Concreting in Newtown

Why Newtown jobs need a measure, not a phone quote

Newtown is established Victorian and Edwardian homes on narrow leafy blocks, and every second job in here is shaped by the access more than the slab. We have run barrows and lines down side passages two bricks wide on Pakington Street, pumped over roof lines on Aphrasia Street, and re-set falls on paths that the original builders ran the wrong way a century ago. None of that gets sorted by sending a number over the phone, so we always measure on site.

The local factors that move a quote

• Tight access and old gardens. Most Newtown blocks were laid out before cars, let alone agitator trucks. We work out the run on the measure, whether the truck can chute it from the kerb, whether we run a long barrow, or whether the job wants a line pump, and the access cost is itemised on the quote. The line pump is not a hidden extra, it is named.
• Falls and drainage on heritage paths. Half the old paths in Newtown were poured dead flat, so water has been pooling against the weatherboards for decades. When we replace a side path or a return, we set it out to fall away from the house, cut the control joints to plan, and run a downpipe spreader into the right spot rather than under the new slab.
• Finishes that suit the house. A trowelled smooth slab in front of a restored Edwardian frontage looks wrong. Most of our Newtown work goes exposed-aggregate or a honed finish in a colour that picks up the brick or the slate. We carry the sample range to the measure so you can hold it against the bricks before you decide.

What we confirm before we pour

Heritage overlays catch a lot of Newtown homes, and a concrete driveway replacement in the front setback sometimes needs a planning permit before the build permit. We confirm the overlay status before quoting the finish, because there is no point putting a coloured stencil number in front of you if the overlay rules say plain grey. We sort the overlay question, the crossover permit if a vehicle crossing is involved, and the falls before any concrete goes down.