Exposed Aggregate Concrete Cost WA 2026 - Get Free Quotes

What Exposed Aggregate Costs in WA

Standard exposed aggregate with common local stone runs $120 to $150 a square metre supplied and laid across Western Australia, and premium or imported stone takes that to $150 to $200. A forty square metre driveway therefore sits between $4,800 and $8,000, against $3,400 to $4,800 for the same driveway in plain grey with a broom finish. The premium over plain concrete is roughly forty to sixty per cent. Broader rates across all finishes sit at concreting costs.

The extra cost is labour and stone in roughly equal measure. Aggregate is a more expensive mix component than the sand and blue metal in standard concrete, and the wash adds a second visit or a longer day on site with additional crew, water and cleanup. Neither element is padding on the invoice. Both are unavoidable if the finish is to come out evenly. Comparing an exposed aggregate quote against a plain grey one only works once you add the sealing over ten years.

The rate falls as area increases, more sharply than on plain concrete. A wash crew mobilising for fifteen square metres costs almost the same as for sixty, so small decorative pours carry a heavy share of fixed cost, and combining a driveway with a path or alfresco in one pour genuinely improves the rate. Put it to them: what does the rate become if the path goes in at the same time? The saving is usually larger than people expect. Households comparing this against pavers should price both over ten years, since pavers shift and need relaying while a slab does not.

Sealing is the cost most quotes leave out entirely. The initial seal after curing adds $8 to $16 a square metre, and resealing every two to three years costs $6 to $12, which over a decade adds meaningfully to the whole of life figure. That is a real commitment, not an optional extra. Budget it from the outset or the finish will look tired within five years. Three quotes on the same stone and the same exposure depth is the only fair comparison. Holcim, Boral, Hanson and BGC supply most residential concrete across the Perth basin, and decorative aggregate is batched to order rather than held in stock.

How the Finish Is Achieved

Exposed aggregate is not a coating and nothing is applied to the surface. The concrete is poured with decorative stone already in the mix or broadcast onto the wet surface, then the thin layer of cement paste covering the top of that stone is removed before it hardens, revealing the aggregate beneath. The finish is the concrete itself. That is why it cannot wear off the way a surface treatment can.

The sequence begins like any other pour. The base is excavated and compacted, reinforcement to AS 4671 placed on bar chairs, the concrete placed and screeded to level, and the surface floated to bring a consistent layer of paste to the top. Everything to this point is standard practice. The decorative work starts only once the slab has begun to set. Retarder strength is matched to the exposure depth you have agreed, which is why the decision belongs before the pour.

A surface retarder is usually sprayed on once the concrete has been floated. The retarder slows the set of the top two or three millimetres of paste while the concrete beneath continues to harden normally, which widens the window in which the paste can be washed away without disturbing the stone. Retarders come in different strengths matched to exposure depth. Choosing the right one is part of the concreter's judgement. A written specification naming the stone, the size and the exposure depth is what makes two quotes comparable.

The wash itself uses water and pressure, applied with care. A light spray and a soft broom lift the softened paste on a shallow exposure, while a deeper reveal needs more pressure, and too much at any stage dislodges stone and leaves pockmarks. The crew works in sections to keep pace with the set. Finishing evenly across a large slab is genuinely skilled work.

Exposure depth is a decision, not an accident. A light exposure reveals just the tops of the stone and reads as a fine texture, while a deep exposure exposes the aggregate almost to its full diameter and produces a much coarser surface, and the same mix can give either result. Agree the depth before the pour. Get them to show you an example of what they mean by light or deep.

Wash Timing and Perth Conditions

Timing the wash is where this finish succeeds or fails, and Perth conditions make it harder than most of the country. The paste must be soft enough to remove and the stone set enough to stay put, which is a window measured in hours on a mild day and sometimes under an hour when a dry easterly is running. The wind matters more than the temperature. A crew watching the forecast for wind is doing exactly the right thing. Crews working exposed aggregate weekly read the set by eye and touch, not by the clock.

Washing too early is the more visible failure. Stone that has not bonded lifts out under the water, leaving voids that show as darker pockmarks across the surface, and the damage cannot be repaired invisibly afterwards. Once stone is gone it is gone. This is the defect most commonly seen on driveways poured by crews working outside their experience.

Washing too late produces a different problem. Paste that has hardened will not lift evenly, so parts of the slab expose properly and parts stay milky and closed, which gives the blotchy appearance visible on many older Perth driveways. Acid washing can sometimes rescue it. That is a remedial process, not a finish anyone would choose.

Summer pours in Perth need active management. Early morning starts, evaporative retarders, shade cloth and windbreaks all buy time, and some crews simply will not pour exposed aggregate on a day forecast above the mid thirties with wind. Declining those conditions is professional judgement, not obstruction. Pushing a crew to pour in bad conditions is how households end up with a slab they dislike for twenty years. Section joints on a large driveway let a crew keep pace with the set instead of chasing it. Slabs on the stable Spearwood and Bassendean sands classify at the low end of AS 2870, which keeps the base work under a decorative driveway straightforward.

Larger areas increase the risk because the far end sets while the near end is being washed. Splitting a big driveway into sections with a construction joint, or bringing more crew, are the two ways around it, and both should appear in the plan instead of being improvised. Find out how they intend to handle an area that size. How a pour is planned and staged is set out at concreting services.

Stone Selection in Western Australia

Aggregate choice sets the appearance more than any other decision and the local options are good. Crushed granite from WA quarries gives greys and speckled tones, Donnybrook stone from the South West brings warm yellows and browns that suit the limestone and rendered homes common across the Swan Coastal Plain, and local river pebble offers rounded shapes in mixed earth colours. All three are the cost-effective end of the range. They also read as belonging in a Western Australian streetscape. Perth quarries supply most of the common aggregates, which keeps the standard options affordable.

Imported and specialty stone costs more and the freight is a real part of it. Black basalt, white quartz, coloured glass and interstate river pebbles all appear in premium jobs, and Western Australia's distance from eastern states quarries means the transport component is heavier here than anywhere else in the country. Expect to pay for that distance. Sample panels are worth requesting before committing to an expensive stone.

Stone size affects both the look and how the surface feels. Seven millimetre aggregate gives a fine, even texture that is comfortable underfoot, ten millimetre is the common middle ground, and fourteen to twenty millimetre produces a bold coarse finish that suits a driveway more than an alfresco. Larger stone is harder on bare feet. Match the size to how the area will be used.

Colour changes markedly once the stone is wet and sealed. A dry sample in a yard bears little resemblance to the same stone sealed on a driveway, since sealers deepen and enrich the tone considerably, so any decision made from a dry sample is likely to surprise you. Ask to see a sealed sample or a finished job. Any established decorative crew will have addresses to offer.

Surface temperature is worth thinking about in a Perth summer. Darker aggregates absorb heat and become uncomfortable underfoot on an afternoon in February, which matters far more on a pool surround or alfresco than on a driveway you walk across in shoes. Lighter coloured stone stays noticeably cooler underfoot. Building the pool itself is a separate scope at pool installation.

Seeded Against Through-Mix Aggregate

There are two ways to get decorative stone into the surface and they cost differently. Through-mix aggregate is batched into the concrete at the plant so the stone is distributed throughout the slab, while seeded aggregate is broadcast by hand onto the surface after screeding and worked in. Both produce a similar finished appearance. The economics and the risks differ substantially. Stone size and exposure depth together do more to the final look than the aggregate colour does. Retarder is applied evenly with a low pressure sprayer once the surface has been floated.

Through-mix is simpler and more consistent. The supplier batches the decorative stone into the whole load, which guarantees even distribution and removes a step from the site work, though it means paying for expensive aggregate throughout the full depth of the slab when only the top few millimetres will ever be seen. Paying for stone you will never see is the price of that consistency. On common stone the waste hardly matters.

Seeding puts the expensive stone only where it shows. The crew broadcasts aggregate across the fresh surface and floats it in, which makes premium and imported stone affordable on a large area since you buy a fraction of the quantity. It is more labour and more skill. Broadcast the stone unevenly and the density varies visibly once washed.

Which one suits depends on the stone and the area. Standard local aggregate on a driveway is usually through-mix because the stone is cheap and consistency matters, while a premium imported stone on an alfresco is frequently seeded because the material cost would otherwise be prohibitive. Establish which method the quote assumes. The two are not interchangeable at the same price.

Colour and Oxide Combinations

Oxide in the base concrete changes the colour of the paste between the stones. That matrix colour is a substantial part of what you see, so a charcoal oxide with pale quartz gives high contrast while a buff oxide with Donnybrook stone reads as warm and unified, and the same aggregate looks quite different against different backgrounds. Oxide adds $15 to $25 a square metre. It is one of the better value decisions available. Through-mix also gives a more consistent result across a large driveway than hand broadcasting.

Batch variation is real and worth planning around. Oxide colour shifts slightly between truckloads, which is invisible on a small pour delivered in one load and can show as a faint band on a larger job split across deliveries, so continuous pours matter more on coloured work than on plain grey. Find out how many loads the job needs. Where a joint is unavoidable, placing it at a natural break helps. Seeding also lets you change stone between areas without ordering separate concrete loads.

Colour fades over time and the WA sun accelerates it. Ultraviolet exposure lightens oxide gradually, more so on west and north facing areas that take the afternoon sun, and sealing slows the process considerably without stopping it. Expect some change over a decade. A sealed slab holds its colour far better than an unsealed one.

The stone itself does not fade in the way the matrix does. Natural aggregate keeps its colour indefinitely because it is rock, which is one of the arguments for exposed aggregate over a coloured plain slab where longevity matters. It is only the paste between the stones that changes. That is worth knowing when comparing this finish against coloured concrete. Quindalup coastal sand and Perth Hills clay both change the base requirement, and the Darling Scarp adds slope on top of that.

Slip Resistance and Comfort

Exposed aggregate performs well for slip resistance and that is a genuine advantage. The exposed stone creates a textured surface that provides grip when wet, which is why it is common around pools and on sloping driveways where a smooth finish would be a hazard. Slip resistance is classified under Australian Standards for surfaces in wet areas. Guidance on the standards themselves sits with standards.org.au.

Comfort underfoot works against grip and the balance depends on stone size. A fine seven millimetre exposure is comfortable for bare feet around a pool while still gripping well, whereas a deep exposure of twenty millimetre stone grips superbly and is unpleasant to walk on without shoes. Pool surrounds want the finer end, and where surface temperature matters more than texture, liquid limestone is the common alternative. A driveway carries the coarser exposures comfortably. Charcoal matrix with pale stone is the highest contrast combination and shows dirt least.

Sealing affects slip resistance and the product matters. A gloss sealer can make a textured surface noticeably slicker when wet, while penetrating sealers and those with a slip additive maintain grip, and the difference is significant on a pool surround where people walk wet. Raise the sealer's effect on grip specifically. This is the detail most often overlooked when resealing years later.

Barefoot temperature is the other comfort question in Western Australia. Any concrete gets hot in a Perth summer, though lighter aggregate and lighter oxide together make a measurable difference on an alfresco or pool surround. Put a sample out in the afternoon sun and stand on it barefoot. Adding shade over the area is quoted at patio and verandah installation. Matrix colour is often the cheaper way to change the overall look once the stone is chosen.

Sealing and Resealing

Sealing is not optional on exposed aggregate and this is the ongoing commitment buyers underestimate. The porous surface between stones absorbs oil, tannin from leaves, and dirt, and an unsealed slab stains readily and looks dull within a couple of years. The initial seal costs $8 to $16 a square metre. Resealing every two to three years costs $6 to $12.

When the first seal goes on matters as much as the product. Concrete needs to cure before sealing, typically twenty-eight days, and sealing too early traps moisture and can cause the sealer to cloud or peel, so a concreter who wants to seal the week after the pour is rushing it. The slab looks unremarkable during that month. Waiting the full month is the correct approach.

Sealer types divide broadly into penetrating and film forming. Penetrating sealers soak into the surface and leave the natural appearance largely unchanged while resisting staining, whereas acrylic film formers sit on top, deepen the colour and give a wet look that many people want, though they wear and need more frequent renewal. Solvent based acrylics are common on WA driveways. Each has a different reapplication interval. Slip ratings are tested wet and are worth asking about specifically for pool surrounds.

Perth conditions shorten the reseal interval compared with cooler climates. Strong ultraviolet, hot surface temperatures and windblown sand all abrade and degrade a sealer film faster than in the southern states, and a west facing driveway takes more punishment than a shaded courtyard. Two to three years is the realistic interval on a driveway. A shaded courtyard can stretch well beyond that.

Preparation before resealing determines the result. The surface has to be cleaned thoroughly and allowed to dry completely, since sealing over dirt locks it in and sealing over moisture causes clouding, and this is where do-it-yourself resealing most often goes wrong. What a proper clean and reseal involves is set out at driveway cleaning and sealing. Paying someone to do it properly usually beats a weekend attempt. Ten millimetre stone is the most commonly specified size across Perth driveways.

Where It Works Best

Driveways are the most common application in Perth and the finish suits them well. The texture grips in the wet, the varied stone hides the dust and sand that settle on everything in this climate, and oil marks are far less visible than on plain grey. It handles vehicle traffic without difficulty. Base build and vehicle loading are covered at driveway installation.

Pool surrounds are the second strong case and the reasons are practical. Slip resistance when wet is the primary one, and the surface stays cooler than dark pavers while hiding the constant traffic of wet feet and sunscreen, though stone size needs to be at the finer end for barefoot comfort. Chlorine exposure makes sealing more important. Confirm the sealer is rated for pool surrounds.

Alfresco and entertaining areas suit the finish where the stone is chosen for comfort. A fine exposure in a lighter aggregate works well underfoot and connects visually to a pool surround or driveway using the same stone, which is one of the arguments for doing several areas in one project. Furniture drags less pleasantly on a coarse surface. Think about how the space is actually used. Penetrating sealers suit driveways where a wet look is not wanted and traffic is heavy.

Paths and smaller areas carry a higher rate per square metre for the reasons already covered. That does not make them unsuitable, though combining them into a larger pour is meaningfully cheaper than doing them separately, and a path poured at the same time as a driveway shares the crew, the retarder and the wash setup. Work out the whole property before the first truck arrives. Garden beds and planting around it are quoted at landscaping.

Indoor applications are rare and generally better served by other finishes. Exposed aggregate is textured by definition, which makes it difficult to clean and uncomfortable in a living area, so a honed or polished finish suits interior slabs better. Garage floors fall somewhere between the two. Coatings and finishes for that space sit at garage flooring.

Common Problems

Patchy exposure is the most frequent complaint and it traces back to the wash. Areas where the paste came off cleanly sit alongside areas where it did not, producing a visibly inconsistent surface, and the cause is almost always timing across a large slab or a crew working too slowly for the conditions. It cannot be fully corrected afterwards. Acid washing evens it out somewhat at best. Solvent based acrylics remain the common choice on Perth driveways for the wet look they give.

Popouts and missing stone appear where the wash was too aggressive or too early. Small craters where aggregate has lifted out show as darker spots, and while individual stones can be replaced with matched epoxy the repair is visible on close inspection. Prevention is the only real answer. It is a workmanship defect, not a material one.

Efflorescence is common in Western Australia and alarms people unnecessarily. A white powdery deposit appears on the surface as moisture moves through the slab carrying dissolved salts, and it is most visible in the first months after a pour and in the cooler wet season. It usually weathers away over time. Persistent efflorescence suggests a moisture source underneath worth investigating.

Staining shows more readily on an unsealed or overdue slab. Oil from vehicles, tannin from leaf litter and rust from garden furniture all penetrate the porous matrix between stones, and the longer they sit the harder they are to remove. Prompt cleaning deals with most of it. A properly sealed surface resists all three far better. Sealing also makes routine cleaning considerably easier, which is a benefit beyond appearance.

Cracking behaves the same as on any concrete slab. Control joints decide where shrinkage cracks appear, and a crack across an exposed aggregate surface is more visible than on plain grey because it interrupts the stone pattern, which makes joint placement worth discussing before the pour. The finish does not cause cracking. It does make it more obvious.

Repairs and Patching

Patching exposed aggregate convincingly is difficult and worth understanding before damage occurs. Matching stone type, size, colour, exposure depth and matrix tone in a patch that has cured under different conditions rarely produces an invisible repair, which is why concreters are cautious about promising one. Small chips can be filled acceptably. Anything larger than a chip tends to remain visible.

Keeping spare aggregate helps if you plan ahead. A bucket of the stone used on the job, stored somewhere dry, gives a future repairer the right material years later when the quarry batch has moved on, and it costs almost nothing at the time. Have the concreter leave some behind. Very few households think to do this. Chlorine and salt around a pool make the sealer choice more important than it is on a driveway.

Trench repairs from services work are a common cause of damage. Water, sewer or power work that cuts through a driveway leaves a strip that will never match, and where possible the reinstatement is better done as a full panel between control joints than as a narrow patch. Discuss it with whoever does the excavation. Excavation work is priced at excavation and earthmoving.

Resurfacing over an existing slab is an option where the concrete beneath is sound. A decorative overlay can go over old concrete without the cost of removal, though it adds height that may not suit a doorway or a kerb and it does not fix structural problems underneath. Removal pricing appears at concreting costs. Assess what is under it first. Pool surrounds and alfresco areas poured together in one stone read as a single design.

Standards, Safety and Your Rights

Decorative concreting is not a separately licensed trade in Western Australia, which puts the practical checks on insurance and demonstrated experience instead of a licence number. Public liability cover and a current ABN are the baseline, and for this finish specifically, evidence of exposed aggregate work three or four years old is worth more than either. Building work above certain value thresholds brings registration and contract requirements with it, though a driveway on its own rarely reaches them.

The concrete itself is governed by the same standards as any other slab. AS 2870 covers residential slabs and footings and determines the classification, thickness and reinforcement appropriate to your site, and decorative aggregate changes nothing about those structural requirements. A decorative finish sits on top of a properly engineered slab. Anyone treating the two as alternatives has misunderstood the job.

The wash generates slurry that needs managing properly. Water carrying cement paste is highly alkaline and washing it into a stormwater drain or a verge is an environmental offence, so a competent crew contains the runoff and disposes of it appropriately, with obligations administered by epa.wa.gov.au. Find out where the wash water ends up. On a tight site it is a genuine logistical question.

Silica dust is the significant health risk in this trade. Cutting joints, grinding and any dry work on cured concrete releases respirable crystalline silica, and requirements have tightened substantially in recent years, with workplace obligations administered by worksafe.wa.gov.au. Wet cutting and on-tool extraction are the expected controls. A crew using them is meeting a real duty. Sealer manufacturers publish coverage rates, which is a useful cross check on a quoted quantity.

The work carries the same guarantees any paid service does. Concreting must be carried out with due care and skill, which covers a wash that has left the surface patchy or stone lifted out through poor timing, and those rights hold regardless of what a quote says, with the framework explained by the ACCC. Put any concern in writing while it is fresh. Dated photographs taken in the first week carry real weight. An acid wash is a remedial measure and will not fully rescue a badly timed job.

You can check what applies to your scope before engaging anyone. The slab inside your boundary is generally exempt from a building permit, while the crossover section between the boundary and the road requires local government approval, and business licensing requirements across Australian jurisdictions are set out through ablis.business.gov.au. Councils publish their own crossover specifications. Confirm yours before the pour is booked.

Living With the Finish

Day to day maintenance is straightforward and mostly about keeping the surface clear. Sweeping or blowing off leaf litter, sand and organic matter prevents the staining that otherwise works into the matrix, and in Perth the windblown sand is constant enough that this counts for more than in other cities. A hose down every few weeks handles most of it. Nothing more elaborate is needed on a sealed slab.

Oil and vehicle fluids need dealing with promptly. Fresh spills lift readily from a sealed surface with a degreaser, whereas the same spill left for months penetrates the matrix and becomes a permanent shadow, and this is the most common staining problem on a driveway. Keep an absorbent product on hand. Cat litter works as well as anything for a fresh spill. Sealing shortly after a proper clean gives the best result and the longest interval.

Pressure washing needs care on this finish. Too much pressure or a narrow nozzle held close will strip sealer and can dislodge stone at the edges, particularly on an older slab, so a wide fan at moderate pressure and a sensible distance is the correct approach. Cleaning before resealing is a specific job. That job has its own pricing at driveway cleaning and sealing.

Garden and reticulation choices affect how the slab ages. Sprinklers throwing bore water across concrete leave iron staining that is difficult to remove, jacaranda and other flowering trees drop material that tannin stains, and both are avoidable with a little planning at the design stage. Bore water staining is a well known Perth problem. Adjusting a sprinkler head costs nothing compared with removing the marks.

Plan the reseal instead of reacting to it. Marking a date two to three years out, and doing the work before the surface starts looking tired, keeps the slab in condition and costs less than rescuing one that has been left, since heavily weathered concrete needs more preparation before a sealer will take. The interval is shorter on west facing driveways. A shaded driveway stretches the interval noticeably. Efflorescence is more visible on darker matrix colours than on lighter ones.

Perth Metro Costs

Perth has more decorative concreting capacity than most Australian cities and exposed aggregate is genuinely mainstream here, not a specialty. That depth of supply keeps rates competitive and makes finding three comparable quotes straightforward. What moves a Perth quote most is the stone selection and the area, since a common local aggregate on a large driveway prices very differently from imported stone on a courtyard. Access and ground conditions behave the same way they do on any slab.

Growth corridor estates offer the keenest rates and the most straightforward jobs. Flat sandy blocks, open access and consistent driveway sizes let crews work efficiently, and the volume of new housing means concreters pour exposed aggregate constantly and are good at it. Some estate covenants specify which finishes are permitted. Check yours before choosing a stone.

In the older western suburbs the premium comes from getting in and from the stone people choose there. Narrow verges, mature street trees, limited side access and a preference for premium imported aggregate all push the figure up, and the wash water needs somewhere to go on a tight site. Concreters familiar with those streets allow for it. A price quoted without a site visit will not. Control joint placement is worth agreeing before the pour on any decorative finish.

Hills work carries the same premium it does on any concrete. Slope means stepped pours or retaining, access limits equipment, and the ground needs more preparation than a sandy block, all of which sits on top of the decorative cost. Many Hills jobs involve retaining as well as the slab. Costs for that sit at retaining wall costs.

Regional WA Costs

Regional rates run above Perth and the decorative element widens the gap. Stone has to be freighted, batching plants are further apart, and crews experienced specifically in exposed aggregate are concentrated in the metropolitan area, so a regional job may involve a Perth crew travelling or a local crew with less decorative experience. Find out what they have poured recently. Experience with the finish matters more than experience with concrete generally.

Donnybrook stone is a South West product and works out well through that region. Sourcing locally avoids the freight that applies to metropolitan or imported aggregate, and the warm tones suit the limestone and brick housing common through Bunbury and Busselton. Local stone in local jobs is usually the value option. Find out what the quarry nearest you produces. Keeping the concreter's contact details makes a future repair conversation much easier.

Heat is a harder constraint on this finish than on plain concrete. The wash window narrows sharply in the north and the Goldfields, which is why summer exposed aggregate pours are often scheduled for first light or deferred to cooler months, and a crew that declines a February job in Kalgoorlie is exercising judgement. Timing affects your schedule more than the rate. Plan around it instead of pushing a crew.

Combining work into one visit matters more regionally. Where a crew and a stone delivery are travelling a distance, pouring the driveway, path and alfresco together spreads that cost across a larger area and avoids repeated mobilisation. Pouring everything in a single visit is the reliable regional saving. Photographs taken in the first week give you a record of how the finish looked when new.

What to Look Out For

Ask how the crew will manage the wash window, because that single decision determines whether the finish comes out evenly. The paste has to be removed while the concrete is green enough to release it and set enough to hold the stone, and in Perth a dry easterly can close that window in under an hour. Washing early lifts stone out and leaves permanent pockmarks, while washing late gives the blotchy closed patches visible on older driveways. A crew that declines to pour on a hot windy day is exercising judgement worth respecting.

Settle the stone and the exposure depth before the pour, not on the day. Aggregate type, size and exposure depth together determine the appearance, and the same mix can produce a fine texture or a coarse one depending on how deep the wash goes. Look at a sealed sample or a finished job instead of a dry sample in a yard, since sealers deepen the colour considerably. Larger stone is harder underfoot, which matters far more on an alfresco or pool surround than a driveway. Growth corridor crews pour this finish constantly and are generally very good at it.

Budget the sealing as an ongoing cost, not an optional extra. The initial seal adds $8 to $16 a square metre after the slab cures, and resealing every two to three years costs $6 to $12, which over a decade is a substantial addition that most quotes never mention. Perth conditions shorten the interval, since strong ultraviolet, heat and windblown sand degrade a sealer faster than in cooler states. An unsealed exposed aggregate driveway stains readily and looks tired within a few years.

Establish whether the quote assumes seeded or through-mix aggregate. Through-mix batches the stone throughout the slab for consistency, while seeding broadcasts it onto the surface so you buy far less of an expensive stone, and the two are not interchangeable at the same price. Uneven broadcasting shows as patchy stone density once washed. Establish which method applies and why they have chosen it for your stone and area. Estate covenants in newer suburbs sometimes require a decorative finish on the driveway.

Ask for a bucket of the aggregate to be left behind when the job finishes. Matching stone type, size, colour and exposure depth in a future repair is genuinely difficult once the quarry batch has moved on, and spare material costs almost nothing at the time. Discuss joint placement too, since a crack across exposed aggregate interrupts the stone pattern and shows more than it would on plain grey. Neither costs anything to arrange beforehand.

What to Look for in a Quote in WA

An exposed aggregate quote should name the aggregate by type and size, state the exposure depth, and confirm whether the stone is seeded or through the mix. It should price the slab specification separately from the decorative work, covering excavation, base, thickness and reinforcement, and state whether the initial seal is included or quoted separately. Establish what the resealing interval and cost will be. Where two rates match, the difference is usually the stone named and who is doing the sealing.

Send an identical brief to each concreter or the figures will not line up. The area with dimensions, what is there now, the stone and exposure you want, the access route, whether a pump is likely and what the area will be used for all shape the number. Photographs of the site and of a finish you like help considerably. Two quotes assuming different stone are not describing the same job. Access for a concrete pump is a common cost on rear courtyards and sloping blocks.

Ask to see an exposed aggregate job they poured three or four years ago. A fresh slab looks good regardless of who did the wash, whereas one that has been through several Perth summers shows whether the exposure was even, whether the sealing has been maintained and how the colour has held. One address you can drive past beats a folder of photographs. Established decorative concreters will have several nearby.

Settle the stone, the exposure, the sealing and the weather plan before anyone books a truck. Choose the aggregate from a sealed sample, agree the exposure depth, confirm who seals it and when, and establish what happens if the forecast turns hot and windy. Where the decision is still open between finishes, concreting costs compares them on price. With those four agreed, exposed aggregate is a finish that looks right for decades.