Can Resin Go Over Concrete? How We Check the Base First

Resin bound is a thin wearing course. It does not carry the load of a car on its own; the layer beneath does. A thick, well laid concrete slab that has not moved in years is already doing that job, so in the right condition it is an excellent base.

An overlay also keeps the existing levels close to where they are, which can matter at thresholds and garage doors. The resin adds only a modest depth on top.

Cracks: fine, static hairline cracks can be treated before overlaying. Cracks that are wide, stepped, or have one side higher than the other show the slab is moving, and that movement will reflect straight through resin.

Sinking and hollows: we look for areas that hold water or sound hollow. Settlement means the ground under the concrete has moved, and a new surface cannot fix that.

Breaking up: crumbling edges, spalled patches and loose pieces mean the concrete itself has failed.

Drainage: resin is permeable, but concrete is not. Water that drains through the resin needs somewhere to go, so the existing slab has to have falls that move water away from the house or into suitable drainage. We check falls with a level and look at where the water currently collects.

Levels at the house: the finished surface must still sit safely below the damp proof course and clear of airbricks. If adding resin on top would bring it too high, an overlay is not the right answer.

A sound slab still needs preparing. It is cleaned thoroughly to remove oil, dirt and any moss, repairs are made to minor defects, and a primer suited to the substrate is applied so the resin bonds properly. Edges are formed so the resin has a firm line to finish against.

Expansion joints in the concrete need thinking about too, because a slab that moves slightly with temperature at its joints can show that line through the resin. We will explain how we handle them on your drive specifically.

If the concrete is cracked through and moving, has sunk, is breaking up, or cannot be made to drain, we will tell you an overlay would be a waste of money. In that case we break out the old slab, build a new base and lay resin onto that. It costs more, and we will show you both options rather than quietly pricing the cheaper one.

On our resin price guide, an overlay sits at £65 to £90 per square metre and a full dig out at £90 to £130 per square metre, which shows why getting this answer right before quoting matters so much.

The same principle applies to sound tarmac, which is often a good overlay base. Block paving is not, because individual blocks move independently. Loose gravel and soil need a proper new base in any case.

Whatever route suits your drive, our ten year guarantee applies to all of our work.