Bird
Epic Contributor
I got a lot of good information, advice, and help with this thread, and I finally got some weather to put it to use. Home Depot only had the backer rod in one size; 3/4" which still did not really fit snug in the crevices.
The first picture is where the 3' wide sidewalk adjoins the driveway. Yesterday afternoon, I put two strands of the backer rod in that crevice, then applied one 10.1 oz. tube of gray Sikaflex SL sealant. It looked good when I finished, but when I went back later, I found that the sealant had leaked down around the backer rod unevenly; not too bad, but not good either. So, this morning, when I did the rest of the job, I added some of the sealant and hope the fresh stuff adheres well to that which was applied 16-17 hours earlier.
The second and third pictures are of the 16' driveway at the garage door apron. Again, I first inserted two strands of the backer rod. Then I added 20-25 pounds of sand and worked it down over, but also around, the backer rod with a wide putty knife. And finally I applied almost all (not quite all) of two 29 oz. tubes of the same sealant. Not as pretty and neat as I'd expect from a professional, but I guess not too bad for an old amateur.
The pictures might have come out better if I'd taken them early, before the sun and shadows showed up.
The fourth picture is a sample of the (hairline?) or larger cracks in several places in the driveway. After wet weather, it seems that some moisture wicks up through those cracks. They're definitely too small to use the Sikaflex on them, but is there a sealant you'd recommend? And the dark, or black, part of the photo is the shadow from the tree behind me.
The first picture is where the 3' wide sidewalk adjoins the driveway. Yesterday afternoon, I put two strands of the backer rod in that crevice, then applied one 10.1 oz. tube of gray Sikaflex SL sealant. It looked good when I finished, but when I went back later, I found that the sealant had leaked down around the backer rod unevenly; not too bad, but not good either. So, this morning, when I did the rest of the job, I added some of the sealant and hope the fresh stuff adheres well to that which was applied 16-17 hours earlier.
The second and third pictures are of the 16' driveway at the garage door apron. Again, I first inserted two strands of the backer rod. Then I added 20-25 pounds of sand and worked it down over, but also around, the backer rod with a wide putty knife. And finally I applied almost all (not quite all) of two 29 oz. tubes of the same sealant. Not as pretty and neat as I'd expect from a professional, but I guess not too bad for an old amateur.
The pictures might have come out better if I'd taken them early, before the sun and shadows showed up.
The fourth picture is a sample of the (hairline?) or larger cracks in several places in the driveway. After wet weather, it seems that some moisture wicks up through those cracks. They're definitely too small to use the Sikaflex on them, but is there a sealant you'd recommend? And the dark, or black, part of the photo is the shadow from the tree behind me.