Resin Driveway Cost: Breakdown per m/2 for Resin Bound Driveways

Beware – driveways are still an industry that has alot of cowboys operating within it. Hundreds of people get ripped off each year, still, in this day and age – don’t be one of them.

 

Trying to find upfront quotes online for resin driveway can be difficult. Most of the time people just want a ballpark figure to see if it’s even within their remit to have one done. The trouble is this is where you see quotes of around £40 per m/2, from companies that offer their services, but sadly £40 per m/2 isn’t the reality.

 

As what happens is then when they arrive to quote, the price skyrockets. They state, because of ‘this and that’ it will be more than what was quoted. Usually the surface that’s there now ‘isn’t suitable’ or ‘needs work doing to it’ to make it suitable and of course all this work was ‘unforeseen’ and comes at an eye watering extra cost…

 

Combine that with some serious high pressure tactics like those seen on Matt Allwrights BBC show ‘Rogue Traders’ and this leaves people feeling unhappy, put off and sadly, vastly overpaying for a new resin driveway, which is actually very simple in process to complete.

 

This straightforward guide is designed to detail average costs per m/2 for resin driveways so that you have the ammo to take on the driveway companies to negotiate the best possible price for an amazing new driveway. After all a professionally laid driveway will add huge amounts of curb appeal which in turn can add thousands onto the value of your home. 

 

How much does a resin driveway cost?

Resin driveway costs per m/2

Option 1 – Resin Driveway Overlay Costs

If you have an existing driveway and it is structurally sound, a new resin driveway will cost between £55-£65 per m/2 . This option is cheaper as it is easier to ‘overlay’ the resin onto an existing driveway. This option is sometimes just called a ‘resin driveway overlay’. 

The price will be determined by the overall size of the driveway, costs are below:

 

10 – 40sqm       £65 per m/2

40 – 100sqm     £60 per m/2

100+sqm          £55 per m/2

Option 2 – New Resin Driveway with new Tarmac or Concrete Base

If you have no driveway or your driveway will require groundworks before a resin driveway can be laid, such as laying a concrete base and adding or removing tarmac the price is £120-£150 per m/2. 

Again the size of the drive will impact the price, with discounts obtained for larger surface areas as seen below:

 

10 – 40sqm          £130 per m/2

40 – 100sqm        £125 per m/2

100 – 150sqm      £120 per m/2

 

Resin Driveway Cost Calculator

 

‘2 Car Driveway’ 

 

A 17.5m2 driveway with enough space for two cars would therefore cost a total of:

 

Resin overlay of existing driveway     £1050

Resin driveway with new ‘base’         £2275

 

‘3 Car Driveway’

 

A 28 m/2 driveway with enough space for three cars would therefore cost a total of:

 

Resin overlay of existing driveway     £1820

Resin driveway with new ‘base’         £3640

 

‘4 Car Driveway’

 

A 40 m/2 driveway with enough space for four cars would therefore cost a total of:

 

Resin overlay of existing driveway     £2400

Resin driveway with new ‘base’         £5000

 

‘5 Car Driveway’

 

A 55 m/2 driveway with enough space for five cars would therefore cost a total of:

 

Resin overlay of existing driveway     £3300

Resin driveway with new ‘base’         £6875

 

So are Resin Driveways expensive? 

Hard to answer as cost is subjective to a person. What’s expensive to someone could be cheap to someone else. I think the real question people are asking here is

Is a Resin Driveway Cheaper than Block Paving?

 

Jump online to find the answer and you won’t find much, and here’s why – conflict of interest. Most companies that offer block paving say resin driveways are more expensive. The same is usually true in reverse the resin driveway companies say that block paving is more expensive. 

 

So who is right?

 

Well let’s work it out in laymans terms. A standard paving block bought from a UK building merchant is roughly £0.29 [29 pence]. So per square metre [m/2] that is £14.50. But before you start getting excited, that’s just the raw material price of the paving blocks. Add in the sand, to lay the blocks onto and any hardcore that goes under that too and that’s going to bring us to a total of £35 per sqm. 

 

But that’s before we have added in any labour for someone to do the handy work to prepare the base and lay them. We can add £25-30 per m/2 to that, bringing our total to, surprise surprise, £65 per m2 – or exactly the same as a new resin overlay driveway. 

 

Not sure what to do, well do what everyone else does. Get three quotes for a resin driveway and perhaps two more for a block paved driveway and compare them, like for like. Simples!  

 

How long does a resin driveway last?

 

Good question and one that should be top of the list when working out prices of resin driveways vs any other driveway surface, as if something is cheaper but doesn’t last as long, is it then really cheaper at all? No.

So then how long do resin driveways last? The answer is a long time, 20+ years depending on usage, location and how well its looked after. After spending your hard earned cash on a fantastic new drive way you can expect very good longevity from resin.

 

Something to be made aware of is this – if you choose a dark colour, remember it will absorb more heat. More heat will degrade a resin driveway faster. The same though is also true of paved and tarmac driveways.

 

Still undecided…lets draw up a pros and cons list

 

Resin Driveway Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Can add significant value to your home
  • Looks smart and professional 
  • Water shouldn’t puddle on it
  • No weeds will grow up through it 
  • Can extend driveways
  • Large choice of colours
  • Long lasting

 

Cons

  • More expensive than standard tarmac
  • It can crack if subject to excessive stress
  • Could require ‘re-sealing’

 

7 Top Tips for dealing with Resin Driveway companies

 

  1. Obtain a minimum of 3 quotations, all of which must be written quotations.
  2. Any changes to what is agreed should be written too
  3. Agree when the work will commence AND for how long it will last
  4. Due diligence – if the company is ‘limited’ [LTD] check the authenticity with Companies House 
  5. Withhold the full or final payment until you are happy they have completed everything, as per agreed, including any snagging. You have the final sign off.
  6. Agree a duration in which they will come and fix any issues which are at fault.
  7. Any alteration to public highways such as lowering of curbs cannot be done by anyone other than the local authorities themselves. If required, agree, in advance, who pays for what – record and document this.