Driveways
The front of the house is the first thing anyone sees. Done properly it’s dug out, edged, drained and compacted before a single bag of surface comes off the van.
Two surfaces
Both last, both look sharp, and they suit different houses. Here’s the plain difference between them.
Natural stone mixed with resin and trowelled out to a seamless, permeable surface. No loose gravel tracked into the house, nothing to sweep back off the lawn, and it drains through rather than running to the kerb. It wants a sound base underneath — resin is a surface, not a structure.
Herringbone laid blocks with a soldier course border. It flexes rather than cracks, individual blocks can be lifted and put back if a service ever needs digging, and the pattern does a lot of the work visually on a plain frontage.
The build
The most common driveway failure isn’t the surface cracking — it’s the base underneath giving way, or the edges spreading because nothing held them.
Down to firm ground and carted away. A drive carries a car, so the depth is not the same as a patio.
Kerbs, setts or block soldier courses concreted in before the surface goes anywhere. Edges are what hold a driveway together.
MOT type 1 in passes with a roller or heavy plate, checked for level as it goes up.
Channel drains at thresholds and garage doors, and a permeable build-up or a run-off point where the regulations and the ground need one.
Tarmac binder under resin, or screeded sharp sand under blocks — whichever the surface calls for.
Resin trowelled out in one continuous pour, or blocks laid, cut in and sand brushed. Then it’s washed off and it’s yours.
We’ll come and measure up, talk through resin against block, and price both if you want to compare.
Drainage & the rules
Front gardens changed the day the rules on run-off tightened. It’s not a problem, but it does need thinking about before the digger arrives rather than after.
Recent driveways
Questions
Resin gives you a smooth, seamless, permeable surface with nothing to sweep up and very little upkeep. Block paving is more traditional, can be lifted and relaid if a service needs digging up, and gives you pattern and border options. Neither is better outright — they suit different houses and different budgets.
No, and it’s worth knowing the difference. Resin bound is stone mixed through the resin and trowelled out — smooth, permeable and long lasting. Resin bonded is loose stone scattered onto a resin layer, which looks like gravel and sheds stone over time. We fit resin bound.
For most domestic front gardens, a permeable surface or one draining to a soakaway or border generally doesn’t need permission, while an impermeable surface draining onto the road can. Rules change and every property is different, so check with Kirklees Council before committing — we’ll tell you what we’re proposing so you can ask the right question.
Sometimes, if it’s sound, level and properly drained. If it’s cracked, moving or sitting on nothing much, laying resin over it just transfers the problem to a new surface. We’ll tell you honestly which one you’ve got.
Far less than gravel or old flags. Resin bound has no joints to seed into. Block paving can get the odd weed in the jointing sand over time, which brushes or washes out easily.
It depends on size and what’s underneath, but most domestic drives are a matter of days rather than weeks. Resin needs curing time before you drive on it — we’ll give you the exact window before we start so you can plan where to park.
Areas covered
We work across HD postcodes and out into the surrounding valleys. Steep gardens, clay ground and awkward access are normal round here — it's what we quote for.
Further out? Ring 01484 243015 and ask.
Get in touch
Tell us roughly what you want and where you are. We come out, measure up, and send a written price with the work broken down — free, and with nothing chased afterwards.
Ring us direct
01484 243015Quickest way to get booked in for a look at the garden.