Laying resin bound straight over your existing concrete, tarmac or block paving — no digging out, no skips, and usually finished in a day or two. It only works if what is underneath is sound, so we check that before quoting.
An overlay is resin bound laid directly onto the surface you already have. It saves the excavation, the muck-away and most of the disruption. What it cannot do is fix a base that has already failed.
| What you have now | Can we overlay it? | What we look for |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete | Usually yes | Sound slab, no significant movement. Fine hairline cracks are normally fine; anything lifting, rocking or subsiding is not. |
| Tarmac | Usually yes | Firm and stable underfoot, no potholes or crazing across large areas. Tarmac that is breaking up will keep moving under the resin. |
| Block paving | Sometimes | Blocks must be well bedded and level with no rutting or sinking. Loose or dished areas need lifting and re-laying first — and that is a job we would refer on, as we do not lay block paving. |
| Paving slabs / flags | Not usually | Individual slabs move independently and open joints telegraph through. Almost always better dug out. |
| Gravel or soil | No | There is no base to bond to. This needs a full excavation and a new sub-base. |
We would rather tell you no than overlay a failing base. Resin bound is only ever as stable as what sits beneath it. If the existing surface is moving, the resin will crack along the same lines within a year or two — and you will have paid twice.
Guide rates for Greater Manchester. Both include the resin, the aggregate and the labour; every driveway is quoted properly after a site visit.
Roughly half the price, then — which is why it is worth finding out which one you need before assuming the worst. Our resin cost calculator gives you both figures for your size in a few seconds.
What moves the number: the size and access of the drive, how much preparation the existing surface needs, edging, and the aggregate you choose.
An overlay keeps the existing levels and drainage, which is an advantage on ground that does not drain — and most of the eastern side of the county is exactly that.
Across Denton, Hyde, Dukinfield, Marple, Cheadle Hulme and Oldham the ground is glacial boulder clay, which holds water rather than letting it through. A soakaway often will not work there, so a full dig-out has to be designed around getting water away. An overlay sidesteps that entirely, because the drainage arrangement you already have stays as it is.
On the free-draining sand and gravel under Stockport, Altrincham, Didsbury and Bury, both options work comfortably.
Planning permission. Resin bound is permeable, so an overlay does not trigger the five square metre threshold whatever the size. The exceptions are conservation areas with an Article 4 direction — Stockport has 24 of them — listed buildings, and access onto a classified road. Our guide to driveway planning permission across Greater Manchester sets out every council’s position.
Guide prices are indicative and every driveway is quoted after a free site visit.
A free site visit tells you whether your existing base is sound — and if it is not, we will tell you that too. No obligation either way.
