Resin bound
Resin bound driveways on the Wirral
A jointless, permeable surface with nothing to weed and nothing to wash out, which is only as good as the base it is laid on.
- Dig depth and sub base stated in writing
- Edge restraint haunched, not just laid
- Drainage designed, not left to the border
Resin bound driveways
What resin bound actually is, and the one thing to get right
Resin bound is aggregate mixed with a clear resin and trowelled out as a continuous surface. Every stone is coated and locked to its neighbours, so there are no joints, nothing for weeds to germinate in, and nothing for wind or rain to wash out. Laid at the right thickness over a suitable base it is permeable, which means water passes through it rather than running off.
It is worth being clear about resin bound versus resin bonded, because the names are nearly identical and the products are not. Bonded is aggregate scattered onto a resin layer, so it has a rough, loose feeling surface and it is not permeable. Bound is mixed and trowelled, smooth and permeable. When people say resin driveway they almost always mean bound, and we will confirm which you are being quoted.
The one thing that decides whether a resin drive is a good purchase is the base, because resin is a wearing course and not a structure. Laid over a sound, properly built base it will last a long time. Laid straight over an existing drive that is cracked, moving or hollow, it cracks in exactly those places within a couple of winters, and a cracked resin surface cannot be lifted and relaid the way a block can. Often asked about alongside tarmac driveways, imprinted concrete driveways and gravel driveways.
Get a price for the resinResin is a wearing course. Over a moving base it cracks where the base moves, and it cannot be repaired invisibly.
Bound is mixed and trowelled, smooth and permeable. Bonded is scattered and is neither. Make sure you know which you are quoted.
On the right base it drains through, which is usually how a front garden avoids needing planning permission.
Done across Wallasey, Heswall, Hoylake, and everywhere else on the peninsula. Cleaning, sealing and re-sanding an existing drive is a different trade: that goes to Wirral Exterior Cleaning.
Resin bound driveways on the Wirral
What this job looks like
These are placeholders, not photographs of our work. There are no job photographs on this site yet and nothing here is borrowed from anybody else's. Real ones go in as jobs are finished and customers are happy for us to use them.
Why people use us
What you get for the extra
No joints, no weeds, no re-sanding, and a surface water goes through rather than runs off.
- The existing base assessed before anything is quoted
- Bound rather than bonded, stated in writing
- Laid to a stated thickness, not spread thin
- An honest answer when your base is not suitable
Frequently asked questions
Resin bound driveways: the questions people ask
The ones that come up most. If yours is not here, ring and ask.
Can resin be laid over my existing driveway?
Over a sound, stable one, yes, and it saves a lot of money. Over one that is cracked, hollow or settling, no: resin is a wearing course and it will crack exactly where the base moves. We would rather tell you the base has to come out than take the job and have it crack.
Does resin crack?
Not by itself on a sound base. It cracks where the base underneath moves or where it has been laid too thin. That is why the base assessment matters more than the product choice.
Is resin slippery?
Resin bound has an aggregate texture all the way through, so in normal conditions it has reasonable grip. Any smooth surface can be slippery with frost or algae on it. A north facing drive will want keeping clear, which is exterior cleaning work.
Is resin more expensive than block paving?
Per square metre, usually yes. The gap narrows if the existing base can be kept, because then you are paying for a surface rather than a surface plus an excavation. It widens on a job that has to be dug out anyway.
Done across Wallasey, Heswall, Hoylake, and everywhere else on the peninsula. Cleaning, sealing and re-sanding an existing drive is a different trade: that goes to Wirral Exterior Cleaning.
Send a photo of what is there now
Whether your existing base can be kept is the single biggest number in a resin quote, and a photograph starts that answer.
About Wirral Driveways
How the work is actually organised
Wirral Driveways takes the job as main contractor and puts the labour and the plant on it. One person quotes it, one person is answerable for it, and you are not chasing a groundworker and a paviour separately to find out who is coming.
What you get is a written scope with the build up stated, a date, and somebody whose problem it is if the date moves.
We install. We do not clean
This matters enough to say on its own page. Cleaning, sealing and re-sanding an existing driveway is a genuine trade and it is not this one. It needs different equipment, different materials and a different way of pricing.
So we do not offer it, we do not quote for it, and when you ask we will point you at wirralexteriorcleaning.com, which does it properly. Saying yes to work we are not set up for would be the easy answer and the wrong one.
What else we will tell you we are not
Structural retaining walls above a modest height, anything involving a highway other than a straightforward vehicle crossing, and tree surgery on a protected tree are all other people's work. All three come up on driveway jobs and all three are worth bringing the right person in for.
No photographs of our work, and why the site says so
There are no job photographs on this site. The slots are placeholders and they are labelled as placeholders. Nothing here is a stock picture presented as a job and nothing is borrowed from another company.
Real ones go in as jobs are finished and customers are happy for us to use them. The same goes for anything that looks like a customer quote: there is a section built and ready, switched off, until there are real ones with permission attached.
Get in touch
Tell us roughly how big the area is, what is on it now and which way it falls. A photograph from the pavement and one from the house answers most of it before anybody rings you back.
- Phone0151 453 8836
- Emailcontact@wirraldriveways.com
- WhatsAppSend us a photo of the job
- Based inWirral, Merseyside
- HoursMon to Fri 8 to 6, Sat 8 to 2, closed Sunday