New Driveway / Weed Issue

[Buckles90]

In May last year (2020), I had some quotes from driveway companies. I researched the companies online and chose one of them I was happy with based on the price and reviews I found online.

 

Approximately 3 months after the work was completed I noticed weeds growing up through the new tarmac in a few spots. I contacted the company and they came back and dug them out/de-weeded and patched the holes back up. Over winter no more weeds grew back so I thought the problem had gone away (how naive I was).

 

Fast forward to Feb/March of this year and the weeds started growing again with a vengeance, popping up almost everywhere across the new tarmac.

 

The weed - I believe it's called Horsetail or Mare's Tail (Equisetum Arvense). From what I've read, it's an absolute pain to get rid of. The weed seems to have have spread across from my neighbour's garden which is full of this weed.

 

I have uploaded pictures here to show how bad the situation is: https://imgur.com/a/vNA218Q

 

The company came back round and gave me 3 options -

1. We complete the de-weed process again with very strong weed killer
2. They re-do the drive but they said there's no guarentee the weeds won't come back
3. They give me a partial refund and it becomes my problem to treat/solve

 

--

 

Do you think the driveway hasn't been done correctly (thick enough, etc) or is the weed just that bad?

 

Would be great to hear from someone who has gone through a similar situation/someone in the industry and their opinion?

 

Thank you in advance!

[Ronan 1]

Sounds like someone didn't do a very good job there,  weeds coming through the tarmac should not be an issue so early on. What was the spec and depth of the tarmac and what was the build up of the driveway?

Do not take some cash of and let them off the hook regardless.

Edited May 23, 2021 by Ronan 1

[jfb]

I would want to know what the buildup is. Maybe you could dig up a little bit (or even where one of the plants is coming through) and see. Should really have from top down, tarmac, hardcore, membrane. Find out the depths of the tarmac and hardcore underneath.

[TonyT]

Option 2 

 

[Ferdinand]

Talk to your home builings 'insurance  company too.

 

Damage to your driveway may be covered by the policy, and in this case the cause is encroachment by an invasive plant. That sounds enough like a neighbour's tree dropping branches on your roof (for which they are liable if aware of the hazard) as to be worth a conversation.

 

As to dealing with it - potentially a helluva job. Weedkiller may be multiple applications of full strength whatever. There's no point relaying a drive if you haven't got rid of it. It will probably come down to weedkilling until it is dead.  

 

So I would go for 3 and 50% refund, and try your insurance company.

 

I would want to see if repeated weedkillings (ay 3 times a year) is a management strategy.

 

Ferdinand

 

[Temp]

We had an issue with mares tail in Belgium but ony in one flower bed. From what I can find on the web Mares Tail is able to grow through hardcore, tarmac and weed control membranes...

 

https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/983962/mares-tail-what-to-do

 

https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/999541/best-weed-membrane-for-horsetail

 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6026745/tarmac-driveway-some-advice-please

 

I think if they did a half decent job first time around they are being generous with options 2 and 3.

 

I'm thinking that tarmac might not be best choice. At least with gravel the weeds don't break it up.

 

This youtube vid has interesting recommendation for killing it but we ended up moving so I havent tried it..

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2021 by Temp

[Buckles90]

On 23/05/2021 at 14:00, Ronan 1 said:

Sounds like someone didn't do a very good job there,  weeds coming through the tarmac should not be an issue so early on. What was the spec and depth of the tarmac and what was the build up of the driveway?

Do not take some cash of and let them off the hook regardless.

 

My feeling deep down is that they didn't do a proper job to be honest. I would never expect weeds to grow in the middle of the tarmac within 1 year, let alone a few months. I'm not entirely sure on the spec as I trusted them to do the job properly after seeing all their good reviews online.

 

I know the top layer of tarmac is about 4 inches deep, maybe a bit more. But I don't know the thickness of the rest. 

 

 

On 23/05/2021 at 14:23, jfb said:

I would want to know what the buildup is. Maybe you could dig up a little bit (or even where one of the plants is coming through) and see. Should really have from top down, tarmac, hardcore, membrane. Find out the depths of the tarmac and hardcore underneath.

 

As above, I'm not too sure about the thicknesses apart from the top layer.

 

I have already thought about digging down to one root to see how deep it goes but I'm hesitant because I thought it might completely damage the tarmac that I dig up...

 

On 23/05/2021 at 14:40, TonyT said:

Option 2 

 

 

I think I'm going to get them to de-weed again first and may go for option 2 if it doesn't fix the issue. 

 

On 23/05/2021 at 14:58, Ferdinand said:

Talk to your home builings 'insurance  company too.

 

Damage to your driveway may be covered by the policy, and in this case the cause is encroachment by an invasive plant. That sounds enough like a neighbour's tree dropping branches on your roof (for which they are liable if aware of the hazard) as to be worth a conversation.

 

As to dealing with it - potentially a helluva job. Weedkiller may be multiple applications of full strength whatever. There's no point relaying a drive if you haven't got rid of it. It will probably come down to weedkilling until it is dead.  

 

So I would go for 3 and 50% refund, and try your insurance company.

 

I would want to see if repeated weedkillings (ay 3 times a year) is a management strategy.

 

Ferdinand

 

 

Using house insurance never crossed my mind but that's an interesting option. I may look into this dependant on what happens with the company over the next month or so. 

 

I did start to weed-killer it myself when I saw the weeds but got fed up and called the company to come back around initially. That's how the ball got started about my options from them. 

 

I'm tempted to get the whole drive re-done but worried that the same thing will happen again! The refund/weed killer myself is a very tempting option right now.

 

On 23/05/2021 at 16:52, Temp said:

We had an issue with mares tail in Belgium but ony in one flower bed. From what I can find on the web Mares Tail is able to grow through hardcore, tarmac and weed control membranes...

 

https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/983962/mares-tail-what-to-do

 

https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/999541/best-weed-membrane-for-horsetail

 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6026745/tarmac-driveway-some-advice-please

 

I think if they did a half decent job first time around they are being generous with options 2 and 3.

 

I'm thinking that tarmac might not be best choice. At least with gravel the weeds don't break it up.

 

This youtube vid has interesting recommendation for killing it but we ended up moving so I havent tried it..

 

 

 

 

I'm actually tried the WD40 trick already but it didn't do much good. But that might be because I didn't weed killer the root, only the top of the holes where the weeds were showing. 

 

-- 

 

Thank you all for your replies, very helpful! Taking everything on board right now. 

 

Bit of an update... The company have agreed to try option 1 for now and then we can discuss further options later on. They said they can't do it until we've got dry weather (understandable) and it's been raining non stop lately by me (bloody typical!!). 

[Bitpipe]

Remember that teram is not weed control fabric as it's woven. I've tried to use it as such without success.

 

What membrane would guarantee against weeds?

 

I suppose there is always a risk of puncture from the material below so maybe you need teram AND membrane?

Edited May 24, 2021 by Bitpipe

[Mr Punter]

Sadly there is no easy answer.  You could let the weeds grow and spray with a very strong glyphosate mix several times in the growing season.  May take a few years.  You could concrete the area, as the horsetail will not break through decent concrete.

[Temp]

Google suggests...

 

https://www.hygienesuppliesdirect.com/pearl-super-concentrated-horse-tail-and-mares-tail-weed-killer

 

[Ferdinand]

I was wondering about a (say) 4" concrete drive.

 

Potentially you could have it either trad plank-textured, or imprinted. 

 

I bet they are happy with you weedkilling it several times ?

[Buckles90]

Hey all, so bit of an update...

The company came back round last week and they got rid of all the visible weeds and put down very strong weedkiller.

Afterwards, we discussed options going forward and I decided on a refund. We came to an agreement of about 1/3 of what I paid. He agreed to pay on that evening.

They didn't refund me that evening and said they were really struggling to pay because of outgoing finances on a current job and would pay me at the end of the week. End of the week cameby - no payment so I called them. He said he would come round with cash the next day (today). He never showed up.

I've left a voicemail and tried messaging him this morning. Still no reply. I'm not going to lie, I'm really pissed off and the whole situation is really getting to me now (tried to stay calm before)!

So I feel my only option right now is small claims court. Has anyone got experience of doing this to get 100% of their money back from a company? If so, would be great to get some advice.

[Mr Punter]

I think your chances of success depends on what was quoted for and agreed.  If you only asked for a wear layer of tarmac you may not fair so well.

 

If you asked them to excavate to a decent subgrade removing all vegetation, lay 150mm sub base, 50mm binder layer and 25mm wear layer then you are in with a very good shout.