Driveway Repair

Concrete driveways can be repaired. Driveway repair work is a good option if partial sections of the driveway only need restoration. Generally, council approval is not needed for a driveway fix. At Concreting Sydney, we do concrete driveway repairs and can fix broken driveways.

Depending on your insurance policy, driveway repair can be covered. In most cases driveway insurance usually covers for sudden unexpected events only, such as a tree falling on the driveway after a severe storm.

Residential driveway repair before selling your house is a good option. As the driveway is a prominent feature of your home, an unsightly and unsafe driveway will be used by potential buyers as a bargaining chip on property price.

Repairing an industrial driveway is a suitable option where limiting driveway downtime is important. An industrial driveway serves many purposes in running a factory or commercial premises.

The constant beating of trucks, trailers and heavy loads on the concrete can wear down and shorten the longevity of an industrial driveway. If the industrial driveway is not designed to handle heavy weight, concrete can sink, shift or crumble away. An industrial driveway in these states can create a hazardous work environment.

Forklifts can jump over uneven concrete surfaces making an unsafe passage for the forklift operator. Also a sunken industrial driveway can impact with services under the concrete such as gas and water. If disturbed, this can cause a flow on of disruption in business operations.

An industrial driveway does not need to be fixed in one go as this can be a lengthy process. An industrial driveway can be repaired in stages, with the most important areas addressed first.

Loading bays are usually the priority for industrial driveway repair. Receiving and dispatching goods at all hours of the day, the quality and design of the concrete in this space is crucial in running a business efficiently.

How to repair driveway damage is sometimes unrelated to the performance of the concrete. Homeowners seeking to fix a driveway may need to address other issues before concrete driveway repairs.

Driveway damaged by tree roots is common in some parts of Sydney. A driveway lifted by tree roots creates a tripping hazard. If the existing concrete does not have reinforcement mesh, it is more likely that a vigorous tree root over time will crack and raise the concrete into many sharp and unstable pieces. A driveway repair tree roots plan may involve assessing how to mitigate tree root influence and possible slight relocation of the concrete driveway repair.

Residential driveway repair is sometimes due to a leaking or broken pipe underneath the concrete. Over time the leaking water can erode the sub base underneath the concrete. Hollow voids can be created by the erosion and cause the concrete to sink. Repairing driveway in these circumstances is more prominently found on sloped blocks where sub base erosion can accelerate if it extends to the concrete driveway edge. This creates a channel for the erosion to continue away from the concrete.

As residential driveways are smaller in scale compared with industrial driveways, if there are a lot of sections of the driveway required to replace, it may indicate the general condition of the concrete to be in a poor state. In this scenario, driveway repair vs replacement needs to be considered. Driveway repair cost may be similar between the two options.

Replacing footpaths can also be done with replacing sections of the driveway. Replacing and adjusting footpaths at the same time will usually provide a permanent footpath and driveway fix, with no further concrete maintenance needed.

Give us a call for your driveway repairs Sydney and see what options are available to you.

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Concreting Ryde

Concreting Sydey has completed many driveways in Ryde. We have a long partnership with Ryde Council completing their concreting projects.

As an established concreter in Ryde, we have completed concrete projects to a varying degree and scale. The Ryde area has such a mixed land use. Concrete projects range from concreting for a heritage cottage to heavy duty concrete for a commercial estate.

Concreting in Ryde and for Ryde Council, are our most custom projects in Sydney. Our experience can assist getting your project meet site specific Ryde Council standards.

As Ryde has many land uses, concreting for Ryde Council looks at standardising driveway finishes. Style wise this makes our residential and commercial concrete contractor projects for Ryde Council be in plain concrete.

What is unique about concreting in Ryde is that residential and commercial zones are intertwined. This makes plain concrete more suitable for Ryde as a blending of concrete standards aesthetically work better with plain concrete.

Due to Ryde being much older than other Sydney districts, land zoning took a different approach. Ryde commercial zones were designed as many little localised hubs. As the Ryde district covers a large land area this made sense as transport options where limited at the time. As population grew, the concrete Ryde style meant that commercial and residential concrete needed to compliment each other. This mix of land uses close to each other makes our experience concreting in Ryde get your project completed seamlessly.

charcoal colour driveway designed for federation style home

Concrete driveway options for residential and commercial projects in Ryde are different to other localities. Ryde has its own unique requirements. Our residential concrete work in Ryde is where driveway finishes are more flexible. Driveway finishes inside the property boundary can include decorative or coloured concrete.

A coloured concrete driveway is a popular option. Coloured concrete like a charcoal driveway or black driveway can be done in the Ryde district. In contrast to a charcoal and black driveway is green coloured concrete. Green coloured concrete is popular for driveway concreting in Ryde. Whereas black concrete is the go to choice in other parts of Sydney, this is not the case in Ryde where green colour concrete is more popular than black concrete.

Our concreter Ryde projects is where the most green coloured concrete is used in Sydney.

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Concrete Driveways Hills District

In our Baulkham Hills concrete projects, driveway finishes is split between plain concrete and decorative concrete. Our Baulkham Hills projects are unique for driveway construction as there is no driveway finish that is more popular than another.

plain concrete driveway extension for added car space

During a concrete driveway quote, homeowners tell us they want to build a driveway before the house is put up for sale. This is common in Baulkham Hills as many homes have basic driveways which have limited kerb appeal. Another popular time for driveway construction is for growing families.

As many existing concrete driveways in the Hills District where built at a time when narrow driveways were popular, narrow driveways are now being removed. Narrow driveways do not suit with modern families.

Concrete driveway repair is possible, however for our Baulkham Hills projects, existing narrow style driveways are removed. Most homeowners see this as an opportunity to get a coloured concrete driveway designed with extra space and styled to suit the home.

In the Hills District, coloured concrete driveways are popular. Many homeowners choose a charcoal driveway.

Charcoal driveways are chosen in the Hills District as this is a subtle concrete colour. It suits well for driveways in the Hills District. Black concrete driveways are not as common for our concreting Hills projects.

There are also numerous driveway finishes for charcoal concrete. Cove finish is popular in the Hills District as it provides grip.

With young children, a coloured concrete driveway in cove finish, provides a slip resistant surface for children to walk and play on. This is one of the best concrete driveway options for families. A cove finish provides adequate grip as commonly found with plain concrete driveways. During a driveway quote, we can recommend if a colour cove finish suits for your driveway and lifestyle.

With driveway builds in the Hills District, usually includes a concrete bay area. A concrete bay area can be incorporated as part of the overall driveway design. A concrete bay area is usually located close to the front building alignment. Another popular place for bay areas is in front of the garage or carport.

As most of our Hills District projects involve driveway excavation of narrow driveways, this makes it a good time to re-evaluate driveway needs and incorporate extra space where needed. A concrete bay area gives you extra space as well as provide a visual design addition to the front of your property.

As driveways in the Hills District are replaced by larger and more prominent designs; this makes coloured concrete driveways well suited in these types of settings.

A bay area, makes interacting with your vehicle easier. A wide driveway also makes it easier to park two cars side by side on a clean surface. A driveway in this style makes it easier to load and unload goods from your vehicle. A wide coloured concrete driveway is a simple addition that you will enjoy on a daily basis.

A wide coloured concrete driveway also makes use of the outdoor space as many Hills District homes have. Many Hills projects are on properties with wide boundaries. Visually and practically, a wide coloured concrete driveways makes sense and is well suited.

These details are discussed during a concrete driveway quote. With our 40 years experience, we can show you what proportion and style will suit with your home.

During a driveway quote, we go over the visual and practical options to help narrow down preferred options. Visually, coloured concrete driveways is the most chosen finish for driveways in the Hills District. The charcoal driveway option is the go to choice as charcoal suits with the large front yard green space that is common with Hills District homes.

Practically, wide coloured concrete driveways also works with the large home footprint of houses in the Hills District. A wide coloured concrete driveway creates proportional space to other building spaces on the property. If there is minimal outdoor space, driveway construction creates clean and useable outdoor space and is one of the most basic home renovations.

- Concreting Sydney

What is a Concrete Slab?

Concreting Sydney are concrete experts in all types of driveways and concrete slabs. With the many types of slab pouring options available, we are often asked during a concrete driveway quote what is a concrete slab? 

A concrete slab is used in construction as a structural element. Also known as slabs concrete, it is used to create flat horizontal surfaces such as concrete floors, roofs and driveways. Slabs can range from a shelter covering to a practical flat surface.

Slabs concrete is used as it can support heavy loads. Residential driveway slabs or car park slabs are common structures built by us.

concrete slab in backyard with line pump setup ready for pouring

Slabs concrete are created to have top and bottom surfaces parallel with each other. This is an important part of the construction process. As concrete experts we take great care to achieve uniform strong slabs.   

A slab usually is concrete pouring on site to a predefined form. Also known as in situ concrete slab construction, it is commonly used for concrete floors and driveways.

Form work for slab pouring is built by us. Form work is made from specialty wooden planks and boards. Plastic and steel forms are also used.

Form work for slab pouring is a type of boxing where wet concrete can be placed into a form. While pouring, the formwork acts as the finished height for the concrete slab. Slab pouring requires a dedicated team on the pouring day to get a flat concrete slab. 

After pouring the wet mix concrete is left to cure. Once the concrete has hardened, we then knock off and remove the form work. The correct time to remove the form work depends on the concrete project.

For driveway projects, form work is reusable. As a driveway slab has form work that is on the ground, this makes it easier to remove. The form work is then cleaned in preparation for the next concrete pouring project. Pressure washers are usually used to clean driveway slab form work.     

By cleaning slab form work, we can provide consistency in driveway slab edging. It makes concrete pouring for a driveway slab much more accurate. The ability to re-use driveway slab form work reduces the concrete driveway cost compared with other types of slab pouring.

Concrete pouring for a driveway is usually completed in one day by us. This makes concreting a drive one of the most common pouring projects, as concrete driveway costs are much less than other driveway surfaces such as paving. 

Once a concrete driveway is poured the slab is complete. There is no need for additional work such as laying cobblestones, slate or travertine on top. By choosing a concrete slab driveway, there is no need to organise multiple tradesmen as we provide an all in one service.

With paving, a concrete base is preferred as the concrete base provides support for the pavers. With this method it still does not stop pavers shifting as pavers need to be laid on a sand base. Also a driveway concrete base does not stop weed growth as the sand provides a place for seeds to germinate and grow on the surface.

This makes the concrete driveway cost advantageous to other paving methods. A concrete slab driveway needs fewer steps to get to the final product. Paving a driveway requires many added steps to get to the stage to lay pavers.

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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.       

excavator on mound during driveway excavation

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

mini excavator digging soil in backyard for pool slab

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