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	SureSet Resin Bound Aggregate Surfacing Course

Introduction   - Advantages   Uses and Applications   Construction   - Base   - Resin   - Mixing   - Laying   The Aggregates   Contractor or DIY?   Designer's Dream   Further Resources

Resins Intro page   SureSet Site   Concrete Bases   Tarmac Bases

Introduction On this page, the methods and materials used in laying a resin bound wearing course are considered. As described on the Resin Intro page, resin bound aggregates use the resin to 'glue together' the individual aggregates and to bond the lot to the substrate, which is usually bitmac or concrete. The resin hardens in next to no time and you have a hard-wearing surface that can take foot or vehicular traffic the same day. The methods and materials shown on this page have been provided by SureSet UK Ltd, one of the country's leading Resin Bound Surfacing specialists. SureSet can supply all the materials necessary for this type of project, as well as having their own in-house crews of highly skilled craftsmen to undertake contracts for private, civil and commercial projects the length and breadth of the nation.

SureSet Surfacing to a Pedestrian Area

	More information on the range of specially selected aggregates, the resins, tools and their contracting services can be found on the SureSet website.
Advantages A resin bound wearing course offers a number of advantages: There are no loose stones - the decorative aggregate can't be scattered or kicked about. It's firmly and permanently bound It's a full-thickness system, at least 10mm thick It has a long lifespan as the resin and the aggregates are specially selected for durability It can be laid very quickly - a 2 man gang can lay 30m² or more per hour and, with good weather conditions, a gang of 5 men would expect to cover 350m² in a single day. It can be used to overlay existing 'tired-looking' surfaces Unique designs, logos and patterns are easily incorporated There's a huge choice of aggregates available including rounded or crushed stone and tumbled coloured glass. Aggregates can be 'blended' to produce a particular shade or tone as required. The finished surface is UV stable and is not affected by oil or fuel spillages Once set, the wearing course exhibits some flexibility enabling it to resist cracking It's wheelchair friendly, making it ideal for DDA schemes.

Uses & Applications: SureSet resin bound wearing courses can be used for all kinds of surfacing projects Driveways Access Roads Car Parks Pedestrian areas Plazas, Atriums and other amenity areas Cycleways and Footpaths Tree Pits Tennis Courts and other sports areas Pool surrounds Patios, Terraces and Roof Gardens Show Rooms and Display areas Internal Floors

A range of options... SureSet Surfacing offers a wide range of possible uses, and consequently, there are a number of different construction specifications. The typical construction for, say, a pedestrian only footway will not require as much "build-up" as that for a vehicular area. Tree pit installations will require specific aggregates to ensure a porous surface while internal flooring might use a very small aggregate. In all cases, the SureSet Technical Department can offer full advice on construction detail and suggest most suitable 'Build-Ups" for any application.

Construction Resin bound paving is a wearing course, or, as Brussels says we now have to call them, a "surface course". It's a self-contained layer that is laid over a suitable base. The basic premise is that the selected aggregates are mixed together with the resins and then spread, levelled and compacted over an existing surface to create a decorative surface that is exceptionally hard-wearing. The base, which is also known as the 'substrate' needs to be firm and sound, and because resin-bound surfacing is at least 12mm in thickness, there needs to be some form of 'edge restraint' to contain the surfacing.
The base The base, or substrate, is essential in providing the strength and load-bearing capacity of the pavement, and so a number of typical bases are used, depending on the planned application. For Pedestrian and low-speed occasional traffic use (driveways) a minimum 50mm compacted thickness of 14mm dense or close-graded bitmac is the preferred substrate. This substrate will need to be laid over a prepared sub-base - fuller details of bitmac/asphalt bases are given on the Bitmac Construction pages of this website. For heavier applications, particularly for vehicle overrun areas or tree pits, SureSet will be able to recommend a suitable base.
The substrate is laid in advance by a specialist blacktop gang. The usual standards for bitmac construction are followed and the completed substrate should be firm and laid to levels within the accepted tolerances for the type of substrate material that is used. As the SureSet Resin Bound surfacing is a full thickness layer, any minor deviation in the surface level of the substrate can be regulated with the resin bound material. Obviously, significant dips or low spots covering larger areas should be regulated with bituminous material, in order to achieve best values from the resin-bound material.

Edgings Resin bound surface courses are generally at least 10mm in thickness therefore some form of edge restraint becomes essential. Where edgings or kerbs are being used, the base course material can be left slightly low to accommodate the surfacing, but where no edging is present, it may be necessary to install a small edging-like strip, such as the aluminium edging shown below, to provide a working edge for the surfacing. These edgings are normally laid by the blacktop surfacing gang prior to the arrival onsite of the specialist resin-bound surfacing team.

Access Covers Access covers such as Stop Tap boxes, Manholes, Cable Ducting Covers and the like will need to be left 'proud' of the base course layer. Where a new base layer has been laid, this is easily done as part of those works, but when an existing surface is to be overlaid, it will be necessary to 'lift' the covers, by breaking them out and re-seating them to an elevated level roughly 10mm or so above the base layer. On projects where such accommodation works are necessary, then they should be done at least 24 hours before the resin-bound surfacing is due to be laid to ensure adequate time for any bedding mortars and patch repairs to cure/harden.

The resin The SureSet resin mixes two components with a hardening agent. The amount of hardener added to the blended resins is varied to adjust the working time of each batch. For example, adding 5ml of the hardener will give a working time of around 45 minutes, while reducing that to 3ml can extend working time to 80-100 minutes for more complex projects. The hardener is carefully measured in a syringe and added to the resins before mixing with a high speed paddle attached to a drill or other suitable power source. Thorough mixing is essential to ensure full distribution of the hardener through the resins so that curing time is equalized when the resin is added to the aggregates.
Hardener is added to resins	Mixing paddle	The resins are thoroughly mixed
	Safety Note: Once cured, the resins used in the SureSet surfacing present no hazard other than a danger of inhalation if the surface was to be burned or used as a base for a fire. Before curing, the resins present a small risk from inhalation and exposure to skin and eyes, and so it is imperative that appropriate safety equipment is worn when handling the resins, including eye protection, gloves and suitable overalls.

Mixing the Materials When the resins have been mixed, the selected aggregates are added to the pan mixer, agitated by the paddle and then the resin mix is added. SureSet prefer to use the Imer mixer. It is fitted with its own diesel engine, making it rugged, reliable and cost-efficient. Extensive trials by the SureSet staff found that the Imer mixers gave a consistently well-mixed product and they are so impressed with the performance that they now have three of these mixers on the payroll.

The aggregate comes pre-packed in weighed bags, so that an precise amount of aggregate can be added to the mixer for each batch. Although a single aggregate could be used, it is also possible to mix (or 'batch') different aggregates to achieve a blended look. In the project featured here, the tumbled green glass aggregate is blended with a fixed quantity of the tumbled blue glass to create a specific colour requested by the client.

The aggregates are added to the mixer...

...and then the resins are poured in.

The SureSet system is a Cold Mix & Lay Process - no heat is required or generated during the mixing and laying process. The aggregates and the resin are stirred for approximately 2 minutes, to ensure the resins are evenly distributed and the aggregates are fully coated. When the operative is certain the mixing is complete, the resin-coated aggregate is discharged into lined wheelbarrows via the hatch built into the mixer unit.

The mixed surfacing is discharged in barrows.

Note that the wheelbarrows are lined with polythene. This is done not only to prevent a build-up of resinous material accumulating on the skip of the barrow, eventually rendering it worthless, but also to prevent aggregate from different jobs or different colour blends contaminating the current mix. At the end of each batch of colour, or at the end of the shift, the polythene line can be stripped from the barrows and binned, leaving the barrow ready for the next job.

Laying Method As soon as the resin coated aggregates have been discharged, they are delivered to the laying site and distributed by shovel over the prepared base. Note that no primer is required as the adhesive qualities of the SureSet resins are more than adequate to ensure a firm and permanent bond to the substrate.
The material is spread with the lute...	...working it to a uniform level.
The aggregate is then worked back and forward, side-to-side, from a number of different angles using a lute to evenly spread the material while achieving a level surface. This is very similar to the way in which a bituminous wearing course material ("tarmac" to the non-trade readers) is worked prior to rolling. However, unlike a bitmac, the resin-bound material is not rolled, but is floated, that is, it is pressed and rubbed smooth with a bull float trowel, to create a smooth, even, tightly knit surface. The float operative will also work to fill any minor hollows or eliminate any minor humps that have been missed by the lute, as well as working the material close up around any access covers, lighting columns, sign-posts and the like.
A float is used to 'polish' the material....	....creating a smooth, level surface.

Once trowelled smooth, the resin may be lightly sprinkled with an exceptionally clean silica sand to reduce any surface tackiness and, more importantly, to enhance traction of the surface for foot and vehicle traffic alike during the first few weeks of use. And that's basically it. The resin will harden in less than an hour, and can be trafficked immediately. There's no cooling period, as there would be with bitmac, and there's no risk of the local eejits imprinting their name (or worse!) for posterity, as often happens with concrete left to cure overnight.

Tools are cleaned with white spirit which acts as a solvent for the resin mix until it has cured, after which, it becomes immune to white spirit or any other oil-based solvents.

The Aggregates: SureSet are able to offer a huge choice of aggregates, ranging from natural gravels and crushed rock, as well as recycled glass, crushed CDs, glass beads and a whole lot more. new aggregates are constantly being tested and evaluated for use, and, if you have some special material in mind for your project, the Technical Boffins at SureSet will be delighted to consider its potential. The images below illustrate only a small selection of the range of aggregates that area available. Contact SureSet's Technical Department for a full listing.
Pedestrian and vehicular use
6mm Light Green	3mm Grey	10mm Buff	3mm Tan
5mm Dark Terracotta	6mm Buff	6mm Yellow	6mm Gold
Pedestrian, Decorative or Internal use
4mm Grey	3mm rounded buff	6mm Green Glass	14mm Glass Beads
3mm Red	3mm Yellow	4mm White	6mm Pacific Blue
Tree Pit use
8mm rounded coral	10mm rounded buff	8mm Pearl	8mm Pink

Contractor or DIY? On the vast majority of projects, the clients elect to use SureSet's trained technicians to lay the material. This choice ensures the highest possible standards of laying with the added wealth of expertise that allows them to deal with any on-site difficulties or unforeseen problems. However, for smaller, residential projects where the budget may not allow for a team of trained operatives, SureSet have now made available a DIY package which makes it possible for the competent DIYer to lay their own surfacing. The kits come pre-packed with the selected aggregate, blended to the client's specific requirements, and a specially-formulated resin. The mixing and laying takes place just as described above, and if there are any problems or difficulties, the SureSet Technical Advisers are only a 'phone call away!

A Designer's Dream SureSet's resin bound surfacing allows intricate designs and motifs to be created within the pavement. A small edging, such as the aluminium units mentioned above, are normally used to delineate the areas of different colour, and then each colour is mixed and prepared, just as described on this page, before being applied, one colour at a time, until the design is completed.
The project highlighted on this page involved surfacing a number of traffic islands and pedestrian areas. The main colours used are the green/blue tumbled glass mixed seen above, along with a specially-blended brown multi colour aggregate which combines a number of individually coloured aggregates to create a multi-hued finish.

In the example shown below, a polished steel template has been used to create the outline of a complex design which was then surfaced using three different SureSet materials: the multi-brown background colour (as described above), along with an intensely blue crushed and tumbled glass, and a very light grey, almost white, contrasting aggregate.
	In this design on the left, the intense blue has been used to create a wave design through a lens-shaped area surfaced with the multi-brown material. The design is emphasised by the use of tumbled concrete block pavers to the front edge, with the dark brown clay pavers forming an edge course to the lens-shape. The design works by providing a pleasant combination of hard- and soft-landscaping at a busy traffic junction, improving the overall appearance of an urban area for both pedestrians and road users.
Two other designs - a contemporary decorative design in an urban area on the left and an aesthetically simple park pathway on the right.

Further resources:
Further information on SureSet's surfacing products and services are available from the website.