How Much Does a Resin Patio Cost?
Updated: 3 days ago
Expect a resin bound patio to cost about £60 to £95 per m² where the existing base is sound (MyJobQuote, 2026), rising to commonly £180 to £250 per m² when a new base has to be built (an industry figure quoted by Homebuilding & Renovating). Those figures are written for driveways, not patios. A patio uses the same materials and method, but because it is small, the price per m² tends to land towards the top of whichever band fits your base. The real figure for your garden depends on what is there now and what has to go underneath.
Typical resin patio prices per m2
The two figures are far apart, and the gap tells you something: it is the base. Here is what each source says:
MyJobQuote (August 2026): £60 to £95 per m² for a resin driveway, depending on size, resin system and preparation, with a team day rate of £300 to £500.
Homebuilding & Renovating (June 2025), quoting the managing director of a resin aggregate manufacturer: commonly £180 to £250 per m² for resin bound including the base, against £80 to £120 per m² for a resin bonded overlay excluding base preparation.
Both are driveway figures, because neither source prices resin patios separately. A patio uses the same materials and method as the resin drives we lay, so the per-m² logic carries over; the difference is the size. Our resin driveway cost guide goes through the driveway figures in full.
Why small patios cost more per square metre
The larger the area, the lower the price per m² tends to be. A resin job carries fixed costs that do not shrink with the area. The mixer, the team, the travel, setting out, priming, edging and the minimum batch of resin and stone are all there whether the patio is 12m² or 40m².
So a 15m² patio is rarely priced at 15 times a driveway rate. Some installers set a minimum charge, and some will offer a better rate if the patio is done at the same visit as a drive or path. If you are planning both, ask for them to be priced together.
What pushes a resin patio price up or down
In rough order of how much they move the number:
The base. Overlaying a sound concrete patio needs cleaning, repairs and primer. Digging out and building a new permeable base (open-graded stone sub-base plus porous asphalt) is the biggest single extra, and it is the main reason the Homebuilding figure, which includes the base, sits so far above the others. Old slab patios usually need lifting, because the joints between slabs tend to reflect up through resin as cracks.
Removal and disposal. Taking up an old patio means labour and skips. MyJobQuote's patio guide puts removal at around £25 to £50 per m² for a small patio.
Edging. Resin needs a fixed edge to finish against. A metal strip is the cheapest; brick, block or stone borders cost more and add labour, especially on curves.
Access. If every barrow of dug-out soil and every bag of stone has to go through the house or down a narrow side passage, the job takes longer.
Steps and levels. Steps need nosings and careful detailing, and changes in level mean more edging and more base work.
The resin and the blend. UV-stable resin costs more than non-UV resin (MyJobQuote lists roughly £5.30 to £5.90 per kg against £4.20 to £5.20), and decorative or coloured blends cost more than standard ones. Non-UV resin is cheaper but yellows in sunlight; on a sunny patio that saving shows.
Drainage. A permeable resin patio on a permeable base drains itself. An overlay on concrete does not, and if water has nowhere to go you may need a channel drain or soakaway. MyJobQuote lists a soakaway at about £850.
Rough totals by patio size
As a guide only, applying the £60 to £95 per m² sound-base band for resin bound to common patio sizes, with the £180 to £250 per m² new-base figure in brackets:
10m² (a small seating area): around £600 to £950 (£1,800 to £2,500 with a new base), though a small job often costs more than this arithmetic suggests.
20m² (a typical family patio): around £1,200 to £1,900 (£3,600 to £5,000).
35m² (a large patio with a path): around £2,100 to £3,325 (£6,300 to £8,750).
These are straight multiplications of UK market driveway rates, not Drive Tech prices, and removal and extras can come on top. The only reliable number for your garden comes from a quote after someone has seen it.
How resin compares with a slab patio on price
MyJobQuote's 2026 patio guide gives a typical all-in rate of about £60 to £120 per m² for a slab patio, with porcelain material at roughly £50 to £100 per m² and Indian sandstone at about £40 to £55 per m². Resin bound overlaps that range. Where it tends to win on value is a patio that would otherwise need extra drainage, curved edges that slabs would need cutting for, or a base that can be reused.
What a resin patio quote should include
Two quotes for "a resin patio" can describe very different jobs. Before you compare prices, check each one says:
Bound or bonded. Resin bound is mixed and trowelled; resin bonded is stone scattered onto a resin coat and is cheaper, thinner and usually not permeable.
UV-stable or not. Get it in writing.
The depth. Specifications typically give around 15mm for patios and footpaths.
The base. Overlay or new build, and if new, what goes in and how deep.
Edging, removal and disposal. Included or extra.
The guarantee. What it covers, and for how long. Ours runs 10 years and covers materials, workmanship and structure.
Our post on how a resin driveway is laid walks through the stages, which makes it easier to spot a quote that skips one.
Resin patio cost questions, answered
Is a resin patio cheaper than a resin driveway?
In total, usually, because it is smaller. Per square metre, often not: a patio is thinner (around 15mm against about 18mm for a drive) but loses economies of scale.
Does a resin patio need planning permission?
A back garden patio is not covered by the front-garden hard surfacing rule. In a front garden in England, permeable resin bound on a permeable base meets the government guidance; a non-permeable surface over 5 square metres would need permission unless water drains to a lawn or border.
Can I save money by laying it myself?
Kits are sold, but a patch of badly mixed or slow-to-spread resin cannot be fixed afterwards without cutting it out. The savings are in labour, and the base work is the bulk of that labour anyway.
Our resin bound team covers Wolverhampton, the Black Country and south Staffordshire, and every quote is written after a free site visit so the base is priced properly. For layout ideas before you get a price, see our post on resin driveway ideas, most of which work just as well behind the house.
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