Concrete Contractors In Melbourne
At New Era Landscapes, we pour concrete across Melbourne's south east. Slabs, footings, paths, steps, patios and repairs, on a base built to carry what goes on top of it.
New Era Landscapes does concreting in Melbourne as part of the yard, not as a truck that turns up and leaves. We dig it out, build the base, set the formwork and the steel, pour it and finish it. Quotes are free and measured on site.
Most of what we pour isn't a driveway. It's the slab under a shed or a studio, the path down the side of the house, the steps between two levels, or the patio that an outdoor setting is going to live on.
If a driveway is what you're after, that's a different job with a council crossover attached, and it has its own page. Everything else concrete is this one.
What lasts
What Makes a Concrete Slab Last?
Not the thickness. What's under the slab and what's in it, which is why two pours that look identical the day you get them behave completely differently five years later.
We dig out the soft material and bring in crushed rock, then compact it in layers. Melbourne's clay swells through a wet winter and shrinks back over summer, so a slab poured straight onto it moves with it. One sitting on a compacted base rides that out.
Then the steel. We set reinforcing mesh up on bar chairs so it sits inside the pour, holding the slab together when it moves, rather than flat on the ground where it does nothing at all. A plastic membrane underneath keeps ground moisture out of the slab.
The process
Our Concreting Process
Every pour starts with what's there now and how a truck reaches it. From there it runs in three stages.
- Consultation and site assessment. We measure it, work out what has to come out, check where water runs, and see whether a chute reaches or it gets barrowed. That last one moves the price more than you would expect.
- An itemised quote. The excavation, the base, the pour and the finish are priced separately, so you can see what each part costs rather than one rate per square metre.
- Dig, prepare, pour and finish. Our own crew strips it, builds and compacts the base, sets the formwork and the steel, pours it, finishes it and cuts the joints.
The work
Concreting Work We Take On
Concrete slabs in Melbourne are most of what we pour, but the list is wider than that and you don't need to know which category yours is.
Concrete repairs in Melbourne are the ones worth talking about first, because they're the ones where you should get a straight answer rather than a quote. If a slab is cracking because the ground under it moved, patching the top is money spent on the symptom. We'd rather tell you that than take the job twice.
As commercial concreters in Melbourne we take on forecourts, hardstand and car park works too. The difference there is rarely the concrete and almost always the staging, because the business usually has to keep running while we pour.
| Job | What it covers | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Slabs | Sheds, studios, garages, water tanks and outdoor rooms. | The base and the steel matter more than the thickness. A slab on soft fill cracks whatever you pour on top. |
| Paths and steps | Side access, entry paths, steps between levels. | Narrow pours are all about fall and grip. Water has to run off, not sit where you walk in. |
| Patios and alfresco | Slabs under a pergola, an outdoor kitchen or a sitting area. | Usually poured to meet a floor level you already have, so the set-out matters more than the pour. |
| Repairs | Cracked, lifted or sunken concrete, and edges that have broken away. | Worth an honest look before you spend anything. Some of it patches well, some is cheaper to take out and re-pour. |
| Commercial | Forecourts, hardstand, pathways and car park works. | Usually staged around a business staying open, so we plan the pour around access rather than the other way round. |
Why New Era
Choosing New Era Landscapes for Your Concreting
We bring over 10 years of experience in landscaping and turf work across Melbourne, and concrete runs through nearly all of it. A slab is almost never the only thing happening.
That's the practical difference between us and most concrete contractors in Melbourne. The excavation before it, the drainage around it, the paving that meets it and the lawn that runs up to its edge are all ours, on one quote. You don't end up with a good pour sitting in a paddock of churned-up clay, ringing round for someone to finish the rest.
We'll also tell you when a repair is the wrong answer, and when what you actually need is a permit before anyone pours anything.
Quotes are free, measured on site and itemised, with no obligation. You can see the work on Instagram, where we post jobs as they finish.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit for a concrete slab in Melbourne?
The slab itself usually doesn't need one. What sits on it often does, and that's the part people get caught by. Victoria exempts a freestanding lightweight shed under ten square metres and under three metres tall, so anything bigger takes a building permit and the slab becomes part of that approval. We'll tell you which side of the line you're on before we quote.
Source: Building Regulations 2018 (Vic).
Can cracked concrete be repaired, or does it need replacing?
Both are real answers and the crack tells you which. A hairline crack that's stayed put for years is cosmetic and patches fine. A crack that's moving, that has one side sitting higher than the other, or that keeps coming back after a repair, means the ground under the slab is moving, and patching the top does nothing about that.
How much does concreting cost in Melbourne?
Access and preparation move it more than the concrete does. What has to come out, whether a truck can get a chute to the pour or it has to be barrowed, and how much base has to be brought in all change the number before anyone talks about square metres. Quotes are free, measured on site and itemised.
How long before you can use new concrete?
You can usually walk on it the next day. Put furniture on it after about a week, and leave anything heavy later than that. We'll give you the dates for your pour, and cold weather pushes them all out.
Do you do concrete driveways as well?
Yes, and they have their own page because they're a different job. A driveway carries a car every day and usually involves a council crossover at the kerb, so it gets priced and built differently to a shed slab or a path.
Areas We Serve Across Melbourne
We're based in Melbourne's south east and we pour right across the city. There's no shopfront to visit, so we come to you and measure it where it's going.
Access decides a lot on a concrete job, which is why we'd rather stand in front of it than price it off a photo. You'll find us regularly in Brighton, Berwick, Frankston, Cranbourne, Glen Waverley, Cheltenham, Narre Warren, Pakenham, Dandenong, Bentleigh, Beaumaris, Mentone, Mordialloc, Hampton.
Not on that list? Call and ask. We cover most of Melbourne, and you'll get a straight answer either way.
Written by Jono O'Brien, who runs New Era Landscapes and has been in landscaping and turf renovation for over ten years. You can talk to him directly about your yard.
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