with new wood remain also, so weeds will establish themselves in the cracks, and in a few years the procedure will take to be repeated.

The next thing to consider is the caulk-similar repair. This method has more than a few issues also. The material will make full the void space completely, which is good, merely any subsequent caulk shrinkage or motion of the slab to open the articulation will pull the caulk from the concrete and create a vertical crack. This crack and then fills with dirt, droppings, and finally weeds. The caulk-like fillers but don't take enough compliance (which is pure stretching) to fill an expanding gap.

These materials as well must be installed with some planning and skill. The depth of the evacuated joint must be closely controlled in guild to be able to correctly gauge the amount of stuff needed to fill the joint. This can be washed past back-filling the joint with sand, or by installing a filler strip (backer rod) which is pushed down to the desired depth. The filler strip is fairly easy to utilize, but the finished expansion joint is actually poorly supported, and tin collapse down into the articulation over time or due to human foot or wheeled traffic. Lastly, the caulk-based repairs are a viscous gluey liquid which must cure. This means information technology must be installed carefully, and in a controlled way to get a nice end product. The following instructions are from a tube of proper noun-make physical and mortar filler and sealant:

" Instructions from a self leveling caulk tube"

Utilize in temperatures over forty F
Do not apply when rain or freezing temperatures are forecast
Joint should not exceed i/two broad by 1/two deep
Let to cure for 24 hours before direct exposure to water
Completely dry in 7-14 days
These are a lot of restrictions, and in add-on, if your driveway is sloped, the material will run downhill, and may be difficult to keep where y'all want it.

The best method is to re-make full the gap with a 'compliant filler strip';Trim-A-Slab. A compliant strip, which is compressed when installed, is able to expand back to a larger size when the slabs motility away from each other. Neither woods nor caulk fillers can exercise this. The more compliant the strip, the greater the range of motion that the joint can accept without becoming loose and allowing dirt and weeds to accumulate.Trim-A-Slab is very compliant, and then much so that information technology takes only four sizes to fill gaps from 3/8″ wide (near half the diameter of a dime) all the style up to one and 5/8″ broad. This compliance also makes Trim-A-Slab incredibly like shooting fish in a barrel to install. Virtually of the time, it can exist installed by hand.

The table beneath summarizes the cost, as well equally some of the other factors which should exist considered when deciding on a repair for your expansion joints.

Equally yous can see, Trim-A-Slab is a clear choice for families that lack time, tools, skill, and wish to save some money on a simple DIY project. Trim-A-Slab installs fast, virtually a foot per infinitesimal. A typical ii auto driveway with 100 ft of expansion joints is done in about an hour and a half. Information technology will accept about 37 tubes of caulk to do the same job! How many squeezes of the caulk gun is that?