LESLIE: Darryl in Iowa is on the line with a patio question. How can we help you with your project?
DARRYL: Well, I have a paver walkway from my driveway to my front door and it’s about six, maybe seven years old. And all of a sudden, last summer, it disintegrated.
TOM: Wow.
DARRYL: And I don’t – and here where we live, we have four distinct seasons, pretty much. But I didn’t use salt; I never have. I don’t know – that’s what I want to ask: is there any kind of a sealant or protectant that we could put on that to help it a little bit or …?
TOM: No, not really. Now when you say disintegrated, do you mean the concrete surface is disintegrating?
DARRYL: No, the thing just went by like mush.
TOM: The brick just fell apart?
LESLIE: Weird.
DARRYL: Yeah, the brick. Yes, yes.
TOM: Wow.
DARRYL: I was just flabbergasted.
LESLIE: Like completely through and through? Not just the colored layer on the top?
DARRYL: Well, there – OK, let’s put it this way: probably half of them are mush and then the other half are just the skin on top has come off, yeah. You might say that.
TOM: Well, here is what I suspect. I suspect that because of the most recent winter that occurred before this, they may have gotten very, very wet and then froze. And in doing so, they would have expanded and cracked internally, which made them very weak. And add to that, the expansion and contraction of another few months of weather and they can start to really show that and actually start to fall apart.
That’s the only thing that I think would make sense that happened here. There is no repair for that but because they’re pavers, you should be able to replace them. Are they all deteriorated or is it just certain ones?
DARRYL: No, it’s pretty much the whole walk. The whole walk, you just, well – no more than I could say about – just go ahead and redo it.
TOM: Yeah.
DARRYL: But in doing that, then I wonder if there’s any way I can help it or not, really?
TOM: Nah, you shouldn’t have to. I mean how old was that walk now?
DARRYL: I’d say six, seven years old. Maybe seven.
TOM: Yeah. Typically, you don’t put any kind of sealant on them. You just don’t. So I would replace it with concrete pavers.
DARRYL: Yep, that’s it then. OK.
TOM: Alright, Darryl. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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