Concrete Driveways Bendigo: Reinforced Driveways For Homes And Businesses, Plain Through To Decorative

As an indicative guide, a plain or broom-finished residential driveway runs from around $85 to $120 per square metre in the Bendigo area. Exposed aggregate typically falls between $120 and $170, coloured concrete sits between the two, and stamped or honed finishes commonly reach $150 to $220. A thicker slab and heavier mesh for a caravan, boat or truck adds to any of those. The largest hidden variable is excavation and spoil removal, which cannot be seen from the street, followed by access for the truck and whether a crossover is involved. Every driveway is quoted in writing and itemised so the specification can be compared. Call 0485 072 026.

A residential driveway carrying cars is poured at 100mm on a properly compacted base, with SL72 mesh chaired into the middle third of the slab. Where a caravan, boat trailer, work ute or delivery vehicle uses it, thickness increases to 125mm or 150mm and the mesh is upgraded to suit. Thickness alone is not the answer though: a 150mm slab on a poorly compacted base will still fail, while 100mm on a correctly prepared 100mm crushed-rock base performs well for decades. Both the slab and the base are specified together, and both appear on the written quote. Call 0485 072 026.

Foot traffic is normally fine after 24 to 48 hours. Cars are generally kept off for seven days, and heavier vehicles such as a caravan, truck or skip bin for a minimum of two to four weeks. Concrete reaches roughly three-quarters of its design strength in the first week and continues gaining for a month or more, so the wait is about strength rather than surface hardness. Weather shifts these timings: cold weather slows the gain and hot dry weather needs the slab kept moist. Exact timings for the pour are given at handover. Call 0485 072 026.

For the driveway inside the property boundary, generally no. For the crossover, the section between the boundary and the road, consent from the City of Greater Bendigo is required to construct a new vehicle crossing or to alter or remove an existing one. The application covers location, width, sight lines, distance from intersections and the construction standard, usually with drawings, and the completed work is inspected. Widening a crossing for a double garage or caravan access needs that width approved rather than assumed. The application is handled as part of the job rather than left with the owner. Call 0485 072 026.

Some shrinkage cracking is inherent to concrete, which is why control joints exist: they are deliberate weak lines cut to about a quarter of the slab depth so cracking happens where it was planned. Cracking that is not normal comes from an uncompacted or inadequate base, a slab too thin for the loads on it, mesh resting on the base instead of chaired into the slab, joints spaced too far apart or cut too shallow, and curing that was cut short in hot weather. Bendigo's reactive clay makes the base and the joint layout matter more here than in many areas. Call 0485 072 026.

Both are options and the slab decides which. Where the existing driveway is structurally sound but stained, worn or dated, a bonded overlay renews the whole surface for a fraction of replacement, and that is covered on the concrete resurfacing page. Where the slab is cracked right through, has sections at different heights, or sits on a base that has washed out, replacement is the only lasting answer and an overlay would simply crack along the same lines. Replacement also has to match the fixed crossover and garage threshold levels. A free on-site assessment gives a straight answer. Call 0485 072 026.