Concrete Driveway Cost

One of the main contributors to the concrete driveway cost is soil removal. We can reduce the driveway cost by reusing the soil on site. These options are discussed during the quote so you can get a total perspective on the scope of your project.

The driveway excavated soil can be used for example to level the backyard or fill garden beds. There are many ways to make use of excess soil. If excess soil can not be used and needs to be taken away, our skid steer loader can quickly cart driveway soil material to tipper trucks. The use of tipper trucks is common during driveway excavation projects.

Removing soil from the driveway site does add to the concrete driveway cost. However since a driveway is the most basic form of concreting, usually there is minimal removal of material as a driveway is usually poured on similar existing ground levels.       

Driveway excavation mostly involves re shaping the existing ground level. During a concrete driveway quote, we explain which contour options will suit your property.

A skid steer loader during driveway excavation can use its large bucket to flatten and shape the slab base. We also incorporate concrete slab drainage as part of driveway excavation. This reduces the concrete driveway cost, as we can address any site needs in one go.

Concrete slab drainage is important for controlling the water runoff. Concrete slab drainage is particularly important where a slab is located on a low spot on a property. On hilly blocks this will cause the water runoff to pool onto the slab.

Concrete slab drainage is important in slabs such as for home extensions. Slab drainage design for these types of slabs is to divert water away from the concrete slab. We can implement numerous methods for slab drainage. Concrete slab drainage can be as simple as excavating the land around the concrete slab to be lower. This is a good slab drainage option as it takes away the need for concrete slab drainage to incorporate plumbing works to control the water flow.

The simplest concrete slab drainage device is a swale. We can easily build a swale during excavation. A swale works well for concrete slab drainage as it is a surface water drainage device. A swale can take minimal space compared with other slab drainage devices. A swale is a wide and shallow indentation in the ground. A swale slows and directs surface water away to prevent flooding and erosion. With this type of slab drainage device, the surface water slowly gets absorbed naturally into the soil, by spreading the water load this eliminates the need for plumbing hardware.

Swales work well around a concrete slab. It is not visible like other forms of slab drainage. A swale can be made to look as part of the natural landscape with turf incorporated into the swale to maintain a large lawn area.

It is a versatile form of slab drainage as it can also be shaped to create a garden bed look. Another benefit of this type of slab drainage is that it conserves water for watering plants, as surface water is directed to the vegetation. 

- Concreting Sydney

All About Slabs Concrete

A concrete slab driveway is a type of an ground slab. We use specialised form work for concreting a drive. Our form work covers long spans which is important for driveway work.

Form work can be rigid timber or made from flexible plastic. Form work for a driveway is usually placed on the outside perimeter. The form work for a driveway slab is supported by the ground it rests on.

We tend to use hardwood timber pegs to hold the formwork in place for concrete pouring. Timber pegs are hammered into the ground. This is important as it keeps form work rigid, level and in place during a drive pour.

The steel collar on timber pegs that you may have seen on construction sites is to increase the strength and durability of the peg. Metal collars also reduce the chance of timber pegs splitting and helps maintain the square shape of the peg.

For slabs concrete, we can also use other anchoring devices to keep form work edge boards in position. Steel form work pins are used in such places where there is minimal space to hammer and secure form work in place. Star pickets can also be used in the same way.

There are instances where slabs concrete does not require form work at all. A semi in ground pool slab is an example where we do not need to place form work. As the slab is placed in a excavated hole under the ground, the perimeter of the excavated hole acts as the form work in these type of slabs. As there is no form work to provide a guide during concrete pouring, we use a laser level to get a semi in ground pool slab flat and to the required height.

Another example where a slab does not need form work is basement storage space slabs. To get a basement concrete slab ready for pouring usually involves excavating and removing the soil from under the house. The brick work foundation walls act as the form work.

Basement concrete slabs are usually built as added storage space for large items. Slab pouring in these types of settings require a level concrete surface. This achieves increased floor space for your home without the need to do extensive home renovations.

We can build and form numerous shapes for slabs. The traditional shapes for concrete slabs are square and rectangle. Square and rectangle concrete slabs are well suited for carport slabs and shed slabs. Slabs concrete is a base for building a structure above it. A flat concrete slab makes it easier to build something onto it such as for spa slabs and basement slabs.

Slabs concrete get its structural strength from the steel reinforcement in the slab. The type of steel reinforcement used for slabs can vary. A concrete slab driveway requires different steel reinforcement specifications to a concrete slab roof.

Concreting a drive, does not require slab pouring with concrete foundations. Concreting a drive such as a plain concrete driveway is the most basic form of slabs concrete. Driveway slabs need less steel reinforcing requirements compared with other types of slabs. This makes driveway slabs cost less than other types of concrete slabs.

If you are after an economical concrete quote, as concrete experts we do numerous plain concrete driveway styles.

- Concreting Sydney