Natural Quartz Blends
Rounded quartz in golds, buffs and warm browns. The safe choice against red or stock brick, and the blend most people picture when they think of a resin drive. Finer grades read smoother, coarser grades read more textured.
Resin-bound driveways
Contemporary Resin Driveways.Seamlessly Finished.
Resin-bound paving offers a refined, contemporary appearance with a smooth, seamless finish. A wide selection of natural aggregate blends and contrasting borders allows each driveway to be tailored to the character of the property.
Our approach
A Finish Built on the Right Foundation
We manage the complete installation, including preparation, base construction, drainage, edging and the finished resin-bound surface.
The performance of a resin-bound driveway depends on the quality and suitability of the supporting base. We assess the existing conditions and construct the appropriate foundation to provide the stability and drainage required for a lasting installation.
- 18mmtypical depth of a resin-bound surface
- UVstable binder, so it does not yellow
- 850l/m²/hor more, the drainage a bound surface can pass
- 24hrbefore it takes foot traffic in fair weather
Construction depths and specifications are determined by the individual site, ground conditions, intended loading, drainage requirements and chosen paving system.
Bound or bonded
Two Different Things Sold Under One Word.
Resin-bound is stone mixed through the resin and trowelled flat. Resin-bonded is stone scattered onto a coat of resin. They look alike in a brochure and behave nothing alike on a drive.
We lay resin-bound. Bonded is a coating, and we do not offer it as a drive surface.
Bound or bonded
Resin-Bound and Resin-Bonded Are Not the Same Thing One Is a Trowelled Surface. The Other Is a Coating With Stone Scattered Over It.
Resin-bound is stone and resin mixed together first, then poured out and trowelled flat. The stone is held all the way through the depth of the surface, and because the mix carries small voids, water and air pass through it. Resin-bonded is a different job. A coat of resin is spread over the base and dry stone is scattered onto it, so only the underside of each stone is stuck down.
Bonded is quicker and cheaper, and it grips well, which is why it still turns up on ramps and steep slopes. It also sheds stone. Once chippings start lifting there is no patching it back to new, and it is not permeable, so surface water has to be sent somewhere else. When a homeowner is quoted for a resin driveway, it is nearly always resin-bound that is meant, and that is what we lay.
- Resin-bound: stone mixed through the resin, trowelled flat, permeable, sweeps clean
- Resin-bonded: resin spread first, dry stone scattered on top, not permeable
- Bonded looks and feels like shingle that has been glued down, because it has been
- Bonded loses stone over the years and cannot be repaired invisibly
Underneath
What Has to Be Under a Resin Driveway A Resin Surface Is Only as Flat as the Base Beneath It.
We dig out to firm ground rather than to a set figure. On a normal Surrey clay garden that tends to be 200mm or more once the topsoil and any old base are away. A geotextile membrane goes over the formation so the sub-base cannot punch down into the clay, then the stone goes in and is compacted in layers. One deep lift compacted at the top looks identical on the day and settles in the first hard winter.
Resin-bound is permeable in itself, but that only helps if the water has somewhere to go. There are two sound ways to build it. Either an open graded stone base and a permeable base course, so rain drains straight through the drive into the ground below, or a sealed base laid to falls with channels running to a soakaway or an existing surface water drain. We settle that before the first spade goes in. Construction depths and specifications are determined by the individual site, ground conditions, intended loading, drainage requirements and chosen paving system.
- Dig out to firm ground, with the muck taken away rather than spread on the garden
- Geotextile membrane over the formation to keep the stone and the subsoil apart
- Sub-base compacted in layers, each layer compacted, never one deep lift
- A solid bound base course brought to level and to falls for the resin to sit on
Colour, sun and weather
UV Stability and the Weather on the Day Resin Is a Chemical Product, and Temperature and Humidity Affect the Cure.
The resin is clear, so the colour you see is the stone. What decides whether it stays that colour is the resin type. A UV stable resin, usually described as aliphatic, holds a silver or grey blend as silver or grey. Cheaper aromatic resins carry a slight amber tint from the start and darken further in sunlight, so a cool grey drive drifts warm over a few summers, and it always shows worst on the sunny side of the house.
Curing is a chemical reaction, and the reaction reads the weather. Too cold and it stays soft far longer than it should. Too warm and the working time drops away, so the trowel has to keep moving or the joins show. Damp aggregate or a damp base can leave a milky bloom or stop the resin gripping at all. If the ground is wet or the temperature is low, we come back another day.
- UV stable resin so grey and silver blends stay grey and silver
- Kiln dried aggregate from sealed bags, never stone off an open heap
- No laying in rain, onto a damp base, or when ground temperatures are too low
- Foot traffic normally the same day, vehicles after a day or two, weather depending
Blends and build ups
The Choices Worth Making Before We Quote
Marble and Granite Blends
Angular marble and granite in silvers, greys and near blacks. Sharper and cooler than quartz, and a better match for grey window frames, porcelain steps and rendered elevations. It needs a UV stable resin to stay that colour.
A Full Dig and a New Base
The usual job. Old surface out, dig to firm ground, membrane, compacted sub-base, edgings, a bound base course laid to falls, then the resin. All of it is buried, so it is worth seeing it written down in the quote.
Overlay Onto a Sound Existing Surface
If your drive is already a solid bound surface that is level, well drained and not moving, resin can sometimes go straight over it. We only offer that after checking it properly, because an overlay inherits every crack and hollow beneath it.
Edgings, Kerbs and Thresholds
Resin needs something to finish against. Block or granite edgings, a kerb line where the drive meets the lawn, and a proper detail at the garage threshold and the front door so the surface stops cleanly rather than feathering away.
Drainage, Channels and Soakaways
Channel drains at the garage door, gullies where the levels collect, and a soakaway sized for the area if there is nowhere else for water to go. Drainage is part of the drive, not an extra to argue about later.
Our work
Resin Drives We Have Laid
Questions
Questions We Get Asked on the Drive
What is the difference between resin-bound and resin-bonded?
Resin-bound has the stone mixed through the resin before laying, then trowelled flat. It is smooth, permeable, and the stone is locked in through the full depth. Resin-bonded has resin spread on the base with dry stone scattered over the top, so it feels like glued shingle, sheds stone over time and is not permeable. We lay resin-bound.
Do resin driveways need planning permission?
In England, a new or replacement front driveway of more than five square metres normally needs planning permission unless the surface is permeable or the water is directed to a permeable area such as a border or a lawn. Resin-bound on a permeable base is usually fine on that count.
Can resin be laid over my existing driveway?
Sometimes. If the existing surface is a solid bound one, sitting level, draining properly and showing no cracking or movement, resin can go straight over it. If it is block paving, shingle, cracked concrete or anything that moves under a car, it has to come out. An overlay copies every fault beneath it, so we check the base before quoting.
Does resin-bound crack, fade or go soft in the sun?
A properly built resin drive should not crack of its own accord. Cracks nearly always come up from a base that has moved. Fading is a resin question rather than a stone question: a UV stable resin holds the colour, while cheaper resins amber over in sunlight. Softening in hot weather points at the wrong resin or the wrong mix ratio.
How long does a resin driveway take, and when can I drive on it?
Most domestic drives run to a few days once the excavation and the base work are counted, and the resin itself is usually laid in a day. Foot traffic is normally fine the same evening. Vehicles are best kept off for a day or two, longer in cold weather.
Is resin-bound slippery, and does it get weeds?
The surface is textured by the stone itself, so it is not slick in the wet, and grades can be chosen with more grip where a drive falls towards a garage. There are no joints for weeds to root in, though windblown seed can settle in surface debris, so an occasional sweep keeps it clear.
What time of year can resin be laid in Surrey?
Most of the year, but not in any weather. The mix needs a dry base, dry stone and a ground temperature high enough for the resin to cure properly. That rules out laying in rain, on a frosty morning, or straight after a wet spell. Late spring to early autumn is easiest.
Do you lay resin driveways across Surrey?
Yes. We are based at Stafford Road in Caterham, so CR3 and the surrounding RH postcodes are on our doorstep, and we work across Surrey and into neighbouring parts of south London and Kent. Warlingham, Whyteleafe, Oxted, Godstone, Purley, Redhill and Reigate are all regular ground for us.
Get a quote
Get a Free Written Quote for Your Resin Drive
A resin drive is bought once and looked at every day. Get the base right and the surface takes care of itself.
- Free, no-obligation quotationsIn writing, with the build-up and the drainage set out.
- 27 years in the tradeMarshalls Register accredited, Bradstone Assured.
- Fully insuredDomestic and commercial work across Surrey.
Arrange a free site visit
Tell us a little about the project and we will come out, look at the ground and put a written quotation together.
Where we work
Where We Lay Resin
Based in Caterham, we undertake projects throughout Surrey and selected areas of Kent and West Sussex. For larger or more comprehensive projects, we are happy to consider work further afield.