Smooth, Permeable Resin-Bound Driveways in Gloucestershire

What is a resin-bound driveway?

A resin-bound driveway is a surface made by mixing kiln-dried aggregates through a clear polyurethane resin and trowelling the result flat while it is still workable. Every stone is coated and held in the permeable matrix, so the finish is smooth underfoot with no loose grit, and rainwater passes straight through the gaps between the stones.

Resin-bound driveways give a seamless finish that suits modern homes and softens older ones. Because they are fully permeable, rainwater drains through instead of pooling, which helps with SuDS compliance and stops that puddle that always forms by the front door. LayPave lays UV-resistant, BBA approved resin systems over a solid, prepared base in the aggregate colour of your choice.

Fully insured and guaranteed, with no upfront payment. You pay only on completion.

What’s included

• A survey of the existing base, levels and drainage before anything is quoted
• A new permeable base build where the existing one is not sound
• Aluminium edging trim, or a block paved border where you want a defined edge
• Resin and aggregate mixed on site in a forced action mixer, batch by batch
• A continuous pour so there are no cold joints across the drive
• Drainage detailing so water goes where it should
• Full site clearance and waste removal

Resin-bound or resin-bonded?

These two get sold as if they are the same thing and they are not. Resin-bound is what we lay. The stone is mixed through the resin and troweled flat, which gives a smooth, permeable surface with no loose material. Resin-bonded is a layer of adhesive with stone scattered on top. It looks like gravel, it is not permeable, and it sheds loose grit onto your shoes and into the house for years.

If you get a quote that is noticeably cheaper than everyone else’s, check which of the two it is for. We will always state resin-bound in writing on the quotation.

How we build it

The base does the structural work. Over a sound, well-drained tarmac or concrete drive we can often resurface directly, which keeps the cost down and the disruption short. Where the existing base is cracked, moving or laid on soft ground, it has to come out. We dig down, build a permeable open-graded stone base, compact it in layers and set the falls before any resin is opened.

Aluminium edging trim goes in next, or a border in block paving if you want a contrasting frame. Then it is a mixing job: resin components and kiln-dried aggregate go into the forced action mixer in exact ratios, batch after batch, and each batch is trowelled out into the last while it is still live. Get that timing wrong and you see the joints forever, which is why we do not start a drive we cannot finish in one continuous pour.

Aggregates range from natural browns and golds through greys to crushed quartz blends that pick up the light. Colours look different wet and dry, and different again in shade, so we bring samples to the survey rather than sending a colour chart.

Living with it

Resin is the lowest-maintenance surface we lay. Sweep it, hose it, and once or twice a year give it a gentle pressure wash on a wide fan setting. Weeds cannot root in it the way they do in block joints, and there is no jointing sand to top up.

The exposed stone texture gives it a good slip-resistance rating in the wet, and because water drains through rather than sitting on top, it tends to ice over less than a sealed surface does. Snow shovels fine on it too, though use a plastic blade rather than a steel one.

Not sure whether resin, blocks or tarmac is the right call for your house? Our guide comparing block paving, resin and tarmac puts the three side by side, or we can talk it through on site at your free survey.