Can You Lay a Resin Driveway Over Your Existing Driveway?
A Comprehensive Guide to Transforming Your Driveway with Resin Bound Driveways & Patios
When it comes to home improvement projects, the driveway is often overlooked. However, a beautiful and durable driveway not only enhances your property’s curb appeal but can also increase its value. If your existing driveway has seen better days, you may be considering upgrading to a resin driveway. But can you lay a resin driveway over your existing driveway? The short answer is yes, but there are a few factors you should consider before embarking on this project. In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of resin driveways over block paving and tarmac, the process of installing them over an existing driveway, and the factors you should take into account before getting started.
What is a Resin Driveway?
A resin driveway is a surface made from a mixture of natural aggregate stones and a high-quality resin binder. This combination creates a permeable, durable, and visually appealing surface that is resistant to cracking, UV damage, and weathering. Resin driveways come in a wide range of colors and textures, allowing you to customise your driveway to match your property’s aesthetic.
Benefits of Resin Driveways
Versatility: Resin driveways can be laid over various surfaces, including concrete, tarmac, and block paving, making them an ideal solution for revamping an existing driveway.
Low Maintenance: The smooth and seamless surface of a resin driveway is easy to clean and requires minimal maintenance. You’ll only need to occasionally sweep and pressure wash the surface to keep it looking its best.
Permeability
Resin driveways are a Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS) compliant solution, which means they allow water to permeate through the surface and prevent excess runoff. This helps to reduce the risk of flooding and protect the surrounding environment.
Durability
Resin-bound driveways are built to last, with a lifespan of 15-20 years. They are resistant to cracks, frost, and UV damage, ensuring that your driveway stays in top condition for years to come.
Aesthetic Appeal
With a wide range of colors and textures to choose from, a resin driveway can significantly enhance the curb appeal of your property.
Laying a Resin Driveway Over Your Existing Driveway
Factors to Consider
Surface Condition
Before installing a resin driveway over your existing driveway, it’s essential to assess the condition of the current surface. Minor cracks or small areas of damage can be repaired, but if the surface is extensively damaged or uneven, it may need to be removed and replaced with a suitable base.
Drainage
As resin driveways are permeable, it’s crucial to ensure that your existing driveway has adequate drainage in place. This may involve installing additional drainage systems or adjusting the slope of the driveway to facilitate water runoff properly.
Edging: A stable and secure edging system is necessary to prevent the resin mixture from spreading beyond the desired area. You’ll need to inspect the existing edging and, if necessary, replace or reinforce it to accommodate the new resin surface.
Thickness: To ensure the durability and longevity of your new resin driveway, it’s important to apply the correct thickness of the resin mixture. The thickness required will depend on the type and condition of your existing driveway, as well as the intended use of the new surface. For example, driveways that will be subject to heavy vehicles will require a thicker layer of resin.
Professional Installation: Although it’s possible to install a resin driveway as a DIY project, it’s highly recommended that you engage the services of an experienced professional. This will ensure that the correct preparation, installation, and finishing techniques are employed, resulting in a high-quality and long-lasting resin driveway.
Laying a resin driveway over your existing driveway is a viable and cost-effective option for transforming the appearance and functionality of your property. By taking into account the factors discussed in this article, such as surface condition, drainage, edging, thickness, and professional installation, you can enjoy a durable, low-maintenance, and aesthetically pleasing driveway that will last for many years to come. So, if you’re considering a driveway makeover, a resin-bound surface could be the perfect solution for you.
Driveway Maintenance Tips and Tricks
If you want to try and take good care of your driveway, then you need to make sure that you have thought about maintenance. Maintenance has a big role to play in any successful driveway, because, without it, you will have to replace things very quickly, or find that your driveway is not sustainable in the long-term.
Getting the best results when it comes to driveway maintenance can be more difficult than you might think, because there are lots of different considerations. The type of material that you use will influence the kind of maintenance you need to think about. What we thought we would do is put together a collection of generic tips and tricks for maintenance to try and give you the best possible options.
Consider Going Professional
The best thing you can do in any situation where you have to think about driveway maintenance is to consider getting professional support to make sure that things are done in the right way. Yes, you can probably do maintenance for yourself, but it is also the case that doing things professionally will give you a lot of benefits. It’s recommended that you take the time to experiment with what’s available.
A professional company will be able to provide maintenance in the best possible way, but at the same time, they will also have a keen understanding of what you need to do to make sure that your driveway remains in the best condition. Their expert advice and guidance is something absolutely invaluable to you, and often worth the price of working with them alone.=
You should definitely take a look at working with a professional company, and if you think it’s the right choice for you, go for it. It can be well worth taking the time to find the right professional.
Be Careful With Water
When it comes to performing maintenance on your driveway, you might consider using water as a way of cleaning down the surfaces. This isn’t a bad idea by itself, but you do have to make sure that you think about the type of driveway that you’re working with, because it can make a big difference when it comes to using the water.
Something that we need you to understand is that most driveways are not made of permeable materials. This means that if you spray water to try and clean down the surface, it will largely sit on the top of the driveway and be a health hazard. There are some materials that absorb water and allow it to pass between the structure of the driveway down into the ground, but this is not always the case.
Ultimately, the best thing that you can do is try and make sure that your driveway has the right material for what you want to do with it, and if you’re not completely sure, don’t be afraid to experiment a little and ask a professional for guidance.
Conduct Regular Maintenance
Lots of people are reluctant to commit to a regular maintenance schedule, because they believe that it will ultimately cost them too much money to get things sorted out on a frequent basis. This is exactly the reason why you should subscribe to the idea of a regular maintenance schedule, because by making small corrections and repairs every time something goes wrong, you are preventing yourself from having to spend a large amount of money in the future.
The thing about any repairs that you make to your property is that there is an incentive for you to get them done quickly and effectively. You might not think that this is the case, but it’s definitely true.
When it comes to any type of repair, you need to make sure that you get things done before they become a big problem. The bigger a problem, the more expensive it will be to try and repair the damage. We personally recommend that you consider going in for maintenance at least once a year, but you should try and clean down the driveway at least once every month.
Take Good Care of Your Driveway
Ultimately, when it comes to driveway maintenance, it’s all about learning to take proper care of your driveway, because it will last you a long time. If you put the time into doing it right, which is exactly why you need to focus on getting the best results.
It’s actually very easy to have a nice driveway, because they are built to be effective and long-lasting. However, if you don’t take good care of it, then it will very quickly become worn down and look terrible. The objective is always to try and make sure that your driveway lasts for as long as possible, and it looks as good as possible, two things which aren’t always easy to do, but can be done with the help of a rigorous maintenance schedule.
Final Thoughts
So, when it comes to driveway maintenance, it’s important to keep in mind a lot of different tips and tricks.
Obviously, we are here to help you make sure that you get the best results, because we do value your experiences, but at the end of the day, we do have to stress that’s up to you to take charge of the maintenance of your driveway and to get the appropriate professionals to help you out if you need it.
Obviously, we are happy to help because we do value your experience, and we would be more than capable of providing you with the maintenance that you need, but at the end of the day, it’s up to you to pick and choose what kind of resources you want to yourself, and to experiment properly to get the best results. Only you can set out to find the ideal maintenance schedule for your needs, we are happy to help you figure it out, but at the end of the day, it has to be something you are comfortable with.
So What Is Block Paving?
Block Paving also known as brick paving is a commonly used decorative method of creating a pavement or hard-standing. The main benefit of using bricks over other materials is that individual blocks can be lifted and replaced when they suffer damage or become worn. Block paving is a brilliant material as its flat, easy to install and easy to repair, rather than lifting the whole block, you can replace one or two as they break meaning its more affordable ongoing and less maintenance.
The bricks used are typically made up from concrete or clay, and sometimes other composite materials. The concrete style blocks most commonly used are made from porous materials; many are made up from recycled materials such as crushed glass and old building rubble.
Using blocks can achieve many different laying patterns, one of the most popular is the herringbone pattern; as it offers the strongest bond due to it’s interlocking. Make sure you always seek the advice of a quality driveway company before you undertake any projects.
Where Do You Use Block Paving?
Block paving is mainly used for patios and driveways as well as pathways. You’ll see many driveways using block paving because it looks great and is affordable and also comes in many different colours.
Why is Block Paving a good option?
Block paving is the option of choice for a surface solution due to the huge range of benefits it has, it can be more costlier than the tarmac driveway or concrete options but it looks so much better and is much more durable than the other options.
Benefits Of Block Paving:
- Adds value to your property and real kerb appeal
- Enhances the look of a property or area
- Variety of colours
- Variety of shapes
- Can be designed in a range of patterns
- Interlocking provides enhanced strength
- No costly repairs, individual bricks can be replaced
- Offers a more fade resistance surface than alternatives
- Allows for easy drainage without the needs for seperate drainage
Who installs Block Paving?
Block paving is usually installed by driveway specialists, this is because they know the best way to lay and interlock the bricks in the correct way. By employing a company to carry out installation of the blocked paving you will be guaranteed a perfect drive, they will work with you to ensure you have a design and pattern you like and will also help you choose the right colour to match the style of your property or the surroundings. If you are thinking of installing a block paving driveway, we recommend you speak to a quality driveway company with a proven background in driveways and patios, its not easy to install block paving if you have never done this before. You need to ensure type 1 hardcore is laid and a membrane set down to protect against weeds.
It takes a bit of time to install block paving, it depends on the size of the area, but a standard 2 car driveway can take around 3 days from start to finish all going well.
How is Block Paving installed?
Block paving starts off with site preparation and excavation, the site will need to be inspected and then excavated depending on the land and if there is already an existing driveway. If you have soft land or soft spots a sub base may need to be installed to provide a more stable foundation.
The site will need to be edged out so you have a set space to excavate and lay out the block paving, all block paving come with a standard sub base. The land will be compacted with a compactor and then a layer of sharp sand will need to be laid on top of it, which should be raked and then checked with string lines and screeding rails to ensure it is level.
The installer will then start to lay the block paving ensuring it is laid out in your desired pattern and the colours flow in a way that’s appropriate for the chosen pattern. They will use blocks from different packs to ensure you aren’t left with noticeable different shadings of colour patches.
Once the laying of the blocks is finished kiln dried sand will be brushed into the joints, and compacted using a vibrating plate, this helps to strengthen the interlocking and also ensures the blocks are laid level. The process will be carried out a second time to ensure no joints are left unfilled.
Different colours etc..
One of the reasons people choose block paving is because of the stylish choices, available in a range of colours and the ability to lay them in a range of designs and patterns, and now with a choice of shaped and sized blocks, the possibilities are endless. A block paving experts will help you choose the best colours that match your property they will also go through a range of designs with you. Once a pattern or design is chosen you’ll be able to select the colour bricks you want and how many different colours you wish to use. As a surfacing option it remains one of the most popular options for homeowners especially for use on driveways.
