Trade 5 of 33Updated May 2026

A research dossier · 41 NSW + 32 QLD + 31 VIC homeowner posts · structural concrete standards verified against AS 3600

Hiring a Concreter
is one of the few jobs
you can't take back.

Once concrete is poured, finished and cured, fixing a mistake means breaking it out. The cheap concreter who skips the reinforcement mesh saves you $300 today and costs you the whole driveway in 18 months when the cracks open up. The questions on this page exist to put the mesh, the falls, the cure time, and the reinforcement bars into the conversation before the truck arrives.

$150–$250

Plain driveway per m² — the honest range.

SL72

The reinforcement mesh code you should be quoted.

28 days

Full design-strength cure. Not 2 days. Not a week.

How this page was built

A research dossier, not a referral page.

Sources

Reddit (r/sydney · r/melbourne · r/AusRenovation), Whirlpool, ProductReview, AS 3600 (Concrete Structures) + AS 1379 (Specification + supply of concrete), NSW Fair Trading + QBCC + VBA.

Verification

Pricing cross-checked across NSW, QLD, VIC. Reinforcement mesh + slab thickness rules verified against current building codes. Decorative finishes priced from working concreters.

Funding

No concreter pays for placement. No referral fees. Funded by the supply-side flyer service at flyers.needatrade.com.au.

Before we start

The pour is the easy part.
The prep + the cure are the job.

What separates the $150/m² driveway that's perfect at year 10 from the $130/m² driveway that's cracking at year 2 is invisible. It's the sub-grade preparation, the reinforcement mesh, the falls cut accurately, the expansion joints placed at the right intervals, and the cure regime in the first 28 days. None of which the cheap concreter shows you — but all of which decide whether you're re-pouring in 2027.

The 10 questions below force the invisible work into the open. A working concreter welcomes the questions — most of their margin is in doing the prep properly. A cowboy stalls — the cheap quote only works if you don't ask.

Concrete you can break out and re-pour is concrete that was poured without thinking. The honest concreter never wants to come back for that reason.

How much should it really cost?

Concrete pricing is per square metre + a thickness/reinforcement uplift. The cheap quote is almost always pricing a thinner slab + lighter mesh.

Six lines a real concrete quote shows

1Sub-grade prep. Excavation depth, compaction, sand base, road-base, vapour barrier where required.
2Form work. Boxing the perimeter, setting falls, control joints marked.
3Reinforcement. Mesh size (SL72 / SL81 / SL92), trench mesh in edges where needed, bar chairs to lift mesh into the slab.
4Concrete spec. Strength (N20 / N25 / N32 MPa), slump, aggregate size. From a batch plant, with delivery dockets kept.
5Finish + cure. Brush, trowel, exposed agg, polished. Cure compound or wet-cure regime spelled out.
6Joint detail. Saw-cut control joints at 3–4m intervals. Expansion joints against the house + driveway edges.

Indicative ranges · per m²

AU 2026

Plain grey driveway (100mm + SL72)	$150 – $250/m²
Coloured / stained	$200 – $300/m²
Exposed aggregate	$240 – $360/m²
Stamped / stencilled	$220 – $340/m²
Polished concrete (indoor)	$280 – $480/m²
Cheap quote (thinner slab, lighter mesh)	under $130/m²

Indicative. Steep blocks, structural / suspended slabs, heritage finish-matching = upper end.

Ask this, exactly

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"Can you send the quote with slab thickness, mesh code (SL72 / 81 / 92), concrete strength (MPa), and the cure plan — line by line?"

How to tell a real one from a cowboy.

The concrete villain isn't flashy. It's the operator who quotes 75mm thick when the standard is 100mm, skips the mesh because "we don't need it on a driveway," and pours in 38° heat with no cure plan.

Red flags — in order of how often you'll meet them

!
No mesh code on the quote
"We use mesh" without a code (SL72 / SL81 / SL92) means whatever was on the truck. SL72 is the residential driveway standard. Cheaper meshes exist and they fail earlier.
!
Slab thickness under 100mm
Standard driveway = 100mm. Heavy vehicle access = 125mm+. Anyone quoting 75mm is selling you a cracking slab inside three years.
!
No control joints / expansion joints
Concrete shrinks as it cures. Without saw-cut joints, it cracks wherever it wants. With them, it cracks at the joints — invisible. Required, not optional.
!
No cure plan
Concrete cures over 28 days. The first 7 days are critical. "Just wet it down occasionally" isn't a cure plan. Hessian, plastic sheet or cure compound — pick one and stick to it.
!
Cash payment
No invoice trail = no warranty = no comeback. Same as every trade — but concreters seem to push it more often.

The verification routine — 5 minutes, free

✓
State licence above threshold. NSW: concreting over $5k needs a Specialist Trade certificate. QLD: above $3,300 needs QBCC. VIC: above $10k needs VBA registration.
✓
ABN on abr.business.gov.au.
✓
Public liability + workers comp. Certificate of currency.
✓
Two reference jobs at year 3+. Drive past. Concrete tells the truth at year three — perfect if the prep was right, cracking everywhere if it wasn't.
✓
Concrete batch delivery docket kept and given to you. Records the strength + slump on the day.

Ask this, exactly

"Can you send your licence number, public liability certificate, and confirm the mesh code + slab thickness + concrete strength — before I sign?"

What licence applies?

NSWNew South Wales

NSW Fair Trading

Concrete work over $5,000 needs a Specialist Trade certificate.
Structural slabs (suspended, footings) need a builder's licence.
Max deposit: 10%.
Check Service NSW.

QLDQueensland

QBCC

Concreting over $3,300 needs a QBCC licence.
Same threshold triggers Home Warranty Scheme.
Check qbcc.qld.gov.au.

VICVictoria

VBA

Structural concrete over $10,000 needs VBA registration.
Above $16,000: Domestic Building Insurance required.
Check vba.vic.gov.au.

Half-time

Concrete tells the truth at year three.

Quote anatomy, the cowboy test, the licence. The first three sort the working concreters from the ones who skip the mesh. The next seven are how you tell the working concreters apart from each other — and how the slab stays clean through 2046.

When can you actually pour?

Concrete pours have weather windows. Too hot = surface dries before the body cures, causing crazing. Too cold = strength gain slows; freeze damage in extreme cases. Rain in the first 6 hours = surface wash and ruined finish.

Ideal pour day.

15–25°C, low wind, no rain forecast for 12 hours. Late autumn + early spring most reliable.

Cure window.

7 days minimum before walking on it. 28 days to design strength. Heavy vehicles only after 14 days.

Rescheduling rule.

A working concreter postpones rather than pour in 38°. Cowboys pour anyway to hit the booking.

Ask this, exactly

"What's your rule for hot-weather or rain-forecast days, and what's your cure regime for the first 7 days?"

What happens next, step by step.

1Step
Site assessment
Levels, soil, drainage, access. Existing surfaces measured. Engineering certificate if structural.
2Step
Excavation + sub-grade
Dig to depth. Compact. Sand or road-base laid. Plumbing + electrical conduit run before pour.
3Step
Form work + reinforcement
Box perimeter. Set falls. Place mesh on bar chairs at half-slab depth. Trench mesh in edges.
4Step
Pour day
Concrete truck on site (sometimes pump truck). Pour, screed, float, finish. Control joints cut while wet.
5Step
Cure
Wet hessian, plastic sheet, or cure compound applied. Site barricaded. 7 days no traffic minimum.
6Step
Sign-off + invoice
Itemised invoice. Delivery dockets attached. Photos of completed work. Maintenance guide if decorative finish.

Plain, exposed agg, or polished?

Three finishes. Different upfront prices, different maintenance, different lifespans.

Option A · best value

Plain grey

Standard concrete finish — brush, broom, or trowelled smooth. Cheapest, longest-lived, lowest maintenance.

Right when: utility driveway, side path, garage slab, budget-conscious.

Wrong when: aesthetic feature of the front of the house.

$150 – $250/m²

Option B · most popular

Exposed aggregate

Top layer washed off to reveal stones. Decorative + slip-resistant. Needs seal coat every 3–5 years.

Right when: front driveway, pool surround, alfresco area, slip resistance + aesthetic.

Wrong when: indoor or you don't want the maintenance cycle.

$240 – $360/m²

Option C

Polished

Mechanical polish to a high sheen. Mostly indoor — living areas, commercial. Specialist trade.

Right when: indoor floor, modern aesthetic, low-maintenance finish desired.

Wrong when: outdoor (slip risk + UV fade) or you can't live with hairline cracks.

$280 – $480/m²

Warranty — cracking isn't always a defect.

Concrete cracks. Hairline cracks at control joints are normal. Diagonal cracks through the body of the slab are not. The warranty needs to spell out the difference.

Layer 01
Statutory structural
6 years (NSW · VIC) / 6.5 years (QLD) on structural concrete above the threshold. Free, automatic.
Layer 02
Workmanship
Typically 1–5 years. Should distinguish hairline shrinkage cracks (normal) from structural cracks (defect). Should specify slab thickness, mesh code, and concrete strength as the work standard.
Layer 03
Concrete supply quality
Delivery dockets are your proof of strength + slump. Batch plant warrants the spec on the docket.
Layer 04
Insurance-backed
HBC / HW / DBI applies above state thresholds. Same as building work.

Ask this, exactly

"Could you list the workmanship warranty, specify what's a defect vs normal cracking, and confirm you'll give me the batch delivery dockets?"

Soil, slope, drainage.

Reactive clay
Sites that move with moisture. Need thicker slab, more reinforcement, expansion joints closer together. Site classification report should exist.
Slope
Anything over 1:20 needs grading / retaining considerations. Steep driveways need engineered design + traction finishes.
Drainage
Falls cut into the slab + ag-drain at low points. Slab without falls = pooling water + moss + slip hazard.
Access
Concrete truck needs to back to within ~30m of the pour. Beyond that = pump truck = additional cost.

Ask this, exactly

"What's the soil class, what slope + falls are you working with, and is the truck access in the quote?"

Edge cases — get a second opinion for…

Suspended / structural slab

Engineering certificate required. Builder's licence (not just concreter's). Reinforcement design + temporary supports + curing regime tighter.
Polished concrete (indoor floor)

Specialist sub-trade. Levelling rules tighter. Hairline cracks visible — design joint placement carefully.
Pool surround / pool deck

Slip-resistance + chemical resistance. Slope away from coping. Specific sealers.
Heritage area

Council may restrict colour, finish, joint pattern. Some Conservation Areas prohibit driveway widening.
Heavy-vehicle access

125mm+ slab + heavier mesh + concrete N32 strength. Trades / equipment / boat trailers all need this spec.
Steep driveway > 1:8

Grooved finish or anti-slip texture. Engineered grade. Drainage at base mandatory.
Reactive clay site

Site classification report. Engineering design. Sometimes a structural rather than residential concreter is required.
Coastal corrosion zone

Galvanised or stainless reinforcement. Marine-grade additives. Within 1km of coast.
Pour in winter / hot weather

Specific additives (accelerators / retarders). Curing more aggressive. Cowboys ignore this; cracks two years later.

After they leave.

Concrete aftercare is mostly about respecting the cure window — and re-sealing decorative finishes every few years. Walk on the slab too early, drive on it too early, or skip the seal coat, and you cut years off the life.

7-day cure window.

No foot traffic. Hessian or cure compound stays. Concreter writes this on the invoice + barricade in place.

14-day light vehicle.

Light car on the slab from day 14. Trucks / boats / trailers wait 28 days.

Seal coat (decorative).

Exposed agg + stamped + coloured finishes need re-sealing every 3–5 years. Plain grey doesn't.

Delivery dockets in your file.

Your evidence of strength + slump if you ever need to claim against the concrete supply quality.

Ask this, exactly

"What's your cure regime, when can I drive on it, and how often does the seal coat need re-doing for the finish I chose?"

If you've read this far

A concreter who names the mesh code, the slab thickness and the cure regime is not a unicorn. It's the bar.

We can introduce you to concreters in your area who already work this way. No paid placement.

✓ No referral fees✓ Verified means all 10✓ No spam

Find a vetted concreter Driveway · exposed agg · structural

← Back to all 33 trades

Trade 5 of 33.

Hiring a Concreteris one of the few jobs you can't take back.

A research dossier, not a referral page.

The pour is the easy part.The prep + the cure are the job.

Plain grey

Exposed aggregate

Polished

A concreter who names the mesh code, the slab thickness and the cure regime is not a unicorn. It's the bar.

Hiring a Concreter
is one of the few jobs
you can't take back.

The pour is the easy part.
The prep + the cure are the job.