Concrete Edging Bendigo: Garden Edging, Mower Strips, Driveway Kerbs And Commercial Kerbing

As an indicative guide, machine-extruded plain garden edging or a mower strip runs from around $45 to $75 per linear metre in the Bendigo area. Hand-formed plain edging typically falls between $65 and $110 per metre because of the extra labour, and coloured, stencilled or exposed finishes add roughly $15 to $35 per metre. A reinforced driveway kerb is wider and deeper and commonly sits between $90 and $150. Short runs carry a minimum charge, since set-up and a minimum concrete delivery apply whatever the length, and the rate per metre drops noticeably past about 30 metres. Call 0485 072 026.

A mower strip is a low concrete band laid flush with the lawn so the mower wheel runs along it and the blade clears the edge in a single pass, which removes hand edging as a separate job. It is worth it wherever lawn meets a garden bed, a fence or a wall and the edge currently has to be re-cut every few weeks. Width is set by the mower, usually 100mm to 150mm, and the critical detail is that the top finishes dead level with the turf, because even 10mm of height catches the mower deck and defeats the purpose. Call 0485 072 026.

For longevity, yes, and that is usually the deciding factor. Timber rots and is eaten from below, plastic goes brittle under Bendigo's ultraviolet and lifts at the joins, and steel rusts at ground level where it stays damp. Concrete is poured as one continuous element with no joints for grass runners to find, it is not pushed out of line by root growth, and it does not need replacing. It costs more up front than timber or plastic and less than brick or block edging to install. The trade-off is that it is permanent, so the line is worth setting out carefully. Call 0485 072 026.

Yes, and this is where it beats pavers, blocks and bricks, which have to be cut or gapped around a radius. Because concrete is formed rather than laid in units, a curve costs the same per metre as a straight run. Smooth continuous curves, circular beds and tree rings are formed in flexible formwork. The one limitation is method: a kerbing machine extrudes a fixed profile and cannot follow a tight radius or a sharp change of direction, so curved and irregular work is hand-formed. That is quoted at the hand-formed rate rather than the machine rate. Call 0485 072 026.

As a practical guide, an edge retaining up to about 200mm of soil is still edging and needs no engineering beyond reinforcement and a sound base. Beyond that the element starts taking real lateral pressure from the soil behind it, and it becomes a retaining wall, which needs to be designed for that load with appropriate footings and drainage behind it. Pouring a tall garden edge and treating it as edging is a common mistake, and it fails by rotating outward at the base after the first wet winter. Retaining work is covered on the concrete retaining walls page. Call 0485 072 026.

Generally around seven days, though it depends on the weather and the size of the element. Backfilling too early puts lateral pressure on concrete that has not gained strength, which can rotate a narrow edge out of line or crack it along the run. Light mulch against a flush mower strip is lower risk than built-up soil against a 150mm border. Thin sections also need curing rather than being left to dry, which matters more here than on a slab because the surface-area-to-volume ratio is high and a Bendigo summer dries them fast. Call 0485 072 026.