From $115 to $160 per m², supplied and laid
Coloured concrete sits between plain and exposed aggregate on price. You get a modern solid tone with the durability and easy cleaning of a trowelled slab, and because the colour goes through the full depth of the concrete, there is nothing on the surface to chip, peel or wear away.
How the colour goes in
Oxide pigment is batched into the truck at the plant, so every load and every barrow of the pour is the same colour. That matters on a driveway, where a colour variation between batches would show as a visible band across the slab. The pigment is an inert mineral oxide, the same family of pigments used to colour bricks and roof tiles, and it does not weaken the mix.
Choosing a tone
Charcoal is the default choice for contemporary Melbourne homes and renders, and it is the strongest seller for a reason: it frames a light-coloured house and hides oil marks and leaf stains. Slate and mid greys are the practical middle ground, cooler underfoot and more forgiving of dust and tyre marks. Sandstone, latte and off white tones suit brick veneer and period homes and keep a wide driveway from dominating the frontage. Red and terracotta oxides are the traditional choice for crossovers and aprons alongside period brickwork.
The finish on top
Colour and finish are separate decisions. A steel trowel finish gives the cleanest, most modern face for the colour. A broom finish adds grip on a slope and softens tyre marking. Colour also carries through to exposed aggregate work, where a tinted base deepens the effect of the stone.
Stencilled driveways
If you want a paver look without the weeds and the sinking, a stencilled finish gives you a pattern in a contrasting colour over the base slab. It’s a two stage job and the pattern coating needs resealing more often than plain colour, which is worth weighing up before choosing it for a high-traffic driveway.
Sealing and upkeep
A sealer is applied after cure and does three jobs on a coloured slab: it deepens the tone, slows fading in full sun and stops oil and tannin stains soaking in. Resealing every few years, depending on sun and traffic, keeps the colour at its best. Between seals, upkeep is a hose and a soft broom.
Where we pour coloured concrete driveways
Bayswater, Bentleigh, Box Hill, Brighton, Camberwell, Clayton, Croydon, Dandenong, Doncaster, Ferntree Gully, Glen Waverley, Hawthorn, Keysborough, Lilydale, Mentone, Mount Waverley, Ringwood, Rowville, Springvale, Wantirna South and every suburb in between.