Two houses, two patios. In Chisholm, Thornton, Huntlee and Medowie the house is new and the alfresco slab under the roof is the builder’s minimum, so the job is to extend it out into the yard, often in exposed aggregate to match the driveway. In Maitland, East Maitland, Rutherford and Cessnock the house is older and the patio is a new slab beside a back door that opens onto grass, sometimes replacing pavers that have sunk into the clay.
Built to stay level
A patio is a slab with the house on one side and a garden on the other, and both move. On floodplain clay the ground swells and shrinks with the seasons, so the slab sits on a cut and compacted base rather than on topsoil, with mesh on chairs and joints cut at sensible intervals. It is separated from the house with an isolation joint so the dwelling’s footings and the patio can move independently, and it falls away from the house at a gentle grade so water heads for the garden, not the door. Where the yard slopes, as it does on the ridge suburbs of Bolwarra Heights and Gillieston Heights, the low edge may need thickening or a small retaining edge. The specification covers all of it.
Finishes and rates
Guide rate $100 to $180 per m² supplied and laid. Plain broom finish sits at the bottom, coloured concrete in the middle and exposed aggregate at the top, where stone choice widens the range. Patios take a sealer better than most concrete because they see feet rather than tyres, and a sealed exposed or coloured patio cleans with a hose. Steps down to the lawn, a matching path to the clothesline or the shed, and a small pad for the bin corner are all cheaper on the same pour.
Extending the builder’s pad
The trick with an extension is the junction. New concrete will not colour-match old concrete exactly, so the change is either made deliberate with a joint or hidden under a finish. Levels matter too: the extension runs at the same fall as the original pad, not flat, so the whole area drains. Where the builder’s pad itself has cracked or dropped, removal and replacement of the pad adds about $35 per m² and gives one slab instead of two.
What is not covered
The slab is. The roof, the posts and their footings are building work for a builder and possibly a certifier, and a pool surround is a specialist job that is not referred through this site. If a new driveway is on the list as well, say so, because the crossing at the street needs council approval under Section 138 and the guide explains how each council handles it.
Bracket the area with the calculator, read the cost guide, then ask for a measure.
Rates on this site are guide figures for planning a budget. Your price is the written quote after the concreter has seen the block, and it can sit outside the guide where ground, access or a small area call for it.