Resin Driveway Installations Best-Practice

There are many technical points regarding Resin Driveway Installations by experts such as West Coast Resins. We believe this kind of attention to detail and professionalism sets us apart from other resin driveway installers in Blackpool. Here, we cover some of them in detail.

Resin Driveway Installations by West Coast Resins

Appropriate Sub-Bases for Resin Bound Installations:

Tarmac and concrete are the most appropriate sub-bases for resin-bound surfacing.
Paving slabs and block paving can be installed onto. However, movement in the sub-base is more likely and can cause cracking in your resin surface and isn’t recommended.
Grid systems can also be used to install resin-bound surfacing onto. The grid should be installed onto a compressed MOT base.
If a new sub-base is required, 3/6 inches of MOT type 1 should be installed. This will be followed with a minimum of 2 inches of 10mm base coat tarmac. This will allow us to return in 3 days to install your resin surface; concrete may take a month to cure fully.

Preparing Edges/Manholes

Resin bound installations are generally installed by West Coast Resins at a minimum of 15mm for driveways and 12mm for paths and patios.
Your resin surface can be installed against house walls, block edging, key kerbs, pin kerbs, fences or aluminium beading.
Installing an edge at the front and sides of an existing surface gives a professional finish.
Recessed manholes can be installed to create a seamless-looking driveway path or patio. The existing manhole cover will be removed and any circular manholes excavated to fit a rectangular recessed tray. Resin and stone mixture can be used to ‘Cement’ the new manhole into place during the install.

Sub-Base Repairs:

The current sub-base may need some attention before your resin installation takes place.
Concrete surface flaking can be removed during the jet washing of the drive and covered with your resin surface as the issues are usually cosmetic
Any surface cracking that has occurred can be cut out using a still saw in a ‘V’ shape during preparations. Instead of using cement to finish the repair, resin and stone mixture can be used
Structural cracking that cannot be repaired will require a new sub-base installation.

Preparing the surface:

Before installing your resin-bound surface, we need to ensure that the surface is clear from:

Oil / Grease
Surface plaster / Dust
Water

If these are not removed before installation, delaminating can take place which will mean the full driveway may need re-installing!

Patterns and Toe-Ins:

West Coast Resin customers often want a design implemented into their resin-bound install, which can be achieved in several ways…

The most popular is to install an aluminium stencil which allows us to complete the install the same day. For intricate designs a stencil can be purchased and installed onto the sub-base using plugs, screws and washers.
Aluminium stop beading can also be cut to create custom stencils for numbers and letters. This is installed with plugs, screws and washers and is left in the surface. A bendy beading is also used to create any curves for your letters and numbers.
Pattern Formers (made of Ply or Foamex) can be used with a Vaseline or similar release agent. These can be removed the next day and the install can continue with a different colour.

Mixers

Mixing resin-bound materials is done by West Coast Resins in a forced-action mixer…

Forced action mixers prevent dry spots and offer a more even mixture than cement mixers.
These upright mixers give an even mixture by folding the material into itself and should be used to ensure the final surface is the same strength in all areas.
For smaller areas (under 30m2), a cement mixer can be used however, this isn’t recommended as dry spots can occur in the mixture
Mixers should be 120L in size or larger to ensure that all your aggregates can be mixed in one go. Smaller mixers can be used however these are usually only 70L in size which makes mixing the materials more difficult on site.

Dried Aggregates

Resin Bound and Bonded paving must be carried out using specialised dried aggregates.

Normal aggregates contain dirt and moisture, which react with the resin and prevent a good bond.
There are around 25 different colours to choose from. Usually, we will mix two colours to make a ‘blend’.
4 bags weighing 25kgs can be mixed with each resin kit to cover 4m2.
Your resin stone should be turned in the mixer for 1 minute before adding your resin to remove and dust and fully mix your ‘blend’.
Generally, a 2-5mm stone is used for domestic driveways for resin bound. A 1-3mm stone can be added to the mixture to strengthen the final surface however, coverage is reduced due to the larger surface area of the stone.
1-3mm stone is generally used for resin-bonded surfacing, and 10mm aggregates for tree pits.

Mixing Materials

Aggregates should be added to the mixer for 1 minute before mixing resin materials to remove any dust.
When mixing two part resin a plasterer’s electric hand mixer must be used.
The Activator (Part B) can be poured into the larger Base unit (Part A) and mixed for 1 minute until thoroughly mixed.
A stick can’t be used as this will result in soft patches in the finished driveway, path or patio.
Resin should then be added to the mixer. To ensure that all resin is added, a piece of card may be required to scrape all mixture from the bucket.
The resin and stone should be mixed for two minutes, until all the stone is fully covered.
It is important to leave the stone and resin in the mixer for the same amount of time for each mixture to avoid colour changes.
Don’t forget! Stone is a naturally sourced product and can have small colour variations, for larger installs we mix each batch to avoid changes.

Other Mixing Key Points…

It is possible to add 5Kgs of Kiln dried sand into each mixture to increase the anti-skid properties.
Placing mixing paddles down on a clean place/plastic cover helps to avoid marks on other surfaces.
The next mixture should be produced while the current mixture is being laid.
Setting times will vary depending on temperatures.
Wheelbarrows that collect material should be lined with a polythene bag to prolong life expectancy.
The stone should be kept covered if left overnight to avoid getting wet.
Condensation in cold temperatures can affect the stone; it needs to be kept in cool dry conditions.
Recycled glass can be installed with the stone to give the surface a different look. However, it can only be used for decorative areas without footfall.
Glass Beading can be scattered into the final surface before setting to give a more anti-slip surface.

Problems to Avoid During Install

Stone should be kept dry at all times to avoid white patches when the resin cures.
Tarpaulin sheets should be kept to hand to cover the surface if a rain shower starts.
For larger jobs, stones from different batches should be mixed to avoid colour change.
The resin and stone should be left in the mixer for the same period of time to avoid colour change.
Marks on UPVC doors and windows can be removed with white spirits, wood fences, however, will remain stained.