Paving and driveways, Gawler
Driveways, paths and outdoor areas. We dig out and compact the base ourselves, then lay the paving on top.
We are paving contractors in Gawler, not a paver shop. We prepare the ground and lay the surface, from a single side path to a full driveway.
Pavers laid on a base we dig out and compact ourselves. Cut in at the edges and held with a proper restraint, so a paver driveway does not spread at the sides over the first few summers.
The part nobody sees and the only part that decides how long the job lasts. Cut to depth, rubble in layers, compacted as we go.
Poured concrete with the stone washed back to the surface. Exposed aggregate gives more grip underfoot than a flat finish, and it hides marks well.
Straight grey or colour through the mix. Concrete driveways in Gawler, plus paths and shed slabs, poured to the fall and finished clean.
Side paths, front entries and a level way around the house. Wide enough that a bin, a mower or a wheelbarrow gets through without scraping.
Alfresco floors, courtyards and a paved area off the back door, set at the right height against the slab so the step out is not a trip. If a roof is going over it later, read our guide to pergolas, decks and alfresco areas first.
Lifted pavers and cracked concrete broken out, dug up and carted away. We own the machines and the trucks, so it goes on the same job.
Paving does not fail at the top. It fails underneath. The dirt sitting there now will not carry a driveway on its own, so the job is to take it out and build something that will. That means cutting down to depth, filling back with rubble in layers, and compacting every layer before the next one lands. Lay a surface without that underneath it and this is what turns up:
Depth comes first. We cut down until we are on ground that will hold weight, rather than to whatever depth makes the spoil easy to shift. A driveway that takes a car and a loaded trailer gets more taken out from under it than a garden path does, so the two are dug to different depths on the same block.
Rubble then goes back in layers, never as one big drop. Each layer is compacted before the next one lands on it, because a thick lift only ever tightens up near the top and stays loose down low. That is the slow half of the day, and it is the half you never see again.
Falls are set before a single paver or a barrow of concrete arrives. Once the base is trimmed to level and the string lines are up, the finished height is locked in. Where water has nowhere to run we put in ag drain or tie into stormwater while the ground is still open, because it costs least while the trench is open. Where the ground is heavy clay, our notes on backyard drainage on clay soil go through what that means for the fall.
If the paved area has to step down a slope, the fill needs holding back before the base can go in at all. We build retaining walls as well, so the same crew stays on site from the dig to the last joint.
Nearly every job here lands on one of four surfaces. They wear differently and they ask for different upkeep. We lay all four and we sell none of them, so this is just how they behave once they are down.
Fired clay, so the colour runs right through the unit instead of sitting on the face. Chip a corner and the same shade shows underneath. They take driveway traffic well and they sit naturally against an older brick home.
Moulded rather than fired, which is why they come in far more shapes, sizes and tones than clay. Easy to match to a newer build, and quicker over a wide area. The face colour does soften as the years go by.
One continuous pour with no joints for weeds to find. It suits a shed slab, a carport floor or a long side path where you want a flat unbroken run. Concrete does crack, so we cut control joints and run steel through it to decide where.
The same pour, with the cement paste washed off the top so the stone in the mix shows. It grips better than a trowelled finish, which helps on a sloping front drive, and it carries tyre marks and leaf stain without looking dirty.
Still weighing them up? We have written a longer look at pavers against concrete driveways in the Adelaide climate, and a rundown of brick, concrete and exposed aggregate compared.
Whichever surface you land on, the strip of driveway that crosses the verge and footpath out to the kerb is council land. In Gawler that is the Town of Gawler, and a new or widened crossover generally needs council approval before work starts. We go through what your job needs at the site visit. This is general information to help you plan, not regulatory advice.
The order it runs in, from the first set of levels to the last joint filled. Before any of it starts, our site preparation checklist covers what to sort out on your side.
We measure the area, read the fall across it, and work out where the water has to end up.
Excavation, base, edging and surface each carry their own line, so nothing hides in a lump sum.
The old surface comes up and the ground is dug down to the depth this job needs.
Each layer is spread, then run over with the compactor, before any more goes on top.
Pavers laid and cut in, or concrete poured and finished. Edges set, joints filled, site swept.
A paving job puts trucks on your street, a machine on the block and deliveries of rubble, sand and product at the kerb. That load is what sets the travel radius. The yards are at Mannum and Waterloo Corner, Gawler and the northern suburbs are covered as standard, and the rest of greater Adelaide by arrangement. Areas we pave regularly:
Paving is often one part of a bigger yard. We also take on landscaping in Gawler and fencing in Gawler, and further down the corridor, fencing in Salisbury.
Plenty of jobs sit outside those names and are still an easy run for us, so it is worth asking. Give 0483 905 611 a call with your address.
The part of a driveway that crosses the verge and footpath out to the kerb belongs to the council. In Gawler that is the Town of Gawler, and a new or widened crossover generally needs council approval before the work starts. We go through what your job needs at the site visit and take care of the application side where we can. This is general information to help you plan, not regulatory advice.
We lay paving. We do not run a showroom. Most people pick a paver or a concrete finish they like from a supplier, and we work to that. If you are not sure what suits the job, we will point you at the sort of product that handles the traffic and the fall, then we take care of getting it to site and putting it down.
Away from the house, always. Paving that falls back toward the slab sends water where you do not want it. We set the levels so water runs out to a lawn, a garden or a drain. Where there is nowhere for it to go, we put in ag drain or connect to stormwater while the ground is already open.
Exposed aggregate is poured concrete with the top layer of cement paste washed back while it is still green, so the stone in the mix shows through. It gives more grip underfoot and it hides marks better than a flat grey finish. Plain and coloured concrete are smoother and usually cost less to lay.
Sometimes, but we would rather not. If the slab underneath has cracked or moved, the new surface moves with it. In most cases we break out the old paving, sort out what is going on below it, and rebuild the base. That is the part that decides how the job holds up.
It depends on the surface. Pavers on a compacted base can usually take a car once the edges are set and the joints are filled. Poured concrete has to cure, and that is a matter of days rather than hours, longer in cold weather. We give you the timing for your job before we start, so you know where to park.
Two paving quotes can look the same on top and be nothing alike below it. The site visit costs nothing. We take the levels, work out the depth the base needs, and set out the dig, the rubble and the surface as their own lines so you can see what you are actually buying.