roblatus

Has anyone ever had their driveway re-surfaced using "resin bonded aggregate"

We got a leaflet through our door today from a company that does this and i wondered if it was any good.

Our driveway is concrete and doesn't look too good in my opinion.


So if anyone has any advice on this it owuld be good to hear it



Cheers


Rob

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TeflonTom

it's not very nice stuff to have to lay on the ground on when you are working under your car!

Dr Zoidberg

Dunno , but I'm also looking at getting mine done so I'd be interested to hear people's opinions.

So far the choices seem to be bog standard traditional tarmac , block paving which everyone seems to go for , or possibly the pattern imprinted concrete which I've seen nearby and it looks pretty good.

I'll need a drive roughly 3 car lenths doing. Anyone got any ideas on how much it's likely to cost.

So far I'm leaning towards tarmac with a border done in block paving

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Alex

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heresmo

Hi

I went for pattern imprinted concrete which has fibres which effectively strengthen and hold the "plate" together. I particularly wanted that so I didn't have weeds growing up inbetween, as with block paving, plus it needed no re-settling (as blocks do); also at that time, block paving was so popular as to be undesirable.

Comments: It was very expensive. It cracked (minor rather than chasms) ,which it shouldn't have, though I think it's because they didn't lay it thick enough rather than a technology flaw. Overall, I'd do it again, as it always looked nice, stayed level (didn't sink, as blocks can), and a quick hose-down was all it needed so no maintenance.

Downsides? It needed "re-glazing" (expensive acrylic varnish) every few years to keep it protected from rain acids. Salt is a no-no for concrete, so a question might be whether you are talking about a flat or sloping area for winter icy conditions as there's little traction on imprinted concrete.

Only my review on my experience of course.

Regards
Mo

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Dr Zoidberg

My drive slopes down towards the house and I want to be able to use it in the winter.

Sounds like imprinted concrete is not for me.
Cheers Mo

Block Paving the whole drive is just way too common for my liking , plus it shows up oil stains very badly. I sometimes work on my bike on the drive uner the car port and want to be able to change the oil without worrying about ruining the drive. Dark smooth tarmac hides the odd drip quite nicely

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Alex

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roblatus

Block paving is way too expensive too in my opinion.

I was thinking of tarmac but by the time there is a decent layer of the stuff down i would have less than two bricks from the surface of the tarmac up to my damp course which i believe is not good.

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heresmo

Can't comment on how far below a damp course things should be.

I'd perhaps mention that my imprinted concrete was being laid over part garden and part concreted pathway (which they had to dig up). They then used a heavy duty tamping machine to compress the underlying soil, which I guess would have lowered the height by at least a few inches, as well as giving a firm surface for whatever went on top. (Mine wasn't big enough to need expansion joints BTW, but it's worth considering that for any large expanse.)

FWIW my imprinted concrete was angled to give water run off in the right direction (I seem to recall that run-offs can cause problems if done willy nilly, especially if onto neighbours' property but might be a council thing as well. Sorry can't remember).

A neighbour went for a cheap tarmac drive (£400 vs £3.5k), which wasn't ace, but at that price, it could be resurfaced quite a few times methinks... I guess it's how long you're intending to stay there.

Regards
Mo

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stumpy1

From memory the damp course at 2 bricks will be fine. 140mm I think is the rule.

roblatus

Thats what i thought. If i had mine tarmaced it would probably end up less than that.

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ScoobyChris

Where's Briskoda's very own dodgy drive layer when you need him?

Chris

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delcac

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gillywibble

I had a quote to tarmac my drive (3 cars width) for £1500.

Decided to go for gravel. Cheapest quote on t'internet £40 a ton. Hooked the trailer on and went down the nearest quarry. 3 ton later, and a total of £35. Job done

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okeh

We have loads of bonded aggregate paths at work
and so far(been down for 5 years) they have been fine
Dont seem to attract moss or get weeds through and clean up well with a pressure washer

Some slight cracks due to shrinkage but they are fixed easily enough

The bonded glass drives are the dogs ********

roblatus

I would imagine a path would be ok. However a driveway is going to get a lot more wear and tear i would have thought. According to the leaflet i have had posted to me they lay the stuff 10mm thick. This does not seem a lot to take the weight of a car or two day in day out. Won't it break up like thinly layed tarmac does??????

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heresmo

I guess you mean 10cm? What is "the stuff"? IIRC anything less than 2" (5cm) of normal concrete is pretty pointless in any circumstance. Strengthened (with fibres etc) need to be less thickness than "standard" concrete mix, but as you say, it'll be relevant to the weight loading expected.

Not sure if you mean tarmac though? That will usually only survive if it has a properly prepared base IMO.

I don't know what the properties of bonded aggregates (courtesy okey) means?

Also, as mentioned, do they tamp down or level the underlying ground? Sorry if I'm repeating myself here.

Regards
Mo

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Dr Zoidberg

Stone chippings looks ok , but I've got a motorbike and thats no fun trying to turn it round on them.

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Alex

"I laugh in the face of danger, then I hide until it goes away"

www.drzoidberg.co.uk

cheezemonkhai

This stuff is the same as that gravel and resin bonder carp they use to badly resurface roads.

All they are doing is resurfacing your drive, so if the surface underneath is falling apart then all this will do is cover it. It the underlying stucture is sound this will probably look ok. If the underlying structure isn't sound then this won't be either.

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yashicamat

'resin bonded aggregate' sounds more like an actual plastic resin - much like the red surfacing you get around warning markings on the roads. It's very grippy and should be reasonably durable if you're not turning around on it.
To be honest, I think you'd be better off with bitumen mcadam surfacing - durable and smart. Might cost a bit more but it's very good quality stuff. If the concrete is sound, a good chemical clean up of the surface and the bitumen will stick to it no problem. Unlike some cowboys who lay 20mm of bitumen on broken rubbish, soil etc. and you end up with a wobbly drive which falls apart within months.
Bear in mind that a resin based surface is likely going to be with very fine aggregate (I'd guess 1mm-3mm) if it's the same stuff I'm thinking of, and as such it won't be porous so unless you've got at least a 1:200 gradient on your drive towards a drainage point, expect puddles!

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Fluffmeister

We had our house done last 18 months ago with pattern imprint concrete and it's holding up really well.

we used a local company (Warrington based) Creative Concrete based on a reccomendation.

We have had no cracking, and all it needs is re-sealing this year to give it the good as new look again. We paid £4k for the lot, front drive widened enough for 3 cars, the path running down the side of the house with a patio area and path in front of the conservatory.

Block paving looks good, but my neighbour 2 doors down had theirs done at the same time, block paved, and they have weeds coming through and in some of the recent heavy rain some of the sand has washed away from under it. The people who did it do have the driveway up to repair it which is fair enough.

Our concrete guys made a custom pattern imprint cover for the sewer cover and supplied lifters for it, and also put drainage at the garage because the drive slopes down and plumbed it into the main drain pipe.

All in all, really happy and I know they do travel round the uk. Can post pic's if anyone is a bit of a concrete spotter

Fluffmeister

Plus everytime you need to stop on the driveway you will be looking for a sidestand puck or have to put a slab down to park it up on

westerdam2

What was the area covered for the £1.5K? My drive is around 24 metres long by 4 metres wide and the 30+ year old tar is beginning to break up. There is also a steep slope so I'm guessing tar will have to be used again.

A local firm has been recommended but I would like to have a rough idea of cost before they come round in the next few days for a look.

What depth of tar should I insist on? Any tips/comments greatly received.

yashicamat

Block paving is the latest cowboy craze. If it's done to proper standards, there should be a geotechnical membrane beneath the sand layer to allow surface water to filter through without allowing any plants to grow through. Further more, there should be a really solid surface underneath but while concrete sounds a good idea, it's not porous so as was mentioned above, it can cause issues as rainwater can flow through the paviours.
Asphalt all the way for me - low maintenance and tough, doesn't show oil spills / brake dust / coolant drips etc. from when working on the car!

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Rob

Nissan Primera GT in Silver
'56 Octy 2 2.0TDi Elegance . . . also gone but not forgotten
2002 Fabia 1.9TDi . . . . gone but not forgotten

http://uk.youtube.com/yashicamatonline

Stuart_J

Sounds like a 10mm layer on top of your existing drive. If your existing drive has no signs of movement & the surface isnt breaking up this might be OK as all you will be doing is a cosmetic exercise.
If the drive is in any way suspect then it will need to be sorted before you lay the finish.
Be the drive Tarmac, Paviours Concrete etc it willl always need a good sub base to be laid on.
This agregate thingy is merely a finish, its similar to the stuff councils are using near pedestrian crossings etc as an anti skid surface but with bigger stones, a similar product is sometimes used around swimming pools as well. They are all resins with stones of various sizes in them.

We had paviours, looks great but in hindsight tarmac would have been better, its much more forgiving

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