Exposed aggregate concrete in Canberra, with pebble, granite and quartz blends washed or honed for driveways, pool surrounds and alfresco areas.
Exposed Aggregate in Canberra creates a textured, natural surface by revealing the stones within the concrete. It is a popular choice for driveways, paths and patios because it looks distinctive, provides good grip and hides everyday dirt and wear better than a smooth slab. Every slab has its own character. Share your project and preferred colours, and we will recommend aggregates, sealers and layouts with proper drainage. Canberra's frosty mornings make traction important, so exposed aggregate suits driveways and paths in Tuggeranong, Belconnen and Gungahlin, staying durable and easy to maintain through changing seasons. The result is textured and attractive.
Share a few details and you'll have a fixed written quote from us within one business day.
Driveways, pool decks, patios — we’ll match the stone and exposure method to each one.
It’s our bread and butter: grippy on frosty mornings and sloping blocks, and still looking sharp ten years and plenty of school runs later.
Grippy underfoot, happy with pool chemicals, and poured with proper expansion gaps where it meets your coping and glass fence.
Run along the house or stepped down from the back door, with falls that send storm water away from your walls.
Charcoal, tan, quartz, granite — you’ll choose from cured samples you can hold in your hand, not a glossy photo in a catalogue.
Washed gives you rounded, grippy texture; honed gives a flatter, smoother walk. We’ll quote both so you can weigh them up.
Stones looking dull or starting to come loose? We’ll clean, fix and reseal so the original colour comes back up, not just a shiny coat.
Most of the look comes down to the stone you choose, and it’s the one choice you really should see up close. Concrete changes colour as it dries, so we’ll bring cured samples you can check in your own daylight before you decide.
Smooth, rounded river pebbles sit in the surface for a soft, natural texture that suits driveways, paths and pool decks. It gives great grip underfoot and an earthy look that sits just as comfortably with a new Gungahlin build as with an older brick home in Weston Creek.
Quartz has a natural crystal structure that catches the light, so the surface sparkles in the sun. Homeowners often choose it for driveways and alfresco areas when they want a bit of shimmer, and it stands up well to cars, foot traffic and the weather.
Granite is one of the toughest stones you can put in a mix, which makes it a smart pick for busy driveways and commercial areas. It gives a speckled, refined look in a range of greys and warm tones, and it keeps that textured face for years.
Basalt gives you a dark, charcoal-toned surface with a bold, modern feel. Architects like it on contemporary builds, and it’s dense, strong and weathers well, so it works just as well on a family driveway as on a commercial forecourt.
Limestone gives a pale, soft look with a gentle, creamy tone. People often pick it around pools, outdoor living areas and garden paths for its relaxed, natural finish, and its light colour stays cooler on bare feet in summer.
Crushed recycled glass mixed through the concrete gives a one-of-a-kind, glinting surface and puts waste glass to good use. It’s a favourite for feature areas, paths and decorative spots where you want something eye-catching that’s also a little kinder to the planet.
Revealing the stone has to happen within a short window the morning after we pour, which is why the weather matters so much with this finish. If we wash too soon, stones can come loose; leave it too late and the surface has set hard, so it has to be ground instead. We keep a close eye on the forecast and will happily shift the date rather than risk a scorching summer day, a storm or a hard overnight frost. You’ll choose the stone first, since it shapes both the finished look and the cost. Once it’s exposed, we let the slab cure properly and then seal it so the stone stays bright and the surface doesn’t dust.
While you pick a stone from our cured samples, we check access, slope, drainage and whether you’re on clay, rock or fill.
We compact the base to the right depth, lay the steel, pour your chosen mix and spray on a retarder to hold back the top layer.
Next morning we wash away the thin cement layer while the timing’s right, or if you’ve gone honed, we grind it back once it has hardened.
We keep the area barricaded while it cures, apply the sealer, then go over the finished job with you before packing up.
The window for washing off the surface is short and at the mercy of the weather, and that’s where most patchy exposed aggregate starts.
We plan the pour around the forecast, because rain on the retarder before we wash off spoils the finish.
The same crew washes the whole job in one go, so no panel ends up showing more stone than its neighbour.
We use a sealer rated for strong UV and frost, and give you an honest resealing schedule.
We set the base depth for fill, rock or reactive clay, because a nice finish is wasted on a slab that moves.
Base, steel, aggregate mix, exposure and sealer, all in one written price.
Our workmanship is guaranteed for seven years. Should a fault turn up in that time, we’ll come back and sort it at no cost.
Quick answers to what Canberra homeowners usually ask us before getting a price.
Washing takes off the cement skin the morning after the pour, leaving rounded, textured stone. A honed finish is ground flat and smooth instead. Washed holds better on a slope; honed is gentler on bare feet.
The stone is revealed in a short window the morning after the pour. A scorching hot day, a summer storm or a hard frost can close it, so we’d rather reschedule than wash back early and lose stones from the surface.
Yes, and it’s the biggest decision you’ll make. Basalt, granite, quartz, river pebble, limestone and recycled glass each look and cost different. We show you cured samples, because the colour changes as the concrete dries.
Yes, and that’s real upkeep, not an upsell. The sealer keeps the stones bright and stops the cement between them dusting. On a sun-exposed Canberra driveway, plan on resealing sooner than the label suggests.
Washed aggregate has texture, and some people find it a bit rough around the pool. If comfort on bare feet is a priority, we can hone it instead, keeping the same stone but with a smooth, flat surface.