Tired of stuff growing in between my travertine pavers

[Katodude]

Ground Clear is a combination of Glyphosate (roundup) and Imazapyr which is like a pre emergent.

 

[Pool_Medic]

Do your research on glyphosate, it’s nasty stuff.

 

[Katodude]

Oh I agree. Half the reason I am having the grout done is I dont want to spray that stuff or anything else for that matter. I am hoping by having a smoother crevice free area it will limit what can grow. Some pH neutral cleaner and a hose is all I want to use.

 

[Pool_Medic]

I have a butane torch that I use for pesky areas. Hey we all are fire bugs lol

 

[Katodude]

How would travertine react to a torch? I have used a mapp torch on my driveway before with good results, but those are regular pavers.

 

[Pool_Medic]

You won’t be applying that much heat to hurt them, once the flame hit the little seedlings they die soon after.

 

[duraleigh]

Just a note of interest for glyphosphate haters.......if you eat ANY grain crops here in the US, there is almost a 98% chance it has been sprayed with glyphosphate.

According to my cousin who runs a big agri-supply business in the midwest, virtually every grain seed produced in the US has been genetically altered to be "round up ready" and is advertised as such. (That means the grain is resistant to the overspray of roundup to control weeds in the fields).

It has been this way in excess of 15 years.

Here's an excerpt from an MIT document.... Looks like it was published in 2009

Roundup Ready crops are crops genetically modified to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup. Roundup is the brand-name of a herbicide produced by Monsanto. Its active ingredient glyphosate was patented in the 1970s. Roundup is widely used by both people in their backyards and farmers in their fields. Roundup Ready plants are resistant to Roundup, so farmers that plant these seeds must use Roundup to keep other weeds from growing in their fields.

The first Roundup Ready crops were developed in 1996, with the introduction of genetically modified soybeans that are resistant to Roundup. These crops were developed to help farmers control weeds. Because the new crops are resistant to Roundup, the herbicide can be used in the fields to eliminate unwanted foliage. Current Roundup Ready crops include soy, corn, canola, alfalfa, cotton, and sorghum, with wheat under development.

 

[Katodude]

Great, now I have to go throw up my sandwich.

 

[Pool_Medic]

Round up (glyphosate) has been linked to cancers and that’s the main reason a lot of countries have banned it. Do not fall for Monsanto’s false news. Have you heard of Celiac Disease? It’s not a reaction to gluten, it’s a reaction to glyphosate. Facts are facts, we are slowly poisoning ourselves.

 

[salty87]

Just a note of interest for glyphosphate haters.......if you eat ANY grain crops here in the US, there is almost a 98% chance it has been sprayed with glyphosphate.

According to my cousin who runs a big agri-supply business in the midwest, virtually every grain seed produced in the US has been genetically altered to be "round up ready" and is advertised as such. (That means the grain is resistant to the overspray of roundup to control weeds in the fields).

It has been this way in excess of 15 years.

Here's an excerpt from an MIT document.... Looks like it was published in 2009

Roundup Ready crops are crops genetically modified to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup. Roundup is the brand-name of a herbicide produced by Monsanto. Its active ingredient glyphosate was patented in the 1970s. Roundup is widely used by both people in their backyards and farmers in their fields. Roundup Ready plants are resistant to Roundup, so farmers that plant these seeds must use Roundup to keep other weeds from growing in their fields.

The first Roundup Ready crops were developed in 1996, with the introduction of genetically modified soybeans that are resistant to Roundup. These crops were developed to help farmers control weeds. Because the new crops are resistant to Roundup, the herbicide can be used in the fields to eliminate unwanted foliage. Current Roundup Ready crops include soy, corn, canola, alfalfa, cotton, and sorghum, with wheat under development.

Glyphosate showing up in our food supply (cereals, etc)- Cheerios, Nature Valley cereals contain Roundup ingredient, study finds

Monsanto is such a sweetheart company. Their roundup ready seeds infiltrate neighboring farms. Farmers can't kill them with the most dominate product on the market, namely roundup. Monsanto sues the farmers for stealing their seeds.

 

[duraleigh]

I am only stating a definite fact that I can prove......Roundup ready grains have been in your diet for the last 15 years plus.

BTW, I am pretty sure my niece was diagnosed with celiac's disease in her teens and she is now 54. Here's another excerpt from another website that appears pretty credible.....

Coeliac disease may have an ancient history dating back to the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. The first clear description was given by Samuel Gee in 1888. He suggested that dietary treatment might be of benefit. In the early 20th century various diets were tried, with some success, but without clear recognition of the toxic components. The doctoral thesis of Wim Dicke of 1950 established that exclusion of wheat, rye and oats from the diet led to dramatic improvement. The toxicity was shown to be a protein component, referred to as gluten. Dicke's colleagues, Weijers and Van de Kamer, showed that measurement of stool fat reflected the clinical condition. Early studies were in children but stool fat measurements documented that the condition could be recognised in adults. Histological abnormalities of the lining of the small intestine were demonstrated beyond doubt by Paulley in 1954 and techniques of per-oral biopsy described by Royer in 1955 and Shiner in 1956

All these references WA-A-AY before round up was invented.

So, this thread has been totally hi-jacked and needs to get back onto removing weeds from between tiles.......that was OP's issue and the thread needs to stay there.

This forum and especially this thread is not the place to discuss unproven medical beliefs and practices.

 

[Katodude]

BTW, going back to original thread the deck is looking good. There are some holes that need to come back and fill again. There is also a haze where they say they will come back to buff that out.

But it looks MUCH better, feels more solid, and there are no cracks or holes for weeds to come up. Not just weeds but the algae that grows in the cracks too.

 

[Katodude]

Here is a picture to compare the grouted vs not yet grouted section.

The whole deck has been done now and looks pretty good. Deciding if I want to apply a sealer to it now. I am leaning towards getting it done.

 

[Pool_Medic]

I would go for the sealer.

 

[Katodude]

Ok it was a little pricey, but I sprang for the sealer. I told them I wanted a “dry” look solvent based sealer. They are coming tomorrow to buff the deck again to remove the last of haze and hand fill in any remaining holes. Assuming there is no rain in the forecast they will apply the sealer as well.

 

[setsailsoon]

Weather looks pretty iffy 'till Saturday... I'm trying to finish my heater repair. Frustrating a little north of you also.

 

[Katodude]

Yep, the weather is crappy all over Florida. I am up in Tallahassee this week and freezing all my parts off. I dont have a problem waiting until next week to get it sealed. I really want to make sure they buff it all out right. I wont mind having a few days to stare at it and complain about dumb imperfections. There is still quite a haze on it.

Another rainy weekend and I might be able to install my new DIY pool controller.

 

[Katodude]

Well, its done. They buffed out all the remaining haze, and they sealed the deck.

It looks absolutely amazing. It really looks brand new. And there is no space for anything to grow in. We will see how it stands the tests of time, but for now I am thrilled.

 

[bmoreswim]

Well, its done. They buffed out all the remaining haze, and they sealed the deck.

It looks absolutely amazing. It really looks brand new. And there is no space for anything to grow in. We will see how it stands the tests of time, but for now I am thrilled.

Can we see the final sealed look?

 

[Katodude]

Still looks great, however, a byproduct of looking good is it shows dirt more, but the dirt is easily hosed off. It actually looks good enough where I might try the Roomba to clean it. I figure the stair avoidance feature should keep it out of the pool.