How to Prepare for Your Concreting Call

Before You Pick Up the Phone, Get These Five Things Sorted

Preparing for a concreting call takes about ten minutes. Measure your area, know your soil type if you can, have a rough idea of the finish you want, and think about access. That is genuinely all you need to have a useful conversation. The more specific you are, the more useful the quote you get back.

This guide walks through each step so you are not caught off-guard mid-call — and so the concreters you speak with can give you a number that actually reflects your job, not a guess padded with contingency.

Measure the Area First, Even Roughly

Concrete pricing is driven almost entirely by square metres. A concreters's first question is always "how big is it?" If you do not have a number, the conversation stalls before it starts.

You do not need a laser measure or a site plan. A tape measure and a notepad will do. Walk the space and note the length and width. For irregular shapes, break it into rectangles, measure each one separately, and add them together. If you are planning a driveway from the kerb to a garage in Morningside or Hawthorne, step it out — a typical double driveway runs somewhere around 50 to 70 square metres, but a long run down a narrow Balmoral block can push well past that.

Write down your numbers before you call. If your figures are a bit rough, say so. A 10 percent margin on a measurement is fine to work with. A blank where the dimensions should be is not.

For slab jobs (garages, sheds, workshops), also note the slab depth you have in mind. A standard residential shed slab typically sits at 100mm, but a heavy workshop or a double garage that will see a loaded trailer will usually need 125mm or more, with additional reinforcement. If you are not sure, just say that — it is a common conversation and we can work through it with you.

Know What the Ground Is Doing

Soil conditions change the cost of a concrete job significantly. In the Inner East suburbs of Brisbane — Morningside, Norman Park, Cannon Hill, Murarrie, and across to Tingalpa — the underlying clay content varies quite a bit from street to street. Clay expands and contracts with moisture, which affects how much base preparation a slab needs before any concrete is poured.

If your block has had drainage problems, if puddles sit around after rain, or if you have noticed cracking in any existing slabs, mention this. It is not a reason to panic, but it is information that changes the prep work estimate.

For sloped blocks — which are common through Balmoral, Hawthorne, and parts of Norman Park — also think about where water will run once the concrete is in. Falls (the technical term for the slight slope built into a slab to direct water) need to be planned before pouring. A concreters who does not ask about drainage on a sloped block is a concreters worth questioning.

If you have a retaining wall on site, or if the area you want concreted sits at the bottom of a slope, we will ask about the retaining wall footings too. Getting a concrete base poured at the same time as other work can save a revisit cost later.

Decide on Your Finish Before the Call

Concrete finish is one of those things people leave as an afterthought, but it affects both price and the questions you will be asked. The main options for residential Brisbane work are:

• Broom finish — standard, practical, cost-effective. The surface is dragged with a stiff broom while still wet, leaving a textured grip. Good for driveways and pathways.
• Exposed aggregate — the top layer of cement paste is washed back to reveal the stone beneath. More labour, so typically $20 to $40 per square metre more than broom, but gives a clean, textured look that suits a lot of Queenslander-era streetscapes in the Inner East.
• Honed or polished — ground back smooth for alfresco areas or pool surrounds. Requires sealing. Attractive but shows marks more readily than aggregate.
• Stencilled or pattern-imprinted — colours and patterns pressed or stencilled in before the concrete sets. Most expensive option and requires a concreters comfortable with that specific technique.

For pool surrounds specifically, a non-slip finish is not optional in Queensland. Any finish used around a pool needs to meet Building Code requirements for slip resistance when wet. We always specify an appropriate finish for pool work, but it helps if you know what look you are chasing — aggregate tends to satisfy both the aesthetic and the safety requirement without much compromise.

Check Access for the Truck and the Pump

Ready-mix concrete arrives by truck. That truck is large, heavy, and not particularly manoeuvrable in tight residential streets. If your job is at the back of a narrow lot in Hawthorne or on a street where parking is already tight, access is a real consideration.

Think about whether a concrete truck can get within about 6 metres of the pour site. If it cannot, a concrete pump will be needed. Pumps add cost — typically somewhere in the $400 to $900 range depending on the job size and pump type — but they are the right tool when access is genuinely limited, not an upsell. Mention any access restrictions when you call so this can be factored into the quote rather than discovered on the day.

Also think about gates. If there is a side gate between the street and a backyard alfresco area, measure the opening. A wheelbarrow needs at least 700mm; a mini-pump hose needs a clear run. A surprising number of jobs get complicated by a gate that is 50mm too narrow.

Have a Budget Range in Mind (Even a Rough One)

You do not need a fixed number. But having a general sense of what you are comfortable spending helps shape the conversation honestly.

For residential concreting in Brisbane, rough ballpark figures (which can shift based on site prep, finish, reinforcement and access) look something like this:

• A basic concrete pathway, 20 to 30 square metres: roughly $1,500 to $3,000
• A standard driveway, 50 to 70 square metres: roughly $4,000 to $8,000 with broom finish
• A garage or shed slab, 40 to 60 square metres: roughly $3,500 to $6,500 depending on thickness and reinforcement
• A pool surround or alfresco pad: $3,000 to $10,000 depending on size and finish

These are indicative only. Your actual quote depends on everything discussed above. But if you call knowing that you have roughly $6,000 to spend on a driveway, that is useful. We can tell you immediately whether that is realistic for what you have described, or whether something needs to give (size, finish, timing).

Transparency cuts both ways. We would rather tell you the budget does not match the brief before you get your hopes up than quote low and have an awkward conversation later.

What Happens After the Call

A good initial call should take five to fifteen minutes. By the end of it, you should have a rough scope agreed, a sense of whether a site visit is needed (it usually is for anything over about $3,000), and a timeframe for receiving a written quote.

A written quote is non-negotiable before any work starts. It should specify the area in square metres, the concrete thickness and strength (MPa rating), the finish type, the reinforcement method (mesh, reo bar, or fibres), and what site prep is included. If a quote does not include these details, ask for them.

Most jobs in our area — Morningside, Cannon Hill, Bulimba, Murarrie and surrounds — need a council permit only in specific cases (works near the footpath, certain retaining wall heights). We can usually advise on whether your job sits inside or outside that requirement once we know the scope.

If you have measured your space, thought about drainage and access, and have a rough finish preference in mind, you are better prepared than most people who call. That preparation makes the quote more accurate, the project smoother, and the outcome more likely to match what you had in your head.

Give us a call when you are ready. There is no pressure and no commitment from an initial conversation.