Resin bound gravel calculator

Driveways and patios are rarely perfect rectangles, so the same approach that applies to an irregular decorative bed applies here: split the area into two or three simple shapes, run each through the calculator with its own dimensions, and add the totals rather than forcing a curved or L shaped drive into a single length and width. Resin bound systems are usually quoted and bought by the square metre, so getting this area figure right before you request quotes matters more than it would for a loose material you can top up later, since a resin contractor will usually price against the figure you give them rather than remeasuring the site themselves at quote stage.

It is worth being clear about what resin bound gravel actually is before treating this page's output as a DIY shopping list. The aggregate and resin are typically mixed and laid as a single bonded system by a contractor, not stone bought separately with resin poured over it afterward, so this calculator is mainly useful for budgeting and for checking a contractor's quoted quantity rather than for ordering materials yourself the way you would for the pea gravel calculator or a self binding surface. If a loose, lower cost finish would do the job just as well, both the pea gravel option and the self binding gravel calculator are worth comparing before committing to a resin system, since both are more realistic as DIY projects and both can be revisited and topped up later far more easily than a bonded resin surface. A resin bound finish is harder to patch invisibly than either of those looser alternatives, so it is worth weighing that long term maintenance difference against the smoother, weed resistant surface it gives you.

Laying resin bound gravel directly over an existing surface, tarmac included, only works if that surface is sound. Cracks, soft spots or poor drainage in the base beneath an old driveway tend to reflect straight through a thin resin bound layer within a season or two, so it is worth having the existing surface assessed before assuming you can skip a full rebuild. Where the existing base is not sound, the project becomes a full sub base and surface build, which is closer in scope to what the gravel driveway calculator and the crushed stone calculator cover for the base course beneath it, and that extra base work is worth pricing in before comparing quotes against a simpler resurfacing job. A contractor who skips assessing the base before quoting is worth asking more questions of, since a quote that assumes a straightforward overlay can grow substantially once the existing surface is dug into.

Resin bound systems cost considerably more per square metre than a loose or self binding gravel driveway of the same size, largely because of the resin itself and the skilled labor needed to lay it evenly, so it is worth running the area from this calculator through the gravel cost calculator alongside a loose gravel estimate before deciding, particularly on a larger driveway where the per metre difference adds up quickly. Edging and drainage detailing around the perimeter also tend to add more to a resin job than to a loose gravel one, so it is worth asking a contractor to itemize those separately rather than assuming the square metre rate covers everything.

Installation is also more weather and timing sensitive than loose gravel. Resin needs a dry, settled window to cure properly, and a contractor will generally want a specific temperature range rather than laying in the middle of a wet or freezing spell, so timeline flexibility is worth building into the plan if you are coordinating this around other driveway or landscaping work, including the base preparation and edging that typically need to be finished and settled before the resin layer goes down. Booking the work with some slack either side of the planned date is usually easier than trying to hold a contractor to a fixed day regardless of the forecast, and most contractors would rather move a booking by a day or two than lay in conditions that risk the finish failing to cure properly.