What a resin driveway actually costs

For a domestic resin bound driveway in South Devon, expect somewhere around £40 to £70 per square metre if the surface is going over a sound existing base, and around £70 to £120 per square metre for a full installation including excavation, disposal and a new permeable sub-base.

On a typical two-car driveway of 40 square metres, that is roughly £1,600 to £2,800 for an overlay and £2,800 to £4,800 for a full build. Those are wide ranges and they are wide honestly: the variables genuinely move the figure that much.

Anyone quoting a firm price without seeing the site is guessing, and a guess that comes in low is the most expensive kind. Treat every figure on this page as indicative and subject to survey.

The condition of the existing surface is the single biggest factor. A sound concrete or tarmac base that can be cleaned, repaired and overlaid removes excavation, skip hire and tipping charges from the job, and those are a substantial share of a full installation. A base that has to come out takes the price to the top of the range.

Ground conditions come next, and in this region they vary more than people expect. Free-draining sandy ground, common around Exmouth, needs a straightforward sub-base. Heavy clay, which describes much of the Bovey Basin around Newton Abbot and the clay-with-flints around Honiton, needs extra depth, an attenuation layer or a positive drainage outfall to give the water somewhere to go. Budget an additional £10 to £25 per square metre where that applies.

Access matters more than it sounds. Materials arrive by the tonne and waste leaves by the tonne. A property with a narrow lane, no turning space or a long barrow run from the nearest hard standing adds labour to every stage, and it is a common reason two quotes for apparently identical drives differ by hundreds of pounds.

Area works against you at the small end. Setup, mixing plant and mobilisation cost much the same whether the job is 15 square metres or 60, so small driveways carry a higher rate per square metre and standalone paths usually carry a minimum charge.

Aggregate choice makes a modest difference. Marble and specialist blends cost more than standard granite and quartz, but the spread is measured in a few pounds per square metre rather than tens, and it should not drive the decision.

Excavation depth and what happens to the spoil. Removal and tipping is a real cost, and a quote that does not mention it may be assuming you are dealing with it.

The sub-base build: material, depth and the number of compacted layers. This is where corners get cut, because nobody can see it once the surface is down, and it is the part that determines whether the driveway lasts fifteen years or five.

The depth of the resin bound surface itself. Fifteen to eighteen millimetres is normal for a driveway carrying vehicles. A thinner pour uses less material and fails under wheel loading.

The binder. It should be a UV-stable polyurethane. Cheaper epoxy binders amber and yellow in sunlight, and on a south-facing Devon drive that shows within a couple of years.

Edge restraints and how the perimeter is finished, drainage provision including any channel drain or soakaway connection, and the aggregate blend named specifically. Recording the exact blend matters later: it is what makes a future repair match.

Three quotes for the same driveway commonly arrive at three quite different numbers, and the temptation is to read the gap as profit margin. Sometimes it is. More often the cheap quote has left something out, and the usual candidates are sub-base depth, surface depth and drainage.

None of those are visible on handover day. A drive laid thin over an inadequate base looks identical to a properly built one for the first two winters, which is precisely why it is a viable way to undercut. The difference shows in year three, in the wheel tracks, and by then the saving is gone.

The useful defence is not haggling but comparing like for like. Ask each installer for the sub-base depth, the surface depth and the binder type in writing. A firm doing the job properly will answer without hesitating, because those numbers are their argument. Ask what they intend to do about drainage on your particular ground, and be wary of a vague answer.

Very little, which is a genuine part of the value case. There is no annual sealing to arrange, unlike block paving, and no loose stone to top up, unlike gravel. Maintenance is an occasional wash and dealing with oil spills promptly rather than letting them sit.

Over a fifteen to twenty year life, that absence of recurring cost closes much of the gap against cheaper surfaces that need regular attention, which is worth putting into the comparison rather than judging on the installed price alone.