On Apr 29, 9:30�pm, tenplay wrote:
We will be selling our 28 year old home in Washington in a few months.
* * * The concrete driveway leading from the street to our 3 car garage
has some cracks and gaps through which weeds tend to grow. *Is there a
faster and less expensive way to make it more presentable than replacing
the whole driveway? *Someone suggested having a layer of asphalt applied
by an asphalt contractor. *Is that a good solution? *Thanks for any
advice or suggestions.

yeah asphalt is your best bet, patching will look well patched.

get a home inspector to do a pre sale inspection, it will be a eye
opener and its way cheaper to fix things now than wait till the buyers
home inspector finds stuff and your told we want a receipt from a
registered plumber, electrician etc to do some easy DIY jobs like
replace outlets etc,

its money well spent.

"tenplay" wrote in message
news
We will be selling our 28 year old home in Washington in a few months. The
concrete driveway leading from the street to our 3 car garage has some
cracks and gaps through which weeds tend to grow. Is there a faster and
less expensive way to make it more presentable than replacing the whole
driveway? Someone suggested having a layer of asphalt applied by an
asphalt contractor. Is that a good solution? Thanks for any advice or
suggestions.
28 years, it's gonna have a few cracks. As long as none of the sections have
heaved, not a big deal. Pull the weeds, spray a little roundup down there.
They sell a gray goop in caulking tubes for this very application. If the
cracks are wide, you may need some of the plastic rope stuff in the bin next
to the gray goop, to stuff in there first.

An asphalt overlay, or a rip'n' replace, would be throwing money away. As
long a current driveway is in servicable condition, you won't make the money
back on sale.

aem sends...

We will be selling our 28 year old home in Washington in a few months.
The concrete driveway leading from the street to our 3 car garage
has some cracks and gaps through which weeds tend to grow. Is there a
faster and less expensive way to make it more presentable than replacing
the whole driveway? Someone suggested having a layer of asphalt applied
by an asphalt contractor. Is that a good solution? Thanks for any
advice or suggestions.

"tenplay" wrote in message
news
We will be selling our 28 year old home in Washington in a few months. The
concrete driveway leading from the street to our 3 car garage has some
cracks and gaps through which weeds tend to grow. Is there a faster and
less expensive way to make it more presentable than replacing the whole
driveway? Someone suggested having a layer of asphalt applied by an
asphalt contractor. Is that a good solution? Thanks for any advice or
suggestions.

They make a product called PourStone, but it also goes by other names. It
looks just like flour, and mixes with water. You want it runny like pancake
batter.

Clean out the cracks, with a blower, RoundUp, screwdriver, power washer,
just get it clean. I'd put some RoundUp in the cracks just to keep down
future weed growth, then wash it in a bit so the slurry patch will stick to
the concrete.

Mix the PourStone about as much as a milkshake at a time. It sets fast, and
you don't want to mix any more than you can use at one time. Pour it right
in the crack. If it only fills it half way up, that's okay, because you let
it sit for half an hour to an hour, then the next run will make it flush
with the surface.

Try to fill it up, but not overfill. Like drywall mud, when it dries, the
surface will drop a little. Don't try to use a putty knife on it to get it
flat, or it will look like paint smears where it gets on the old concrete.
Just let it flow into the cracks and follow them on its own.

This stuff will look lighter than the concrete color, but if put in
properly, will make a nice patch that will look a whole lot better than what
you got now. I've used it to install wrought iron railings in core drilled
holes, fill cracks, fill holes where you cut off pipes, etc. It's good
stuff, just go easy so you don't end up throwing any away. When you empty
the mixing can (use a coffee can), add a little water, and make a thin
slurry which you then use as the bottom layer in any crack.

If you really want it to match your concrete, get some colored sand the same
as your concrete. When you pour the slurry in and the crack's full, dribble
some sand on top and let it dry without touching it. When dry in a few
hours, wash off the excess sand. It'll be pretty close to your concrete
color if you've picked the right sand.

Let us know how it works. I've used this stuff a lot and it's real handy,
tho there's a couple of tricks. Mix it thin, and don't mix too much at
once.

Steve

TODAY we DIY and home repairers arent the average home buyer.

Today people want perfect homes in move in condition, and their first
view of the home better be good, or they wouldnt even consider buying.
curb appeal is everything.

about 90% want move in perfect leaving just 10% who are willing to do
some minor or major repairs. worse most buyers today buy up to the
most expensive home they can buy. leaving no money for repairs after
purchase.

a cracked driveway will get them thinking there are other troubles
they cant see.

Now people HERE will disagree because were not the norm.

Heck when working on my home I feel like I am bonding with it some
way, I get real great feelings doing stuff, and feel pride when its
complete.

but we here arent the average buyer, and again spend a few hundred and
get a pre inspection which will catch all sorts of issues before they
freak out a perspective buyer.

On 29 Apr 2007 19:01:56 -0700, "
wrote:

TODAY we DIY and home repairers arent the average home buyer.

Today people want perfect homes in move in condition, and their first
view of the home better be good, or they wouldnt even consider buying.
curb appeal is everything.

about 90% want move in perfect leaving just 10% who are willing to do
some minor or major repairs. worse most buyers today buy up to the
most expensive home they can buy. leaving no money for repairs after
purchase.

a cracked driveway will get them thinking there are other troubles
they cant see.

Now people HERE will disagree because were not the norm.


The question isn't whether the cracked driveway will turn
some people off. It will. The question is whether
putting a couple thousand dollars into fixing it will
result in a sale that's either at couple thousand dollars
more, or a couple months sooner. The answer to that depends
on the state of the housing market in your area. If you're
the only house for sale for a couple miles in any direction,
I wouldn't worry about it. If there are 6 houses for sale
in your developement alone, fix the driveway.