Find a trusted concreter in Melbourne

Reactive clay and basalt under the slab

Much of Melbourne is built on reactive clay that swells in wet winters and shrinks back through dry summers. Concrete laid on a poorly compacted base, or without enough steel, cracks as the ground moves, which is why cracked driveways are such a familiar sight in older streets. A careful concreter digs down to firm ground, compacts a crushed rock base, uses the right mesh and cuts control joints so any cracking follows a straight line.

In the western and northern suburbs, basalt rock often sits close to the surface. Breaking through it for edge beams, footings or a level base takes a rock breaker and extra time, so ask whether the quote allows for it before the excavator turns up.

Weather, crossovers and council permits

Concrete is fussy about the weather. On a cold winter morning it cures slowly, and rain can spoil a fresh finish, so Melbourne pours get pushed back more often in winter. On a hot day with a northerly blowing, the surface can dry too fast and crack, so good crews start early and keep the slab damp while it cures.

The crossover between your boundary and the road belongs to the council. A new or widened one needs a vehicle crossing permit and has to be built to the council’s specification, and some councils also want an asset protection permit before trucks and pumps cross the footpath. Ask your concreter whether those fees are in the price.

Water matters as much as the concrete. Driveways, paths and patios should fall away from the house, and on many blocks the runoff needs a grated drain tied into the property’s stormwater pipes rather than spilling into the neighbour’s yard or under your floor.

Registration, contracts and deposits

Once concreting on a home tops $10,000, the person doing it generally has to hold Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) registration, usually as Domestic Builder (Limited) in footings and slab work. Check the name on BPC Find a practitioner (builders). Smaller jobs need no registration, so the ABN and insurance are what to look at. For domestic building contracts, Victorian law caps the deposit at 10% under $20,000 and 5% from $20,000 up. Our Victorian licence checks page walks through the lookup.

What concreting costs in Melbourne

Melbourne usually comes in below Sydney for plain concrete. Laid over a prepared base with mesh, plain finishes typically cost somewhere around $70 to $140 a square metre, while exposed aggregate runs about $100 to $220. A shed or patio slab of 20 to 40 m² typically costs $2,000 to $6,000, and pump hire for a back yard the truck can’t reach adds $450 to $800. The concreting price guide has the details; it’s a guide, not a quote.

Getting matched with a concreter

needatradie doesn’t auction your job to a group of concreters. Tell us what you need poured and where in Melbourne, and you’ll get one local concreter, with their insurance, ABN, reviews and (where the job needs it) BPC registration already checked. Find out more about concreters, browse Melbourne trades, or get a free quote.