LESLIE: Mike in North Carolina is dealing with a sidewalk issue. What’s going on?
MIKE: Well, the house is 22 years old but I have brick pavers for a sidewalk.
TOM: Very nice.
MIKE: And one of them has come loose.
TOM: OK.
MIKE: And I want to know how to secure it back down and where it won’t be like – you know, put down a half-inch of plaster or something so it’s not sticking up above all the rest of them.
TOM: OK, so it’s brick pavers. So there’s no mortar, right? They’re just setting right in there like puzzle pieces?
MIKE: Right. They were sitting, I guess, on top of some kind of mortar-type adhesive but there’s nothing in between them.
TOM: (overlapping voices) Alright. OK, so is there – can you pull it out? I mean is there something underneath that’s making it loose? Is it on the edge? Why is it loose?
MIKE: It’s on the edge and I have no idea why it came loose. It was sitting firmly in the setting.
TOM: Alright, two things. You need to – there are different types of retention systems that are used to hold pavers in at the edge but you could use something as simple as mix up some QUIKRETE and put a little bit of mortar against the outer edge. And then the second thing is there’s a sand, a locking sand, that QUIKRETE makes.
LESLIE: It’s called JOINT-LOCK.
TOM: JOINT-LOCK, that’s right. And basically, use the JOINT-LOCK. You put it across the entire patio or walkway surface …
LESLIE: And you kind of sweep it in and it falls in between all of the little cracks and where the mortar would go if you had any.
TOM: Right. And then you wet it down with a hose. It solidifies and then it locks everything in place.
LESLIE: Exactly. It keeps the weeds out; it keeps the bugs out. And then, if you ever need to replace a paver, you just kind of jiggle it loose and it goes (suction sound) and it pops out.
MIKE: That sounds great. That’s what I’ll do.
TOM: Alright, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
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