Measured and Quoted on Site
Not off a photo. We come out, look at the ground and the access, and price the actual job.
Driveways
Concrete Driveways in Launceston
A concrete driveway is the biggest slab most Launceston houses ever get, and it is the one everybody sees. Done properly it takes a car and a Tasmanian winter for thirty years. Done cheaply it starts moving in three.
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.
What It Costs
What Does a Concrete Driveway Cost in Launceston?
Two real sizes plus the crossover, so you have a figure before you ring rather than after. Most Launceston driveways land between the two.
Single driveway, about 32m², plain$1,900 – $3,850The common suburban driveway, one car wide, straight run to the street.Double driveway, about 60m², exposed$6,500 – $10,000Two cars wide in exposed aggregate, standard access, no retaining.
Council crossover, if yours needs one$800 – $2,000A separate job with a permit attached. Not every driveway needs one.These are indicative ranges only. Final pricing depends on site conditions and finish requirements, which is what the free measure settles.
Get Your Job MeasuredReplacing What Is There
Can Yours Be Saved, or Does It Have to Come Out?
Most driveways we are called to already have one. The question is never really what it costs, it is whether the slab you have can be saved. Three answers, and which one you get is decided on site in about ten minutes.
It Can Be Resurfaced
The slab is sound underneath, sitting flat, and the problem is the surface: worn, stained, dated, or a finish you no longer like. An overlay bonds to what is there and you keep the base you already paid for. Cheapest of the three by a distance.
It Can Be Repaired and Kept
One or two cracks, a broken corner at the kerb, a section that has dropped. If the rest of the slab is holding and the ground under it has stopped moving, cutting out and replacing the bad section costs a fraction of the whole driveway.
It Has to Come Out
The cracking is through the slab rather than in the surface, one side sits proud of the other, or the base under it has washed out and is still moving. Nothing you put on top of that lasts, because the fault is underneath and an overlay inherits it.
The line most quotes leave vague is what happens to the old one. Breaking out a single driveway, carting it away and tipping it is real money and it is charged whether the quote separates it or not. Ours names it, so you can see what you are paying to remove and what you are paying to build.
What It Depends On
What Decides Where Your Driveway Lands
The ranges above are real figures. What follows is what decides where inside them your driveway lands. These are the things that actually move the number, and we work them out on site before we write anything down.
Size and Shape
Square metres set the bulk of it. A long straight run is cheaper per metre than the same area cut into curves and corners, because the boxing takes longer than the pour.
What Is There Now
An old slab has to come up and go somewhere. Breaking out, carting away and tipping is real money, and it is the line most quotes leave vague.
The Ground Underneath
Soft or reactive ground needs more base, deeper edges or more steel. This is why we look at the site rather than pricing off a photo.
Fall and Drainage
Where the water has to go decides the levels. A driveway that runs toward the house needs a grate and a drain, and that is a different job.
Finish
Plain broom is the base. Exposed aggregate, colour through the mix, honing or sealing each add cost, and each behaves differently underfoot and under tyres.
Access
If the truck cannot get near it, the concrete has to be barrowed or pumped. Pumping is a line on the quote, not a surprise on the invoice.
Before You Ring
Work Out Your Driveway Size in Square Metres
Measure the length and the width at the widest point. It will not give you a price. Nobody honest can price a driveway off two numbers, but it tells you the area, and it tells us most of what we need before we come out.
Driveway size
Two Numbers Is All It Takes
Area,
Concrete, roughly,
Based on a 100mm slab with thickened edges. It is a starting point for the conversation, not a quote.
Have those two numbers when you ring and we can tell you straight away whether it is a half day or a two day job, whether the truck will reach it, and what the finish options do to the number.
The Next Step
Get a Price for Your Driveway
Send the size and where it is, or ring us. We come out and measure it properly, 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.
Driveways 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.
Your Choices
Five Decisions to Make Before Your Driveway Is Poured
Most of a driveway is decided by the site. These five are yours, and they are the ones worth ten minutes of thought before anybody pours anything.
Finish
Broom, exposed aggregate, honed or polished.
A broom finish grips and hides nothing. Exposed aggregate hides tyre marks a broom will show for years and is the most common choice here. Honed is calmer underfoot, and it is the one that shows a bad pour, so it has to be right.
Colour
Through the mix, not painted on.
Oxide goes in at the truck and goes all the way through, so a chip shows the same colour rather than grey. Anything painted or stained on afterwards is a maintenance job you have signed up for without being told.
Joints
Where you want it to crack.
Concrete cracks. The only question is whether it cracks on a line we cut or across the middle of your driveway. Spacing follows the shape, and the cuts go in early rather than when someone gets around to it.
Edges
Thickened where the load is.
The edge is where a driveway fails first, because it is where the wheels are and there is nothing beside it holding it up. Edges get thickened, and so does the strip where cars turn in off the kerb.
Drainage
Where the water goes on a wet week.
Fall is set at the measure and checked before the pour. Water that ponds is a nuisance; water that runs at the house is a problem you live with for decades.
The Build-Up
What Goes Under a Concrete Driveway, Layer by Layer
Everything that decides whether a driveway lasts is buried before the concrete arrives. You cannot see any of it from the kerb, which is exactly why it is the first thing cut when a quote is sharpened.
Compacted base100mm of crushed rock, compacted in layers, not tipped and raked.
Vapour and separationKeeps the mix from losing water into a dry base.
Reinforcing meshSL72 mesh held up on bar chairs in the top third, where it works.
The slab100mm through the field, thickened at the edges and where wheels turn in.
Cut jointsSaw cut early, at spacings that suit the shape, so it cracks where we chose.
Comparing Quotes
Where a Cheap Driveway Is Made Cheap
A quote can come down four ways, and all four are invisible on the day it is finished. This is what to ask about when you are comparing prices.
Where the money goes
A cheap quote
What we do
Base
Skipped or thin
100mm compacted in layers
Mesh
Laid on the ground
On chairs, in the top third
Thickness
Whatever the mix reaches
100mm field, thickened edges
Joints
Left, or cut late
Cut early, spaced to the shape
Got a quote in front of you? Read it against that table, then call us and we will tell you, line by line, what is in ours.
(03) 6724 3698Timing
How Long Before You Can Drive on a New Concrete Driveway?
A driveway is not a one day job, and the waiting afterwards matters as much as the pour. These are general rules and the weather moves them, which is why we tell you the actual dates at the quote.
01
Break Out and Prep
One to two daysOld slab out, base in and compacted, boxing set.
02
Pour and Finish
One dayPoured, screeded, floated and finished the same day.
03
Foot Traffic
About a dayYou can walk on it. Keep everything else off.
04
Cut the Joints
Same day or nextEarly, while it is still green enough to cut clean.
05
Drive on It
About seven daysLonger in a cold week. Twenty-eight days for the full strength.
Finishes
What Each Concrete Finish Looks Like on a Driveway
The same slab in four finishes. Every one of them is poured here in Launceston, and we will show you the real thing at the measure before you choose.
Not sure which of these suits your place? Tell us what the house looks like
Common Questions
Driveway Questions We Get Asked in Launceston
How thick should a concrete driveway be?
A residential driveway is 100mm thick through the field, with the edges and the turn-in from the kerb thickened beyond that. Anything thinner is where cracking and edge breakup start. Thickness on its own is not enough. It works with the base under it and the mesh in it.
How long before I can drive on a new driveway?
About seven days for a car, and longer through a cold Launceston week because concrete gains strength slowly below ten degrees. You can walk on it after about a day. Full design strength is twenty-eight days, and heavy vehicles should wait for it.
Will my new driveway crack?
Concrete moves as it cures, so the honest answer is that it will crack somewhere. The job is deciding where. Control joints are saw cut early at spacings that suit the shape, so the movement goes into a straight line you chose rather than across the middle.
Do I need council approval for a driveway?
The driveway itself usually does not need approval, but the crossover, the bit between your boundary and the road, is council's and normally does. Requirements differ between councils in northern Tasmania. We tell you which part of your job falls where before you commit.
Is exposed aggregate better than plain concrete for a driveway?
It hides tyre marks and surface wear that a plain broom finish shows for years, and it grips well when wet, which matters here. It costs more. Plain broom is not a lesser job. It is the base finish and it is entirely correct for a driveway.
Can you pour a driveway over the old one?
Almost never. Overlaying an old slab means the new one inherits every crack and every movement underneath it, and you lose the height at the door and the kerb. The old slab comes out, and the cost of removing it belongs on the quote rather than in a surprise.
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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