Melbourne's east and south east
Exposed aggregate concreting across Melbourne's east
Driveways, patios, paths and pool surrounds in your choice of stone, poured by a specialist in one finish. Published prices, a written specification and a fixed quote after the site measure.
- Published per m² prices on every service
- Supplier samples brought to your home, viewed wet and dry
- Washed to specification and sealed after cure
Published per m² prices
Decorative mix designed for your stone
The wash-off timed on the day
Sealed after cure
Published per m² prices
Every service is priced on the site, so you can budget before anyone visits and check any other quote against ours.
Supplier samples, viewed on site
Samples are viewed wet and dry against your home in daylight before the mix is confirmed with the plant.
The wash-off, timed right
The finish is won or lost in a window of hours on pour day. The whole day is planned around hitting it.
Sealed after cure
Every surface is sealed once the concrete has cured, with the reseal interval put in writing at handover.
Serving Melbourne's east and south east
Balwyn NorthBrightonDoncasterGlen WaverleyBentleighBox HillCamberwellHamptonMount WaverleyTemplestoweBlackburnMentone
What we pour
One finish, every surface it belongs on
Exposed aggregate and nothing else. The same decorative mix design, wash-off discipline and sealing standard, applied to every residential surface.
Exposed aggregate driveways
From $130 to $185 per m²
Stone and colour chosen at your house, base and reinforcement to the specification, the wash-off timed on the day, and sealing after cure.
Prices and detailsExposed aggregate patios and alfresco
From $140 to $195 per m²
Outdoor living surfaces in barefoot-friendly stone, with falls set away from the house and a finish that ties the garden to the architecture.
Prices and detailsExposed aggregate paths
From $130 to $180 per m²
Side paths, front paths, garden paths and outdoor kitchen pads, poured at full slab thickness in the same stone as the rest of the property.
Prices and detailsResealing and restoration
$18 to $30 per m² with a minimum charge, pressure clean included.
A pressure clean and fresh sealer that brings a dull surface back to poured-this-year, at a fraction of what the surface cost.
Prices and detailsRemoval and replacement
$165 to $220 per m² including removal of the old surface.
The old surface out, the ground corrected, and exposed aggregate in its place, one crew and one written price for the whole job.
Prices and detailsPrices are supplied and laid guides; they move with site conditions and variations. The written quote after a site measure is fixed. The cost guide covers what moves them.
Colours and stone
The same stone reads two ways
The stone sets the character and the cement paste sets the mood. Every combination is viewed wet and dry, on site, against your own walls before the mix is confirmed.
The finish
Up close, where this surface earns it
Every blend is chosen from samples at your house, wet and dry. More finishes in the gallery, and the colours and stone guide explains how each look is built.
The decision
How exposed aggregate compares
Most people weighing up exposed aggregate are choosing between it, plain concrete and pavers. This is the honest version of that comparison.
| Criterion | Exposed aggregate | Plain concrete | Pavers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decorative stone finish, colour right through | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Grip underfoot when wet, including slopes | ✓ | ✓ | |
| One continuous reinforced slab, no units to sink or spread | ✓ | ✓ | |
| No weeds or ants between joints | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Hides tyre marks and leaf stains | ✓ | ||
| Lowest upfront cost | ✓ |
Exposed aggregate costs more than plain concrete on day one and less than it looks like it should over ten years: no units to relay, no weeds to burn off, and a reseal every three to five years as the whole maintenance schedule. The cost guide puts numbers on it, or price your own job in the calculator.
The wash-off
The finish is won in a window of hours
Exposed aggregate is poured like any slab, then a surface retarder holds the top layer of cement paste soft while everything underneath sets. Washing that paste away at the right moment is what reveals the stone evenly. Too early and stone dislodges; too late and the paste locks in. The whole pour day is planned backwards from that window, and it is the reason this finish rewards a specialist. The specification sets out the full process.
How a job runs
Five stages, each signed off before the next
- 01
Site measure and samples
The area, the levels, the access and the ground, measured on site. Stone and paste samples viewed wet and dry against your walls in daylight, not from a brochure.
- 02
Written quote
One fixed written quote for the scope measured. Any council crossover permit your job needs is identified here, before anything is booked.
- 03
Form, base and steel
Boxing to the lines, base material brought in and compacted where the ground needs it, steel mesh on chairs. The day that decides how the slab performs.
- 04
Pour, wash and cure
The decorative mix poured and screeded, surface retarder applied, and the paste washed off inside its window to reveal the stone evenly. Then the surface is kept curing.
- 05
Seal and handover
Sealed after cure with the sealer suited to the surface, wet look or natural. The reseal interval and care notes are put in writing at handover.
The specification
The numbers we pour to
Published so quotes can be compared like for like. If another quote is cheaper, check it against these.
- 25 MPa
- minimum driveway concrete strength
- 100mm
- paths poured at full slab thickness
- On chairs
- mesh within the slab, never on the ground
- Hours
- the wash-off window the pour day is planned around
- 7 days
- vehicles stay off a new driveway
- 3 to 5 years
- reseal interval to hold colour and grip
Councils and crossovers
Seven councils, one crew that knows their crossover rules
A driveway that meets the road needs the council's blessing at the crossover, and Melbourne's eastern councils each run their own permit process, standard drawings and inspections. Monash, Manningham, Boroondara, Whitehorse, Glen Eira, Bayside and Kingston are the seven we work in every week, so what your job needs is identified at the site measure and confirmed in writing with the quote, before anything is booked.
Heritage overlays in parts of Camberwell and Brighton can add conditions on crossover width and materials. The areas page sets out each council's process, and the driveways page covers crossovers in detail.
Where we pour
Melbourne's east and south east, known street by street
Eastern suburbs
Working the same seven councils every week means the crossover rules and the ground conditions are already known before the site measure. More on where we work.
Questions
Exposed aggregate in Melbourne, answered
What does exposed aggregate cost in Melbourne?
Driveways run $130 to $185 per m² supplied and laid, patios and alfresco areas $140 to $195, paths $130 to $180, resealing $18 to $30 and full removal and replacement $165 to $220. The cost guide publishes every range and the calculator gives a figure for your size. Prices may vary with site conditions and variations; the written quote after a site measure is fixed.
How long does an exposed aggregate job take?
A site measure is usually within a few days of enquiry. Most residential jobs are two to three days on site: forming and base, then the pour and wash-off on one day. Vehicles stay off a new driveway for seven days as a guide, and sealing follows once the surface has cured.
Do I need a council permit?
Concrete inside your boundary usually needs none. Where a driveway meets the road, most eastern councils require a vehicle crossing permit before the crossover is touched. Which permit your job needs is identified in writing with the quote.
How do I choose the stone and colour?
From physical samples viewed wet and dry on site against your own walls, never from a printed chart alone. The colours and stone guide explains the local stones, what the oxide in the paste does, and which combinations suit render, brick and weatherboard.
Which suburbs do you cover?
Twelve suburbs across the east and south east at present, from Glen Waverley and Doncaster through Camberwell and Box Hill to Brighton, Hampton and Mentone, with more coming online. The areas page lists them all.