Resin bound drives & pattern imprint concrete

Hey guys, what’s the standard procedure for cleaning these kind of materials? I’ve never actually done anything other than block paving/slabs/ concrete & stone.

can these surfaces be pressure washed? Also does anyone have experiences of softwashing them? Just wondering if they’re particularly delicate, they are becoming more common these days

Wishing you all a great bank holiday weekend ? packed up & back at it tuesday

Awesome question!! I too have been wondering the very same thing. Id be very nervous pressure washing resin bound, surely concrete imprint is Just the same as concrete? 

Pressurewasher said:

Awesome question!! I too have been wondering the very same thing. Id be very nervous pressure washing resin bound, surely concrete imprint is Just the same as concrete? 

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?‍ I heard somewhere about the imprint becoming patchy or peeling i dont know it it’s a myth or not ?

I just give them a body swerve not worth the hassle. They can be easily discoloured and the owner wants the colour all the same so you could spend a week trying to fix it.  

scottish cleaning service said:

I just give them a body swerve not worth the hassle. They can be easily discoloured and the owner wants the colour all the same so you could spend a week trying to fix it.  

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For resin bound scottish or pattern imprint?

I used to sell pattern imprinted concrete driveways in the mid part of the last decade. A few years later permeable and to a lesser extent resin bound too.

With PIC the colour is added to the concrete. The concrete is laid and then the colour added to the top, while the concrete is setting. If you rip one up the bottom would be the usual grey colour but the top layer would be dyed whatever colour. You then add a protective coating to the surface. If the protective coating (Sealer) wears away it leaves the dyed concrete underneath open to the elements and the colour can be removed. If you are going to pressure wash an area as long and you don't focus on specific areas for long periods of time you would be able to clean them comfortably. If any of the sealer has started to wear away you may take more of it off and should probably offer a resealing service also.

Customers who have a good quality PIC driveway or patio without discolouration will probably do maintenance themselves or get a driveway company in. The chances are if they're ringing one of us they have let the sealer wear away already and damage has begun. Be very cautious.

With regards to sealer its worth noting that if mistakes have been made during the installation some sealers won't bond correctly to the surface. When I worked with PIC one of the companies I worked for stopped offering a seal and clean service because of that.

With permeable paving the idea is that the surface is permeable and allows water through. Not talking Resin Bound here, just bog standard permeable (looks like block paving) Since October 2008 any surface over 5 SQM has to be permeable or lead to a natural soakaway, if it isn't permeable or leading to a soakaway it requires planning permission. True permeable paving resolves this. It looks like block paving but has small ridges on the side of each brick which means they are all kept a few mm apart. The sub base is made from limestone and accepts water and allows it to naturally drain. Again nightmare scenario with permeable paving is some builders install it like block paving. If you turn up with a pressure washer and the builder has put a normal sub base underneath it will more than likely sink after washing, might be 6 weeks, might be 6 months but it will sink.

Resin bound IMO is an absolute nightmare to clean. Resin bound is a only around 2 inches thick in some installations, it is a permeable substance that is laid across solid concrete so essentially it is a big bowl sat on top of a driveway. If you soak that with your pressure washer the dirt is going to sit in the bowl and go nowhere. Professional installations may have drainage installed by adding a drain into the concrete somewhere but it isn't a requirement. If the resin is open sided the water can escape through the sides of the installation but the dirt is likely to be trapped within the makeup of the drive.

With regards to soft washing don't use any chemicals on PIC unless it is recommended by the manufacturer and I personally wouldn't put anything on resin incase it breaks it down and loosens it all up. The concrete in PIC is fibre entrained. Basically it has thousands of little fibres in it that hold it all together. It is stronger than using steel rods throughout as every lump of concrete latches onto the rest with the fibres. If you f&%k it up and have to pay out to replace one the price could be 5 or 6 times the usual because the removal of fibre entrained concrete is so much work. Your PL insurance won't cover you as they would say you weren't using chemicals or equipment in line with manufacturer guidelines.

scottish cleaning service said:

I just give them a body swerve not worth the hassle. They can be easily discoloured and the owner wants the colour all the same so you could spend a week trying to fix it.  

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You can't fix it mate. When they come out to ''fix'' discolouration they add extra sealer to an area to make it look darker, there is literally nothing else you can do. If you imagine the initial process is like dying clothes and you're being called back to a problem while the person is wearing the clothes. 100% agree, would swerve them,  CBA with this hassle.

Good info there thanks

Bewilders me why some people spend £100's or £1,000's on paving and just don't look after it ?

Cheers padster you’re a legend, this information is very useful 

Superb answer, thanks for the effort!! Ive just been for a mamouth dog walk around a fair few estates and about 50% are tarmac drives, The other half is block paving or concrete. I cAn count on one hand the amount of resin bound or imprinted concrete drives so probably best to swerve them, not much loss of business.

do any of you offer tarmac restoration? Seeing aS 50% of drives are Tarmac, theres a lot of drives that look tired but they are sound. There may be money in it???

Incheck said:

For resin bound scottish or pattern imprint?

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Both to be honest because there's a good chance it will end up patchy and how do you fix it? As paddy says, You Can't so all you get is the customer phoning you everyday to hear what you are going to do about it. :1f644:

Another vote for leaving it well alone here, Ive done one or two and they are always a ballache, cleaning them will remove patches of the sealant so like its been said here your going to have to reseal it (expensive for quality sealant) it pools in the grooves and if it goes off to quick it bubbles which is a nightmare, then theres the issue of faded areas that your going to need tint for........then tinting it so its a decent match and not like a paint, nah its just not worth it. I tell customers that they should have a word with the installers to see if they will re-seal it and leave it at that.

As for resin bound Ive done a couple but treat it like I would tarmac, if its mossy, kill the moss, sweep it off and use the rinse sprayer to remove dirt, to be honest I've dropped to doing mostly slab and block paving with the odd deck here and there, more than enough work doing that and no need to be messing on with all the materials and risk of PIC cleaning and sealing. 

If it's any help to anyone this picture shows block permeable paving on the left and block on the right. You can tell them apart as the permeable is not a perfect shape (In this case rectangular) as it has little grooves to keep the blocks a few mm apart. Standard block paving is laid next to the other block directly and only a tiny amount of sand will be In between.

I would avoid permeable as I know that over half of installations are done the old fashioned way (With a hardcore and sand base) The gaps in the blocks are for drainage and allow a lot of water through. Pressure washing will wash away the sub base and cause the driveway to sink. They should be laid on compacted limestone which will allow water to sit in the base and drain over time. Next time you're pricing up block paving watch out for this. A good quality install of permeable would be the cleanest pressure washing job around as the water would drain instantly, a poor installation could put you at risk.

Thanks Padster what a hero you are. I’m assuming permeable would be ok for a softwash? Just chemical & hosepipe? Due to it being permeable i would imagine they dont require significant cleaning anyway, i haven’t come across any like this round my area yet. The majority of drives are standard block paving, old school concrete, slabs or tarmac round here. 

Theres the odd resin bound but very few and far between, and pattern imprint are pretty few and far between also. Never seen these permeable blocks i dont think but will keep an eye out ?

Incheck said:

Thanks Padster what a hero you are. I’m assuming permeable would be ok for a softwash? Just chemical & hosepipe? Due to it being permeable i would imagine they dont require significant cleaning anyway, i haven’t come across any like this round my area yet. The majority of drives are standard block paving, old school concrete, slabs or tarmac round here. 

Theres the odd resin bound but very few and far between, and pattern imprint are pretty few and far between also. Never seen these permeable blocks i dont think but will keep an eye out ?

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A proper installation would be fine with chemicals. The only variable would be if the customer is harvesting the water from the sub base. If they are then you're gonna contaminate the tank with chemicals. It has a really high calcium content because of the limestone so they would only be flushing the toilet usually, not even good for the washing machine. Keep an eye out this week while you're out and about you'll start to notice the gaps, there will definitely be some but you won't have spotted them before I bet.