FAQ

A ‘normal’ crack where the concrete has cracked due to normal expansion and contraction, these are unavoidable and
A crack that has occurred because contraction joints have not been placed or have been placed incorrectly, these are avoidable.

Colour hardener, which is the ‘topping’ type and applied to the surface. It is generally rich in appearance and does not fade, or fades very little.
‘Oxide’ which is the type that is put into the concrete mix. This type of colour does fade, but this is not a fault of the product.

By its nature it will ‘pull back’ from its original strength at the time of the pour. The strength of the colour can be manipulated by the amount of oxide used, as well as applying a concrete sealer afterwards, which will keep the oxide appearing darker in shade.

Standard finish (with or without colour)
Slate Paving
Stencil Concrete
Exposed aggregate

There are many ways we can add touches to your concrete, so the 4 options can be very adaptable to your needs and the look and feel of your home. In fact we specialize in giving you something different if you want it. Concrete can and should be a highlight of the landscape of your home.

The service covers: confirmation of measured area, access issues & solutions, evaluation of chosen finish and advice on alternatives, colour schemes and patterns, as well as addressing associated concerns such as drainage, access to services and planning for future needs.

The most dangerous thing about our industry is the concreter who is ‘cheap’. Jobs often end in disaster, and we don’t want that for you. An important thing to keep in mind about concrete is that it cannot be manipulated after it has set (which is the same day of the pour), so it cannot be ‘fixed’. Getting value for money is a great thing, but ‘cheap’ is to be avoided at all costs.

The quality of the finish, materials used, method of preparation etc. varies greatly from concreter to concreter. You would be shocked to know the variance in concreters’ experience, skill, materials they use etc. Skimping on materials is very common in our industry and greatly affects how a job is priced. You could be looking at a concreter work and he could be cutting on materials right before your eyes and you would never know…this is a trick of the trade that almost no customer knows about. There is no requirement for a concreter to meet a set standard of finish set by law; domestic concrete is not a regulated industry. Work practices vary from terrible to fair to very good, and as a result, is reflected in the price quoted.
The size and experience of the ‘crew’. The size and experience of a crew greatly affects what can be done in a day. Let’s say a job takes crew ‘A’ one day to complete and crew ‘B’ one and a half days to complete. Crew ‘B’ has another half day in labour costs and labour makes up a large part of the cost of a job. If a contractor has a small or inexperienced crew, he must quote higher to make up for the extra time it will take him to get the job done. This is more common than you may think.
If a contractor is quiet he will simply drop his price, and if he is busy he will raise his price. The right thing to do in our opinion is to quote what a job is worth, no more and no less. But there are very few who operate this way. We are proud to say we never raise our price if we are busy. The price quoted by us is always the fair price we feel the job is worth.
Contractors ‘build’ the price of a job in anticipation that the customer will ask for a discount and will then reduce the price when asked by the customer as a way of winning the job. This is a silly game as far as we are concerned. We know many concreters who practice this on an ongoing basis. We never inflate the price of jobs, and as a result never have to discount them in an effort to win work, which is essentially just duping a customer.