Resin bound gravel
The University of Greenwich has re-done much of its paving with resin-bound gravel on its Maritime Campus. It has one the most scenic campuses in Britain and certainly needs to be ‘paved with care’. But was resin-bound gravel the best choice?
Some of the pedestrian paving, usually adjoining buildings, is done with a beautiful riven sandstone. It comes from Yorkshire and has the local name Yorkstone. This is an excellent material. Other pedestrian paving, often running through grass areas, is ungraded gravel. This too is a good choice, though it is hard to fathom why they used granite instead of the local flint.
Most of the new paving on the campus is resin bound and uses a small-diameter flint gravel aggregate (2-4mm). For the central roadway this was a good choice. A bitumen macadam basecourse supports the weight of vehicular traffic. But the road is used as much by pedestrians as by vehicles and it was well worth the extra expenditure on resin bound gravel to hide the bitumen.
But I can’t see the point of having used resin-bound gravel for purely pedestrian walks or for the new car parks: (1) it costs a lot more money (2) it is impermeable and therefore works against Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS) objectives (3) it does not have that nice crunchy sound you get from gravel (4) it looks phoney - like a plastic imitation of gravel (5) it is out of keeping with the historic character of the Maritime Campus - where unbound flint gravel is the traditional material.
I have to disagree with your comments regarding resin bound paving.
You have incorrectly stated that resin bound paving is an impermeable product, when in fact it is a permeable product.
The image that you have added to your blog looks to me like a bonded system rather than a bound system. If this is the case then you would be correct in stating that it is an impermeable product.
Resin bound paving is a more expensive option, however you do not get the draw backs of having loose gravel. You don’t have to sweep away the gravel that has migrated to other areas and you don’t usually get weed growth through the paving. Providing you use a reputable company, with experience in the resin bound paving sector, you will not need to replace the surface as quickly as you would with a loose aggregate.
One other factor is that access for wheelchair users is not restricted. Have you ever tried to push a wheelchair or pushchair through loose gravel? I have and I can tell you that it is not easy. Having a smooth surface enables easy access.
I agree that it is important to try to encapsulate the heritage of an area and to use products that are in keeping with the surroundings, that is why some suppliers of resin bound paving can use aggregates local to the project, it’s just a matter of finding one that are able to do this for you.
Comment by Emma Dutton — July 7, 2009 @ 9:56 am
Thank you for the comment. I watched them laying the resin-bound gravel at Greenwich. It is on a bitmac basecourse which is itself impermeable. You are right about wheelchairs and I know they are hard to push.
Comment by Tom Turner — July 7, 2009 @ 12:24 pm