Concreter Brisbane contractor pricing cost guidelines

New House, Renovating or landscaping?
How much does concrete cost?
What factors effect the cost of my concreter slab quotation?
Comparing competitive concreter quotes – what are the hidden costs?

Answers to all these questions and more will be outlined in this guide to residential concreter costs.

If you are a weekend handy person, to cut costs, you may wish to tackle small projects by yourself.

Although laying concrete is not a complicated process, it does take experience and practice to do it well.

If you are looking for a professional job, then it is probably best to consult professional concrete contractors.

Having a patio or entertaining area is a great place to entertain guests or just relax and enjoy the outdoors, ultimately this is the quintessential room for Australian homes and Australian family lifestyle. 

With the addition of well designed landscaping, pathways or driveways, you can immediately improve your home’s street appeal, liveability and ultimately increase the value of your property.

The cost involved with the installation of your concrete will depending on a number of factors and your concrete contractor should advise you during the planing and quoting process.

Use the following concreter quoting guide, as a check list for your concreter price calculation and competitive concreter contractor quote comparison.

A cheaper price may not include hidden add on costs and may not produce the best quality job.

Engineering / Planning Permission

Depending on the scope of works (Carport , Driveway, Patio etc) there may be a council requirement to consult an engineer or surveyor to submit plans for building approval.

If applicable, a quality concreter contractor will be able to organise the approvals and advise of costs for these requirements.

Access

Is there easy access to the site, for excavation, demolition, spoil removal, construction and pouring.

Difficult sights will incur additional costs.

Foundations

Depending on the nature of the concrete slab, foundation excavation may be carried out either by Excavator, BobCat or by hand.

If there is a large volume of demolition / excavation required – factor in haulage and spoil dumping fees.

For smaller projects, hire a skip bin to meet your expected waste requirements. Skip bin hire costs include a dumping fee.

Drainage

Is your driveway sloped toward or away from your garage door?

Is the patio going to have a roof?

Planing for water run-off and drainage requirements. You may need to consult a plumber so that additional drains can be connect to rainwater tanks or storm water.

Size

The larger the concrete area, the more expensive concreter labour and materials will be.

The size of the concrete area has the largest influence on your total concrete cost calculation.

Materials

Boxing, Moisture Barrier, Reinforcing, Termite Protection, type of Concrete Mix, Concrete Volume etc can all add up.

Different structures require different grades of metal reinforcement and concrete MPa or compressive strength.

Concrete ratio mix can vary and so will the aggregate and colouring oxides, if you want a specialised finish, like polished concrete.

Pouring

How will the concrete be poured – Direct from the concrete mix truck, via a concrete pump or onsite raw materials with a concrete mixer and wheel borrower.

Finish

There are many ways you can finish your concrete surface from:

  • Plain Concrete
  • Exposed Concrete
  • Stamped Concrete
  • Stencilled Concrete
  • Coloured Concrete
  • Polished Concrete
  • Paving
  • Stone
  • External tiles

Some concrete finishes require the cement to be wet to achieve the desired pattern effect.

Do some research and plan ahead. Discuss your ideas with your concreter.

Labour

Depending on the concreter contractor, they may estimate concreter labour costs at an hourly rate, day rate or total fixed price.

If you are concerned that there may be additional cost due to unexpected delays or complications – then consider a fixed price quotation.

If the value of your project exceeds $3,000 – for peace of mind – seek a reputable QBCC licensed concreter and sign a Master Builders contract.

Always check validity of the license number at the appropriate authorities website.

Other Trades

As discussed above, consideration should be given to additional trades that may effect your current project and long term development plans.

  • Surveyor
  • Engineer
  • Certifier
  • Plumber
  • Electrician
  • Termite Protection
  • Water Proofing

You may want to consider running electrical conduit under your slab to allow for external garden lighting.

Create a list and forward plan.

The most important decision is to choose a design that works best for your lifestyle.

If your patio and walkways are going to be experience high traffic with rough usage from many people, children and/or pets – you may choose a more durable finish that requires less maintenance.

Versus light traffic – you may consider a more decorative expensive finish.

We hope this guide will give you a greater understand of what is require when pouring your next concrete slab and comparing concrete contractor price variations.

In the next article we compare installation of new concrete vs restoration of existing concrete.

Reduce fine surface (Plastic Shrinkage) cracks in concrete

What are concrete “Plastic Shrinkage” cracks?

‘Plastic’ is the state of concrete before it goes hard – allowing the concrete to be deformed without returning to it’s original shape.

All concrete  (house slab foundation, concrete driveways, concrete paths ) has a tendency to crack. Concrete contracts and expands with changes in moisture and temperature, and deflects depending on load and support conditions. Concrete Plastic shrinkage cracks appear in the surface of fresh concrete soon after it is placed and while it is still plastic. Concrete Plastic Shrinkage cracks appear mostly on horizontal surfaces, relatively shallow, and generally do not intersect the perimeter of the slab.

Why do concrete Plastic Shrinkage cracks occur?

Concrete Plastic shrinkage cracks can occur when…

  1. The concrete loses too much water, too quickly, from it’s surface before it has time too set. Conditions that cause rapid loss of water or high evaporation rates include: Low humidity (dry weather), Hot Temperature and Wind, at the time of the poor.
  2. Setting of the concrete is delayed. A delay in the setting of concrete can be contributed to a combination of one or more of the following factors: Cool weather, High Water Content, retarders, cool subgrades, lower cement contents, some water reducers and supplementary cementing materials.

How to minimise concrete surface or “Plastic Shrinkage” cracking?

To reduce the potential for concrete plastic shrinkage cracking, it is important to recognise ahead of time, adverse weather conditions and plan the concrete pour accordingly.

The most effective way to prevent concrete plastic shrinkage cracking, is to prevent rapid loss of moisture from the surface of the concrete.

  1. When the weather is conducive to high evaporation rates, dampen the subgrade, formwork and reinforcement prior to pouring.
  2. In very hot conditions schedule the poor at cooler times of the day – early morning or late afternoon/early evening.
  3. Erect temporary wind breaks to reduce wind velocity over the surface of the concrete and/or use fog sprays to produce a fine water mist upwind of the concrete slab.
  4. If possible, setup shades to control the surface temperature of the slab.
  5. In hot dry climates after screeding, floating and troweling, a evaporation retardant may be sprayed on the surface to lock in moisture until curing is started.
  6. Cure the concrete as soon as finishing has been completed. You may need to cover the slab with polyethylene sheeting to  prevent the slab drying too fast.
    Water the surface of the slab for a minimum of 3 days.