Everything beside the driveway
Concrete paths, shed slabs and patios in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie
The side path, the shed slab, the alfresco, the hardstand for the boat. Priced per square metre and usually poured with the driveway so the crew, the truck and the pump are paid for once.
$90 to $180$90 to $180 per m², supplied and laid
Side path
15 m²
$1,350 to $1,950
About 15 m by 1 m
Shed or garage slab
36 m²
$3,960 to $5,400
About 6 m by 6 m
Patio or alfresco
25 m²
$2,500 to $4,500
About 5 m by 5 m
The rates on this site are published so you can budget before anyone visits. Your price is the figure written on the quote once the site has been measured.
Most driveway jobs arrive with a second piece of concrete attached. The path down the side that the builder left as turf, the pad the shed will sit on, the alfresco the roofline was built for, the strip beside the driveway where the boat lives. Pouring them on the same day as the driveway is cheaper than pouring them later, because the fixed costs of a crew and a truck are spread over more square metres, and because one base is prepared instead of two.
Rates per square metre
- Paths, $90 to $130. Side paths, front paths, the strip to the clothesline. Typically 100 mm thick with mesh, broom finished, with a fall away from the house.
- Shed and garage slabs, $110 to $150. Slabs for garden sheds, workshop sheds and detached garages, with a thickened edge where the shed frame lands and a rebate where a roller door runs. Slabs for dwellings are not quoted through this site.
- Patios and alfresco, $100 to $180. Flat, level, usually coloured or exposed to match the house, with the finish setting the price. A patio up to 50 m² is on Subsidence Advisory NSW’s exempt list except under its guidelines 1, 1A and 7.
- Hardstands. A parking pad for a caravan, a boat or a trailer beside the driveway, priced at the driveway rate for its finish and poured to the driveway thickness, since it carries the same loads.
The cost guide puts these beside the driveway rates. The calculator is built for driveways, so price a path or a patio from the rate above.
What stays the same
Everything on the specification page: a compacted base, mesh on chairs, 25 MPa concrete, joints, and a fall so water leaves. A patio that ponds against the house and a shed slab that sits on soft fill are the two commonest failures, and both are base and levels problems, not concrete problems.
What changes
Thickness and edges. A path carries people and a wheelbarrow and is fine at 100 mm. A shed slab carries a frame and whatever the shed holds, and its edges are thickened to take the frame’s bolts. A patio is set out with its finished level below the house floor and below any door sill, so rain cannot run inside. None of these pieces normally touches council land, so none needs a Section 138 approval; the driveway crossing in the same job does, which the Section 138 guide covers.
Mine subsidence and sheds
Much of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie sits in a proclaimed mine subsidence district. Subsidence Advisory NSW exempts driveways and hard stand spaces under every guideline other than 4 and 5, so a slab for parking rarely needs its sign-off. A shed or a garage is a structure and can, depending on the guideline that applies to the lot. Look the lot up on the Spatial Viewer at the NSW Planning Portal before the shed is bought, and ask the shed supplier what the slab must be.
Matching the driveway
A front path in the same exposed aggregate or colour as the driveway reads as one decision. A side path and a shed slab are normally plain, where nobody sees them and cost per square metre decides. Cracked old paths come out at the same rate as an old driveway; see removal and replacement.
Every rate on this site
Supplied and laid, per square metre
Asked before quoting
Asked before quoting paths, slabs and patios
How much does a concrete path cost per m² in Newcastle?
$90 to $130 per square metre laid for a plain broom finished path, so a 15 m² side path runs about $1,350 to $1,950. Poured on the same day as a driveway it sits at the lower end, because the crew and truck are already on site. A coloured or exposed front path to match the driveway is priced at that finish's rate.
Can I pour a shed slab in a mine subsidence district?
Usually, but check first. Subsidence Advisory NSW exempts driveways and hard stand spaces under all of its guidelines other than 4 and 5. A shed is a structure, and whether it needs Subsidence Advisory approval depends on the guideline assigned to the lot. Look the lot up on the Spatial Viewer at the NSW Planning Portal before the shed is ordered.
Does an alfresco slab need a fall?
Yes, a small one, away from the house, usually about 1 in 100, so rain and hose water leave rather than sit against the wall. The finished level is set below the house floor and any door sill. On a sloping block the patio is benched level into the fall and the drop is taken up in a step or a small retaining wall.
Do paths and patios need council approval like the driveway?
No, as long as they stay inside your boundary. Section 138 approval is for work on the road reserve, which is the driveway crossing. Paths, patios and shed slabs on your own land answer to the state's exempt development provisions instead, which limit size and height, and to Subsidence Advisory NSW where a structure is involved.
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One measure, one written figure
Newcastle Driveway Concreters is a referral service for residential driveway work in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. Each enquiry goes to one independent local concreter, who looks at the site, puts a price in writing and does the work under their own licence and insurance.