paving
Resin bound driveways
£40 to £120 per square metre is the full published spread for resin bound driveways in 2026. Forty square metres over a sound existing base runs £1,600 to £2,800, while the same area on a fresh sub-base reaches £2,600 to £4,600.
What this covers
What it costs. Published rates run from £40 to £120 per square metre, and £60 to £95 is where most UK cost guides land for 2026. Full cost breakdown.
What the job covers
- Checking the existing base is sound enough to overlay
- Laying resin bound aggregate in one continuous piece
- Edging and detailing at thresholds and gullies
- Permeable build-ups that need no planning permission
- Repairing and resurfacing a worn or damaged resin drive
What is involved
Resin bound surfacing is 15mm to 18mm deep. Aggregate and clear resin get mixed in a forced action mixer, poured out and trowelled flat by hand, so the entire wearing course is thinner than a paving block is wide. Nothing in that layer carries load. Whatever sits beneath does all the work, which is precisely why identical product can cost £40 or £120 per square metre depending on what is already in the ground.
Two routes exist from there. Sound tarmac or concrete can be primed and overlaid in a day, skipping excavation altogether, although a crack in the old slab can reflect through the resin within a season or two. The alternative is a full dig: 200mm out, Type 1 compacted in layers, then a binding course of open graded asphalt laid to falls. Base preparation alone costs £25 to £45 per square metre, and that single line decides which end of the range a quotation sits at.
Weather governs the pour. Curing happens by chemical reaction, so installers want a dry surface, air above roughly 5 degrees and no rain forecast for several hours after trowelling. Damp aggregate or a wet base causes blown patches and foaming that will not patch out afterwards. Permeability is the other selling point, with one condition: resin bound is porous only where the build-up below it drains too, so resin over solid concrete goes nowhere and falls under the English five square metre rule like any other sealed front surface.
Choosing someone for the job
Base: ask whether they are overlaying or excavating, and get the answer written into the quote. Depth: 15mm to 18mm is standard, anything at 10mm is thin. Permeability: ask what sits under the resin, because resin over concrete does not drain. Resin grade: ask for a UV stable resin rather than a cheaper aromatic one that ambers. References: ask to see a drive laid three or more winters ago.
Related jobs:
Common questions
Why do resin driveway quotes vary so much?
Published rates span £40 to £120 per square metre across UK sources in 2026, and the base explains nearly all of it. Overlaying sound tarmac avoids £25 to £45 per square metre of excavation and stone. Quotes at the bottom of that spread usually assume the existing surface stays in place.
Is a resin driveway permeable?
Resin bound is porous as a layer, resin bonded is not. Porosity only helps where the sub-base and subgrade beneath can take the water, so resin over an old concrete slab drains no better than the concrete did. For the English planning exemption the whole build-up has to let water through, or run-off has to reach a permeable area.