Resin Bound Driveway, Block Border & Recessed Manhole Detail — Kendal
A broken concrete and tarmac frontage removed entirely and rebuilt from formation up: new sub-base, charcoal block border with a pale contrast course, a recessed tray manhole and a seamless pale gold resin bound surface sweeping to the road.
The frontage had been patched more than once. Concrete slabs had lifted, the tarmac apron had gone soft at the edges and water sat against the threshold of the house every time it rained. Overlaying would only have hidden the problem, so the decision was made early to take everything out and start again.
The old surfaces were broken out by hand where they met the house and the neighbouring boundary, then lifted by mini excavator. Spoil went straight into a grab lorry at the kerb rather than sitting in heaps on the frontage, keeping the drive workable for the family throughout.
With a clean formation trimmed and compacted, geotextile was laid and open-graded stone tipped, spread and compacted in layers. Only then did the shape of the finished drive get set out — a charcoal block border with a single pale contrast course, bedded on concrete and haunched so it will hold the resin edge permanently.
The detailing is where the project earns its keep. The manhole was replaced with a recessed tray so the finished surface runs across it almost invisibly. New block steps were built at the red front door so the threshold finishes flush and dry. Everything was compacted, primed and left true before resin was mixed.
The surface itself went down in a single day: pale gold aggregate and UV-stable resin mixed in weighed batches, barrowed out, spread and hand-trowelled to one continuous plane. From the road, the drive now reads as one clean sweep of stone with a dark frame around it.
What we solved
Cores showed the old concrete sat on very little. Rather than overlay a base we could not vouch for, the frontage was excavated to depth and rebuilt properly — the reason the programme ran six days rather than three.
Levels were reset so water falls away from the door instead of towards it, and the manhole was swapped for a recessed tray so the cover disappears into the finished surface rather than interrupting it.
Work was sequenced so there was always a walkable route to the front door, spoil left by grab lorry the same day, and the pavement crossing kept clear for neighbours throughout.
Installation timeline
Access agreed, pavement crossing protected and the frontage set out. Edges against the house and boundary broken out by hand to avoid damaging brickwork.
Old concrete, slabs and tarmac lifted by mini excavator and loaded directly into a grab lorry at the kerb, so nothing was stockpiled on the frontage.
Formation trimmed and laser-checked, falls set away from the house and the finished level worked back from the door threshold and the road.
Geotextile laid, then open-graded stone tipped, spread and compacted in layers until the base rang true underfoot.
Falls carried to the road edge, the existing chamber raised to finished level and a recessed tray cover fitted ready for infill.
Charcoal blocks laid to line with a single silver contrast course, bedded on concrete and haunched both sides to restrain the resin permanently.
New block steps built at the front door so the threshold finishes flush, dry and level with the new surface.
Pale gold aggregate and UV-stable resin forced-action mixed in weighed batches, barrowed out and spread in one continuous pour across the frontage.
Hand-trowelled while workable, the manhole tray infilled to match, and every edge worked tight to the block border by hand.
Surface cured overnight, site swept and cleared, cones lifted and the finished driveway handed over with an aftercare note.
From the film
We'll walk the space with you, talk through build-up, drainage and finish, and leave you with a clear plan — no pressure, no obligation.
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