Measured and Quoted on Site
Not off a photo. We come out, look at the ground and the access, and price the actual job.
Coloured Concrete
Coloured Concrete in Launceston
Colour is not a finish, and it is the decision Launceston customers change their mind about most. It is something you add to the mix, and it works with whichever finish you were already choosing, broom, exposed aggregate or honed. The part that matters is whether the colour goes through or sits on top.
- Free on-site measure
- One written price
- Same crew, quote to pour
How We Work
The Ground Gets Done Before the Concrete Does
Excavation, a compacted base and reinforcement to spec, the half that decides how long it lasts.
One Price, and We Take the Mess with Us
One written price for the whole job, not a rate per square metre, and the site is left clean.
The Only Thing That Matters
Through the Mix, or Painted On Afterwards
Two completely different products get sold under the same words. One lasts as long as the slab. The other is a maintenance job you have signed up for without being told.
Oxide in the Mix
Powdered iron oxide goes into the truck before the pour and colours every part of the concrete. A chip, a saw cut or a worn patch all show the same colour.
Painted, Stained or Sealed on Top
A coating applied after the fact. It looks identical on day one and it wears through at the traffic lines, then it needs stripping and redoing.
How to Tell in a Quote
Ask one question: does the colour go all the way through? If the answer involves the words coating, stain, or a product name applied afterwards, it does not.
Why Anyone Still Paints It
Because it is cheaper on the day and it can be done to an existing slab. That is a legitimate choice on a garage floor and a bad one on a driveway.
The Range
Six Oxides and Where They Sit
Colour is chosen at the quote because it goes in at the truck. These are the tones asked for most often here, and every one works with any finish on the site.
The Oxide Range
Six tones on sample slabs. Always look at a sample outdoors and wet as well as dry, because concrete never matches a colour chip under a shop light.
Charcoal, on a Driveway
The most-asked-for colour by a distance. Sharp against a light rendered house, and it holds heat, so keep it away from bare feet.
Sandstone, on a Patio
Warm and quiet, and the colour most often chosen to pick up the brickwork rather than contrast with it.
Where the Colour Goes In
Oxide added at the truck before the pour. Once the drum turns, the colour is in every part of that load.
What Painted-on Looks Like Later
Colour applied as a coating, four years in. Flaking at the edges with pale grey concrete showing underneath.
What Through-colour Looks Like Later
The same four years, coloured through the mix instead. The knocked corner is the proof: charcoal all the way down, nothing on top to flake off.
Ask at the measure and we will put a real sample in your hand, in daylight, wet and dry, before anything is ordered.
Tell us the job and we will bring the real chips out, in daylight, wet and dry.
Getting the Colour Right
Why the Slab Never Matches the Chip
Knowing this before you choose is what makes people happy with the colour they end up with, so it is worth two minutes now.
Concrete Is Not Paint
It is a wet mineral mix that dries, cures and lightens for weeks. The colour you see on day one is not the colour you have at day thirty.Wet Looks Nothing Like Dry
A colour can be twice as deep wet. Look at a sample both ways, outdoors, before you sign off on it.Different Loads Vary Slightly
A large pour over two trucks can show a faint difference between them. We plan the pour and the joints so any variation lands on a line rather than across the middle.The Finish Changes the Colour
The same oxide reads darker honed than broomed, and different again under exposed aggregate where you are seeing stone as well as matrix.Sealing Deepens It
A sealer will make a colour richer and slightly darker, permanently while it lasts. That is often an improvement and it should not be a surprise.So We Sample It
For anything large, a sample slab poured from the actual mix is worth the small cost and it removes the argument entirely.Pairing It With a Finish
Colour Works With Whatever You Were Already Choosing
Colour is not an alternative to a finish, it is an addition to one. Which finish you pair it with changes the result more than the oxide does.
With a Broom Finish
The most common pairing and the least expensive. The colour does the work and the texture stays practical.
With Exposed Aggregate
The oxide colours the matrix between the stones rather than the stones themselves. It deepens the whole surface and it is subtler than people expect.
With Honed
The strongest combination on the site, and the dearest. Ground smooth over a dark oxide reads almost like stone.
On Steps and Edges
Colour through the mix matters most where concrete gets chipped. Steps, corners and kerbs are where a painted finish gives itself away first.
Not on an Existing Slab
Through-colour has to be poured. If you have a slab you want to change the colour of, that is resurfacing, and it is a different conversation.
Colour and finish get decided together. We will price the combination rather than one at a time.
How It Is Done
The Colour Goes In Before the Truck Arrives
Adding colour changes almost nothing about how the job runs, and everything about how it is ordered. It has to be decided and specified early.
01
Choose the Colour and the Finish
Both at the quote, because the oxide is ordered with the concrete and the finish decides how the colour will read.
02
Dig and Compact
Out to depth, crushed rock in and compacted in layers. Coloured concrete is structural concrete, so nothing changes here.
03
Box and Reinforce
Formwork to the line and the fall, mesh on chairs, and joints planned so any variation between truckloads lands on a cut line.
04
Colour, Pour, Finish
Oxide added at the truck and mixed thoroughly, then poured and finished the way you chose. One continuous operation.
05
Cut, Cure and Seal
Control joints cut early. Curing matters more with colour, because uneven drying shows as blotching, so it is protected while it goes off.
What It Costs
Our Launceston Rates for Coloured Concrete
Installed, per square metre. Colour is an addition to whichever finish you were already choosing.
Whole Jobs
What a Finished Job Comes To
Worked examples at real sizes, so you can see roughly where your job sits before you call. These are indicative ranges only. Final pricing depends on site conditions and finish requirements, which is what the free measure settles.
Driveway32m² Single Driveway, Coloured
$2,400 – $4,800
32m² at our coloured through the mix rate
Lowest Cost30m² Patio, Coloured
$2,250 – $4,500
30m² at our coloured through the mix rate
Top of the Range60m² Double Driveway, Coloured
$4,500 – $9,000
60m² at our coloured through the mix rate
What It Depends On
What Changes the Price of Coloured Concrete
Colour is an addition to a concrete job rather than a job of its own, so the price is the base job plus these.
How Much Oxide the Colour Needs
Pale tones need a little. Deep charcoals and strong reds need a lot, and the difference between the lightest and the darkest is real money on a large pour.
The Finish You Pair It With
Broom, exposed aggregate and honed are three different base prices before the colour is added at all.
Volume of Concrete, Not Area
Colour is priced per cubic metre, so it scales with volume rather than area. A thicker slab uses more of it.
Whether You Want a Sample Slab
Worth it on anything large. A small cost that removes the single most common argument about coloured concrete.
Sealing
Optional, and it deepens the colour permanently while it lasts. Decide at the quote rather than after the pour.
Everything Else About the Job
Access, what is there now, the ground underneath and the drainage all move the number exactly as they would on a plain grey pour.
The Next Step
Get a Price for Coloured Concrete
Tell us the area, the finish you had in mind and roughly the colour. We come out and measure it properly, and the written price is free either way.
What Happens After You Send It
- We come out and measure it, free, and look at the ground and the access.
- You get one written price for the whole job, not a rate per square metre.
- If you go ahead, you get a start date and the same crew from quote to pour.
Would rather talk it through? (03) 6724 3698, or send the details through the contact page.
Coloured Concrete Across Launceston
- Kings Meadows
- Newstead
- Norwood
- Prospect
- Riverside
- Trevallyn
- West Launceston
- East Launceston
- South Launceston
- Youngtown
- St Leonards
- Mowbray
Plus the wider Launceston area. See every suburb we cover.
Common Questions
Coloured Concrete Questions We Get Asked in Launceston
Does coloured concrete fade?
Oxide through the mix is very stable and does not fade the way a surface coating does. It will lighten a little in the first weeks as the slab cures and dries, and it weathers slowly over many years. Painted or stained colour is a different story, that wears through at the traffic lines.
What is the difference between coloured concrete and painted concrete?
Coloured concrete has oxide added to the mix at the truck, so every part of the slab is that colour. Painted or stained concrete has colour applied to the surface afterwards. They look identical on day one. A chip, a saw cut or a few years of traffic tells you which one you bought.
Can you colour an existing concrete slab?
Not through the mix, that has to be poured. An existing slab can be stained, painted or resurfaced with a coloured topping, and all of those sit on the surface and will need maintaining. If you want colour that lasts as long as the slab, the slab has to be new.
Why doesn't the finished slab match the colour chart?
Because concrete is a wet mineral mix that cures and lightens for weeks, and because it looks completely different wet and dry. A chart under a shop light is the least reliable way to choose. Look at a sample outdoors, wet and dry, and pour a sample slab for anything large.
Will the colour be even across the whole area?
Close, not perfect. Concrete is a natural material and a large pour across two truck loads can show a faint difference. We plan the joints so any variation falls on a cut line rather than across the middle of the area, and we cure it evenly, which is the other half of the answer.
Does coloured concrete cost much more?
It is priced per cubic metre of concrete rather than per square metre of surface, and the amount depends on the depth of colour. Pale tones add a little; deep charcoals add considerably more. The finish you pair it with usually costs more than the colour does.
Free Measure, Fixed Price
Find Out What Your Job Costs
One call and we come out, measure the real thing and put a price in writing. It costs nothing and there is no salesman in it.
One call. We measure it and put a fixed price in writing. Costs nothing.
- We come and measure itOn site, tape out, so the price is for your job and not a guess off a photo.
- A fixed written priceOne number you can hold us to. Not a range, not a rate, not an estimate.
- The crew who quotes it pours itThe bloke standing in your driveway is the bloke who does the work. Who you are dealing with.
- Measured on site, not guessed
- Fixed written price, not a range
- The crew who quotes it pours it
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