Old Patio Slabs - Advise Please

alongwaytotipp

Hi, I bought my house a few years ago and it has a patio area that is impossible to keep clean. Initially I powerhosed the area and cleared the joints and filled them with dry mortar mix but a year later and the joints are full of weeds again. Looking at it in more detail I think the problem is that the slabs are too close together to get any proper amount of mortar in between. See the attached pics. To fix this it looks like I'll have to lift all slabs and move them to ensure larger joints in between. I have broken slabs also to make the job even more of a challenge . The area is about 45sq m so it will take a bit of time... Is this the best solution or any other suggestions ?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

You can get a small wire brush on a long handle - Eurogiant has them at the moment. No need to lift the slaps. Just scrap off the weed growth.

Charlie19

I done something similar when I moved into a previously owned home. I lifted all the slabs and got rid of the broken ones. I relayed the existing ones in the center of the garden and bought similar size ones to surround the old. I made the gaps between slabs slightly bigger and added a wet sand and cement mix and just swept it into the gaps. Ten years on and there is no weeds protruding the gaps.