Is resin cheaper than tarmac? What each one costs in Dublin

No, resin is not cheaper than tarmac. Delaney Tarmac's own prices in Dublin are €50 to €95 per square metre for a tarmac driveway and €150 to €250 for resin bound, both all-in. The resin price covers excavation, sub-base, edging, resin, aggregate and labour. HomePros (August 2026) puts a resin-bound driveway at €100 to €170 or more.

On a 50 square metre drive, that is €7,500 to €12,500 for resin against €2,500 to €4,750 for tarmac, both at Delaney's price. The gap narrows when good tarmac is already in the ground, because resin can go on top of it.

Resin and tarmac prices side by side

Why resin costs more than tarmac

Tarmac is laid by machine, so a crew covers ground quickly. Delaney's tarmac driveways go down as a binder course and an SMA wearing course, rolled hot from a paver. Resin is mixed in small batches on site and trowelled by hand, with Vuba resin and aggregate in every mix. Some blends cost more than others, and the blend is chosen from samples held up against the house.

Resin also needs a sound, bound base under it, which is often tarmac or concrete. A new resin drive on bare ground pays for that base first and the resin second. Paul Delaney, who has 45 years in the trade, explains why that cost cannot be skipped:

"The base is everything. If the sub-base is wrong, the whole thing fails inside three years."

Paul Delaney, Delaney Tarmac

When laying resin over tarmac brings the price down

A tarmac drive that is level, sound and draining properly can take resin directly, which removes the dig-out and most of the stone from the job. That is the biggest single swing in a resin price. On a 50 square metre drive, Delaney's resin prices in Dublin come out like this:

• Replacing an existing sound tarmac drive, with one Vuba aggregate and concrete edging: €7,500 to €9,500.
• With full excavation, a new hardcore sub-base, a granite sett kerb border and one diamond inlay: €11,500 to €13,500.

Cracked, sinking or badly falling tarmac cannot stay. Every crack underneath comes through the resin, so the base has to be put right first, and the saving goes with it. Resin laid over tarmac also drains no better than the tarmac under it, so the falls still have to carry the rain onto your own ground.

When tarmac is the better buy, and when resin earns the extra

Tarmac makes sense on a long or wide drive, where every square metre adds to the gap, and where the budget has to cover the whole frontage. Resin earns the extra on a smaller front drive where the look of the house matters. Laid on a permeable base it also drains through its surface, whereas tarmac is not permeable and relies on falls to carry the rain onto your own ground, which decides whether a driveway needs planning permission.

Ask for both prices on the same drive, so you can see the real gap for your house and ground. Every job carries a five-year workmanship guarantee, whichever surface you choose.