Concrete that stays flat.

Fresh concrete needs to firm up before it takes vehicle weight. Foot traffic is usually fine after a couple of days, but keep cars, caravans and trailers off a new driveway for at least a week, and longer in cool or wet weather. We give you the date for your slab based on the mix and the conditions on the day.

Concrete shrinks a little as it cures, so hairline cracking inside a control joint, the grooves cut into the slab, is part of the process rather than a defect. What matters is a crack that runs across a joint, opens wider than a few millimetres, or has one side sitting higher than the other. Those point to ground movement or drainage and are worth a look.

Plain concrete is finished smooth or lightly broomed. Exposed aggregate has the top layer washed back after the pour so the stones in the mix show through, which gives a textured, non-slip surface. It costs more because of the extra finishing work, and it hides tyre marks and stains better.

It depends on what sits on it. A residential driveway is poured thicker than a garden path, and a shed or house slab is engineered to the load it carries and the soil under it. We work that out at the quote rather than over the phone, because soil type and intended use both change the answer.

Curing is the early stretch, roughly the first week, where the surface firms up enough for light use. Full strength takes about 28 days, which is the benchmark concrete is tested against. You can generally use the area well before then, but heavy loads wait until we give the all clear.

We do the whole job: excavation, base preparation, formwork, which is the timber or steel edging that shapes the slab, reinforcement, the pour and the finish. You do not need to line up separate trades for the groundwork.

Concrete needs a dry window to be placed and finished. From November to April a downpour can arrive at short notice, so we watch the forecast in the lead-up and reschedule rather than pour into rain. Once it is down we cover and protect the slab if more rain is coming while it cures.

Sealing is optional and we recommend it for exposed aggregate and decorative finishes, because it resists stains, oil and weathering. A sealed surface usually wants a fresh coat every couple of years, depending on sun and traffic. A driveway wears faster than a sheltered patio.

Most residential slabs use one, the other, or both. Mesh sits inside the pour to control cracking and carry load, and fibre is mixed through the concrete itself. We recommend the right approach for your slab based on its size and what it has to support.

Yes. We cut out and remove cracked or damaged concrete and prepare the base for a new pour. Cutting is also how we put clean control joints into a new slab, or separate a driveway from an existing footpath without disturbing it.

A driveway crossover, anything connecting to council stormwater, and anything affecting the road reserve usually needs council sign off, and plumbing work needs a licensed plumber. We handle the concreting side and coordinate with council and the other trades. Mention it at the quote so it is scoped in from the start.

Most residential jobs are booked a couple of weeks ahead, because the truck, the crew and the weather all have to line up on the same morning. A standard driveway is prepared one day and poured the next. The pour finishes the day it starts, since concrete does not wait, so the crew stays until it is screeded and finished.