Resin Bound Surfacing Products

By combining washed and dried aggregates with a polyurethane binder, a resin bound surface is essentially gravel which has been encased to create a flat, smooth surface that allows surface water to permeate through it to the ground below.

Due to its durability, the ability to deal with surface water and the endless combinations of colours and textures, resin bound surfacing is popular with commercial and domestic environments.

A resin bound surface is most commonly used for domestic or commercial parking (including heavy vehicles), pathways, access routes, forecourts and standing areas. As a resin bound gravel installation is incredibly low-maintenance, with no raking, topping-up or rutting unlike loose gravel, it’s becoming the surface of choice.

• Gravel migration is eliminated, removing the need for raking or annual gravel top-ups
• Improves drainage of surface water when compared to impermeable tarmac, concrete, block paving or slabs.
• Huge amount of colour blends available. By combining aggregates of different sizes and colours, unique blends can be produced to perfectly suit the surroundings, whether a terracotta to suit a red-brick house or a cornfield yellow to complement a stone building, there’s a colour for every purpose.
• Suitable for wheelchair access. As resin bound is a smooth, flat and non-slip surface (when sand and/or crushed glass is used in the mix) it’s a popular choice around hospitals, nursing homes, retirement villages and entrances for venues.

As the majority of the material in a resin bound installation is stone, it’s incredibly durable, hardwearing and should last at the very least 20-25 years.

However, should issues develop below the resin bound layer such as settlement, or if the surface has been poorly installed, this can cause the upper resin bound surface to crumble, crack or fail entirely.

For these reasons, it’s very important to ensure that the resin bound aggregate surface is installed by an experienced, trained contractor.

Theoretically, yes. There’s nothing to stop anyone from installing resin bound for themselves or others, however, on one hand it looks incredibly easy to install but in fact there’s many factors which can cause an installation to fail.

When considering a resin bound driveway, path, patio or other resin aggregate surface it is recommended to solicit the services of a trained, experienced resin bound installer. Training courses are widely available on the installation methods and are usually inexpensive, but will often require some prior knowledge of groundworks or landscaping.

Simply put, no.

Aggregates need to be evenly and consistently coated with binder to prevent any dry spots within the mix. This isn’t possible with a traditional rotating drum mixer, as they’re too slow and do not agitate the mix enough. Dry spots in a resin bound mix will result in the surface crumbling in patches, a fault which is practically impossible to discreetly fix without relaying the complete surface.

A forced action mixer should be used which has several paddles inside the pan, combining the resin and aggregate components together much more quickly, evenly and consistently than a traditional mixer.

While they’re very similar and use almost identical components, the two surfaces are in fact quite different.

A resin bonded surface is usually much thinner (around 5-10mm) as the resin is spread out across the area and dried aggregate is scattered across and allowed to dry, similar to pebbledashing. The resin used in a bonded resin surface is a different polyurethane mix, often brown in colour and is not suitable for use in a resin bound project. It’s quicker and easier to install, has a more grippy texture but doesn’t offer permeability and is much less durable than a resin bound surface.

In resin bound surfacing, the resin and aggregates are mixed together and spread by trowel to create a completely flat, smooth surface which is usually between 15-20mm deep. This creates tiny gaps in the surface and allows water to pass through. As there’s very little texture to the upper surface, there’s much less to erode away and gravel is unlikely to be pulled away from the resin.