Is there an easy way to remove grass and weeds from a brick driveway?

[megonthemoon]

We have recently moved and the house has a big brick driveway (enough for 4-5 cars). The bricks are quite small, and there is grass and weeds growing up between all the cracks, so there is a lot to clear!

We tried a weedkiller in a small area to see what happened, but it just browned the grass and it is still very rooted so we might as well just go round digging it all up without using weedkiller IYSWIM.

Problem is I am 23wks pg and big, and we have a toddler, so the thought of having to get on hands and knees and go brick by brick is filling DH and I with dread as it would take several weekends given the amount of pestering DS would do and limited amount of bending I can do.

Any quick and easy ways of removing large areas of grass and weeds ourselves, or should we just pay someone to do it?

We used to have a landscaping business and I'd advise weekkiller (Round up as it's systemic and kills the roots). If it's a large area get a spray bottle that goes on your back and mix it up in litres, rather than those spray guns you get in the garden centre. It will be far less time consuming and cheaper.

Leave it for a couple of weeks, then get a power jet hose (you can hire them daily or buy one for £120). After you do jet the weeds out, you need to brush sand mix back over the drive to refill the gaps - you will need to do this anyway. (you get it delivered from a builder's merchant and they dump it on the drive, then sweep with a hard brush. It will drop into the crevices). You can mix cement into the sand which will inhibit weeds, but normally it's just sharp sand from the builder's merchant.

Otherwise, it's down on your hands and knees with a fork trowel - it'll help the baby get in the right position though.

xx

Ah, thanks marmitetoastie! We'll give that a go and then if it doesn't work I'll probably get desperate in early September, when I'll be on my hands and knees turning this baby and achieving weed-free living at the same time

Try a weed burner, no nasty chemicals, and it's fun to use too. It's like an innocent flame thrower that vapourises plants on contact.

Extremely satisfying, and quick.