Creating Resin Pathways: Expert Tips for Avoiding Mistakes

Planning the perfect pathway for your property? Get the best advice for creating a resin pathway that meets your needs and looks great!

Problems With Resin Pathways

The common problems that are found with a resin drive are usually caused by poor installation from inexperienced or unprofessional craftsmen. This is why it is important that you get a reputable driveway installation company to do your installation so that you can have a high quality, durable and eye-catching design which will serve you for years to come.

Most people tend to go for the cheaper options, but by doing so sacrifice quality. It doesn't end there, they may eventually end up paying double especially when problems begin to escalate.

Important Tips While Creating Resin Pathways

1. Your Aggregates must be Clean and Dust Free:

This is a very important tip that must be adhered to. Your gravel aggregates must be clean, free from contamination and impurities. Presence of impurities may prevent effective bonding between the resin and the stones.

Additionally, the stones must be free of dust prior to mixing with the resin. The reason is that resin tends to absorb dust particles for stone aggregates which reduces the bond strength. Also, you may have dull or cloudy surface finish after you are done with your installation.

Here at YourResinDriveway.com, we ensure that all aggregate stones in our supplies are clean and free from dust so as not to compromise the integrity of our installations.

2. Your Aggregates must be Dry:

One factor that will greatly affect the durability of your installation is using moist aggregates for your installation. Your aggregate stones must be dry and devoid of moisture.

Here is what happens when resin mixes with water. When resin comes in contact with moisture, the trapped bubbles of carbon dioxide appear as white patches on the resin pathway surface after the mixture has been cured and dried. With such white patches on your pathway surface, your resin bound installation loses its beauty and there is no consistency on the surface.

We connect you to the best professional craftsmen at YourResinDriveway.com, simply get in touch via our call lines.

3. Storage and Packaging is Crucial:

Adequate storage and packaging of your resin pathway materials is crucial to the long term success of your driveway. When substandard products are used in packaging aggregate stones, it can tear while transporting them to the installation site. This will also expose already dried aggregates to moisture and other contaminants which will affect the final appearance of the resin bound surface.

To avoid such problems, ensure you source your materials from trusted suppliers who take extra care to protect bagged products to forestall any tear, damage or spillage while on transit.

Also, when these products get to your property, ensure they are well stored in a clean and dry place until you are ready to commence installation.

4. Ensure you Install at the Right Depth:

While a resin driveway may be installed at a minimum of 18mm for very light traffic areas and up to 24mm for heavy traffic areas, resin pathway can be installed at a minimum depth of 15mm since there will be no vehicular movement on it. It is important that a resin bound surface is installed at the right depth to prevent cracks appearing on the surface over time.

5. Make Sure your Sub Base is in Good Condition:

If you are laying your pathway on a tarmac or concrete sub base, you must ensure that the integrity of the base is not already compromised. If there are cracks on the base already, those cracks will spread unto the pathway surface (this is known as reflective cracking). If you are not sure of how suitable the existing surface is, then it is better to do some site excavation and redo the base. That way you can be sure of your installation.

When laying your resin pathway on concrete, take care of areas where there are joints. This is because temperature changes cause concrete to expand and contract and this can lead to cracks on the resin surface.

6. Use the Correct Mixing Ratio:

This is very important to the longevity of your resin pathway. Most reputable companies have resin bound DIY kits with instructions on how to mix your resin. Ensure that you follow the instructions as outlined. You can also reach out to the customer care team and ask questions. Better still, allow a professional to do the job.

Most companies have two kit sizes, some have more. At YourResinDriveway.com, we work closely with professional installers who use quality materials such as the;

• 7.5kg UVR Bound plus kit

• 6.5kg UVR Bound kit

Contents of the 7.5kg UVR Bound plus kit

• 3 bags of 25kg 2-5mm aggregates

• 1 bag of 25kg 1-3mm aggregates

• 6.25kg of C52 sand

• Total 106.25kgs - % resin 7.05%

This kit will cover approximately 3.55m² at a depth of 18mm and 4.0m² at 15mm depth.

Contents of the 6.5kg UVR Bound kit

• 3 bags of 25kg 2-5mm aggregates

• ¹/₂ bag (12.5kg) of 1-3mm aggregates

• ¹/₄ bag (6.25kg) of C52 sand

• Total 93.75kgs - % resin 6.9%

This kit will cover approximately 3.13m² at a depth of 18mm and 3.6m² at 15mm depth.

7. Install on a Dry Day:

For best results and to avoid white patches on your pathway surface, it is best to lay your resin bound surface on a dry day. In case there is a forecast of rain during or within 4 hours after installation, it is advisable that you postpone the installation to ensure best results.

In practicality, laying a driveway during the summer is highly advantageous. You can be confident that there will be no rainfall, ensuring a completely dry surface (concrete, tarmac or grid) for installation.

8. Using a UV Stable Resin is Best:

There are mainly two types of resin used in resin bound surfacing. They are the Ultra Violet (UV) stable or non-UV stable resins. Unless you are sure that sunlight will not reach the pathway surface, it is best to go for a UV resistant resin. This will guarantee you no colour change or fading on exposure to sunlight and harsh weather conditions. Also, UV stable resins are more resistant to cracking the non-UV stable resin.

Do you have an upcoming Project?

If your answer is yes, then YourResinDriveway.com is here to serve you with high quality resin bound installation. Do not settle for less or for cheap installations from inexperienced installers.

You can call us today or simply request a free quote to get an estimate for the resin path cost for your property. Where there is a need, we conduct a free site survey and get back to you with a favourable quote.

Remember you will only have yourself to blame if you use substandard materials or fail to hire a specialist for your project.