Exposed aggregate, burnished and honed concrete for driveways, paths, slabs and entertaining areas, finished to suit the house and landscape.
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A driveway is often the first thing people see of your home. On a new build or a major renovation, it should look like it was designed with the house, not added once the builders left. We pour exposed aggregate, honed, burnished and coloured concrete for driveways, paths, pool surrounds and entertaining slabs. Every pour starts the same way: excavation to the right depth, a compacted road base, reinforcing steel on bar chairs and edge formwork set to the falls the site needs.
Conditions across Sydney North Shore are harder on concrete than many people expect. Clay-heavy shale soils swell after summer storms and shrink in dry spells, which moves a slab that was laid on a poor base. Steep blocks and sandstone outcrops send stormwater straight down the drive. Shaded sites under eucalypts and turpentines collect leaf litter, tannin stains and mould in the humid months. We plan control joints, drainage and sealers around these conditions so your concrete stays sound and looks clean between washes.
Concrete rarely sits on its own in our projects. A driveway on a sloping block often needs retaining walls to hold the cut and the fill. A honed concrete pool surround might connect to sandstone steps or paving and natural stone around the house. Because we manage the whole outdoor scope, the levels, falls and finishes all line up, and you deal with one team from excavation to final seal.
Each stage of the pour is planned around your soil, slope and chosen finish.
We take levels across the site and check how stormwater moves from the street, the house and any slope above. We also check whether your council will need a vehicle crossing approval. You then choose your aggregate blend, oxide colour and finish from physical samples, so you see real concrete rather than a brochure photo.
Old concrete and unsuitable soil are dug out with an excavator and removed. We lay road base and compact it in layers with a plate compactor, then set timber or steel edge forms to the planned falls. Trench drains, conduits and irrigation sleeves go in now, before any concrete covers them.
Reinforcing mesh sits on bar chairs so it ends up in the body of the slab, not on the ground. The concrete is placed, screeded and floated. Then the finish goes on: retarder sprayed and washed off for exposed aggregate, or steel-trowelled for burnished work, with the timing judged on the day's heat and humidity.
Control joints are saw-cut once the slab can take the blade, so any shrinkage cracking follows straight lines rather than wandering across the drive. Honed surfaces are diamond-ground after the slab hardens. Once the concrete has cured, we clean it and apply a sealer chosen for the location, adding anti-slip grit where people walk barefoot or wet.
Strength, a better look and less cleaning in North Shore conditions.
A compacted base, correctly placed steel and planned joints help your slab cope as the clay below it swells and shrinks. Built-in drainage moves storm runoff away from the garage and the house instead of letting it pool or scour the edges.
Aggregate blends and oxide colours chosen to sit with your sandstone, render and roof tones make the driveway feel part of the design. Matching the concrete to your paving, pool coping and steps gives the whole property a consistent finish.
The right sealer slows down tannin staining from gum leaves, oil marks from cars and mould growth in damp, shaded spots. Most of the time a hose-down or a gentle wash keeps it presentable, with resealing done when the surface starts absorbing water again.
We regularly work on clay subsoils, sandstone outcrops and steep battle-axe driveways. We plan base depth, reinforcement, falls and drainage around what is actually under your site, not a standard flat-block design.
Your driveway, pool surround, walls, steps and entertaining area are designed and set out together. Levels meet cleanly at thresholds, coping and garden edges, and you avoid awkward steps or mismatched finishes between trades.
We handle demolition, excavation, drainage, retaining, concrete and the surrounding landscape. You deal with one project manager, and the trades are sequenced so heavy machinery has gone before your finished surfaces go down.
Exposed aggregate wash-off, burnishing and honing all depend on timing, and humid or hot days change that timing. Our crews read the slab on the day, which is the difference between an even finish and a patchy one.
Common questions answered
The main factors are area, access, how much old concrete or soil needs removing, and how steep the site is. The finish also matters, since honed concrete needs extra grinding and premium aggregate blends cost more than standard mixes. Drainage, retaining and council crossover work can add to the scope, so we price each job after a site visit.
Both work well. Exposed aggregate has a natural texture that gives good grip. Honed concrete is smoother and more refined, so we add an anti-slip additive to the sealer where people walk wet and barefoot. We usually bring samples of each so you can feel the surface underfoot.
It depends on the mix, the slab thickness and the weather during curing. Concrete gains strength gradually and cures differently in humid weather than in hot, dry spells. We will tell you when foot traffic and car traffic are fine for your particular pour, and we leave the area barricaded until then.
Concrete shrinks as it cures, and reactive clay soils move with the seasons, so fine cracking is always possible. Saw-cut control joints, a properly compacted base and correctly placed reinforcement keep that movement to the joints and stop it running across the slab. Tree roots and poor drainage are the other big causes, and we deal with both at the planning stage.
It depends on sun exposure, traffic and the sealer used. Driveways in full sun and areas near salt air usually wear their sealer faster than sheltered paths. A simple test is to splash water on the surface: if it soaks in and darkens instead of beading, it is time to clean and reseal.
We provide Decorative Concrete & Driveways throughout Sydney North Shore, NSW and surrounding suburbs.
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