Things You'll Need
2-by-2 wood planks
12-inch-long 3/8-inch carriage bolts
Sledgehammer
Dirt
Electric drill and bits
Concrete filler
Hand saw or electric saw
How to Replace a Concrete Driveway Wooden Spacer. Wooden spacers were commonly used as control joints for concrete driveways. The spacers helped break up the concrete into smaller slabs that were less likely to crack. While this method often ensures that the concrete will last for many years, the wooden spacers themselves may rot over time. If your driveway has a wooden spacer that has rotted out, it's time to replace it.
Step 1
Go through your driveway and examine the condition of each wooden spacer. If one wooden spacer is rotted out, it's likely the others will be too.
Video of the Day
Step 2
Remove the rotted out wooden spacers and measure them for length. You'll need to add up the length of the bad wooden spacers to determine how much new wood you need to buy.
Step 3
Measure the spaces between the concrete slabs to determine what size wood planks you need. In older homes, 2-by-4 planks were commonplace, but you can replace them with 2-by-2 planks.
Step 4
Purchase one 2-by-2 plank and see how it will fit into the concrete spaces before you order the entire amount of lumber you will need.
Step 5
Spread an approximately 2-inch layer of dirt into the concrete spaces to build up the bottom of the space to compensate for using thinner wooden spacers.
Step 6
Cut 2-by-2 wooden planks to size to replace all of the spacers you removed.
Step 7
Drill holes through the planks at 4-foot intervals to accommodate the carriage bolts.
Step 8
Nail carriage bolts through the holes and deep into the ground using a sledgehammer. These bolts will keep the wood anchored to the ground.
Step 9
Fill the gaps between the concrete slabs and the new wooden spacers with concrete filler to protect the driveway from water penetration.
Tip
If you are replacing a very old wooden spacer, you may have to get rough lumber cut to fit in its place. The dimensions of pre-cut lumber these days are different than they were in the old days, so there may be a discrepancy. Choose carriage bolts that are treaded all the way to the head. The threads grab onto the wood securely.
Warning
Choose lumbar with straight grain to decrease the likelihood that it will warp or bend. If you feel as if a board will want to bend, place the concave side down.
Video of the Day