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My neighbor's 'just pour concrete over the weeds' advice finally bit me back
He insisted last summer that mixing gravel into the concrete was a waste, so now I've got a cracked patio that looks like a spiderweb after only one freeze-thaw cycle. Anyone else dealing with a DIY shortcut that turned into a bigger project?
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noahhall3mo ago
...and the funny thing is, nobody ever talks about how your soil type determines everything. If you've got clay soil like I do, concrete over weeds is basically a death wish because the ground shifts so much when it freezes. You needed a proper base of compacted gravel for drainage and stability, not just a gravel mix. Did you check your soil before you poured, or did you just trust the neighbor?
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walker.andrew3mo ago
Right, because who needs soil science when your neighbor has a truck and a good attitude about free gravel. My soil is basically 50% clay, 40% regret, and 10% ambition, so I'll just wait for the first frost to crack my new patio in half. At least the weeds won't grow back, because they'll be buried under a nice layer of rubble.
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