Driveways & paths in Rockhampton.

A concrete driveway is the first thing visitors see and the surface your vehicles, the bins and the kids’ bikes use every day. In Rockhampton there are three things a driveway has to get right, and cheap operators cut corners on all of them.

The first is drainage. Rockhampton’s wet season dumps serious rain in short bursts, and a driveway poured flat or with the falls running the wrong way will pool water against the house or wash it under the slab. We set the falls so water runs to the gutter or a drain, away from the building. The second is the load. A standard residential driveway is 100mm thick with SL72 mesh; one that carries a caravan, a boat trailer or a work truck gets stepped up to 125mm or 150mm with heavier steel. The third is cracking control: we cut control joints at the correct spacing so the slab shrinks along the joints instead of cracking randomly across the surface.

Base prep and black soil.

A driveway is only as good as the ground it sits on. We strip the topsoil, bring in and compact a proper road-base sub-grade, and on the reactive black-soil sites common around Gracemere and the river flats we detail the slab for the ground movement, the same principle as our house slabs. Skip the base prep and a driveway cracks within a couple of wet seasons no matter how good the concrete is. The reactive-soil slab prep guide explains why this matters here more than most places.

Finishes.

• Broom finish: the standard, hard-wearing, grippy and cost-effective. Plain grey or with an oxide colour.
• Exposed aggregate: the most popular decorative driveway in Rockhampton, grippy and dust-hiding. See exposed aggregate.
• Coloured or stencilled: oxide colour or a brick and cobble pattern. See coloured concrete.

The crossover.

The section where your driveway meets the kerb, the crossover or invert, sits in the road reserve and must be built to Rockhampton Regional Council’s standard, usually with a council vehicle crossing permit. We build the crossover to spec and can help with the application so the whole driveway, kerb to garage, is done properly in one go.

A worked example.

A 40m² plain broom-finished residential driveway on a stable Yeppoon block, including the crossover, runs around $4,000 to $5,200 supplied and finished. The same driveway in exposed aggregate is $6,000 to $8,000. Heavier reinforcement, black-soil base detailing or difficult access move the number. Get a free measure and quote for your driveway.

How thick should a Rockhampton driveway be?

A standard residential driveway is 100mm thick with SL72 reinforcing mesh on a compacted base. Where a driveway will carry a heavy vehicle, a caravan, a boat trailer or a truck, we increase that to 125mm or 150mm with heavier reinforcement. The base preparation matters as much as the thickness, especially on reactive black soil.

Do I need council approval for a driveway crossover in Rockhampton?

The section of driveway in the road reserve, the crossover or invert where it meets the kerb, must be built to Rockhampton Regional Council’s standard and usually needs a council vehicle crossing application or permit. The driveway on your own land generally does not. We build the crossover to council spec and can help with the application.

Why do concrete driveways crack, and how do you prevent it?

Driveways crack from three main causes: no control joints, so the slab cracks randomly as it shrinks; a poor base or reactive soil that moves underneath; and rushed curing in the heat. We cut control joints at the right spacing, prepare and compact the base properly, detail reactive-soil sites for the ground movement, and cure the slab for seven days. That is how a driveway stays crack-free.