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Wooden driveway expansion joints advise needed

3K views 25 replies 13 participants last post by  poppadawg 
#1 ·
Our house is about 15 years old. The wood used in the expansion joints are for the most part gone. Is there any reason other than cosmetic that I should fix this?
 
#4 ·
you need to dig any remaining wood out of the joint. Install backer rod and caulk with a self leveling caulk. The reason is to keep water from infiltrating at the crack. this will cause the soil to epand more than than othere areas under the concrete and will lead to cracks in the concrete.
 
#7 ·
This!
The concrete will also lift above the the section next to it, making A very uneven surface and a need to replace the whole drive way. Be sure to use the backer rod, because the caulk will just keep going down if you don't. The backer rod is cheap but the caulk is about $13.00 a tube and it don't go very far without the backer rod. Don't ask me how I know.lol I got the supplies at Home Depot.
 
#9 ·
Not really!! You can get by without them there since I'm sure after 15 years, your slab has settled for the most part. Its only going to expand and contract with the weather. If you cant stand the site like me. I've been researching different products to fill mine in and make it look nice again. I found theres a bunch of stuff at Lowes and Home depot to do it but I also found a company here in Houston that makes Slab gasket. I'm really thinking about going with the slab gasket cause it does look good and seem really easy to put down. www.slabgasket.com
 
#21 ·
Expansion joints are just that...for expansion as well as contraction. If done right, you would use a material that could be compressed by the 2 now separated slabs(yes separate, run the joint all the way through). Within that joint on 12" or 18" centers would be slick dowels (size dependent on thickness of slab) greased on one side and bare on the other to allow for the concretes expansion and contraction due to temperature changes. The bars sole purpose is to maintain the connection and elevation of the 2 (now separate) slabs.
Control joints (dummy joints) sole purpose is for aesthetic reasons. Either sawed or tooled, their sole purpose is to give the concrete somewhere to crack that can be "beautified" so to speak. The crack is hidden within the joint so it remains unseen to the untrained eye.
Most longer paving areas are separated with expansion joints with control/dummy joints mixed equally (again, aesthetics) within them.
 
#22 ·
I replaced driveway Joints with this

I had kids running around barefoot, playing basketball, etc. & I was worried about splinters from the old wood joints. It was a bit tedious, I had to remove the old wood, run a side grinder with a wire wheel to clean the edges, prime with their primer, & then pour the joints. I bought in bulk instead of caulk tubes cause I had quite a bit to repair. I bought cheap flower pot water buckets, cut the snout off & wahla, new joints. This stuff sticks good.

http://www.cmcconstructionservices.com/sheplers-performance-products/#jointsealant
 
#24 ·
I had kids running around barefoot, playing basketball, etc. & I was worried about splinters from the old wood joints. It was a bit tedious, I had to remove the old wood, run a side grinder with a wire wheel to clean the edges, prime with their primer, & then pour the joints. I bought in bulk instead of caulk tubes cause I had quite a bit to repair. I bought cheap flower pot water buckets, cut the snout off & wahla, new joints. This stuff sticks good.

http://www.cmcconstructionservices.com/sheplers-performance-products/#jointsealant
I prefer SL1 and will occasionally use an Adeka product.
Explanation to those that don't know.
Most expansion joint material if done right will come with a removable top (from the top of concrete approximately a 1/2" down by 1/2" wide.).
After pouring (usually the next day) you would come and remove the "cap", sawcut for control joints, and then place a backer rod (only purpose is to create a barrier and use less sealant later) and then seal the joint with any of the above mentioned sealants.
The sealants purpose is to seal the top of the joint to prevent any dirt or other debris from filling the expansion void. If the void becomes filled, you could wind up with a nice triangular concrete section.
Seen it my self in Silsbee a few years back. Almost 2' high where the 2 adjoining slabs apexed. lol....would you want to be the guy that hit that at 35mph:D
 
#23 · (Edited)
Well, guess I have been in the business for a long time as well. But a much larger scale then most.

You do not want water to have a direct path under your driveway or sidewalk. It will degrade the subgrade. No amount of natural seepage will come anywhere close to the amount of water intrusion compared to a direct path. Same can be said for dry air, if you have a direct path for air to contact your subgrade you are going to get a lot of movement unless the subgrade has a PI close to 0.

Clean,backer rod and seal the joints.
 
#26 ·
Man who knew expansion joints were such a divisive issue. I don't really like the way the missing expansion joints look. But the chauking sounds real tedious. That slab gasket looks much easier. Anybody used slabgasket? Was it easy? Was it cheap? I'm a big fan of cheap and easy.
 
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