- Home
- Cost guide
What concreting costs in Pakenham
The card below is the one our quotes are written from. It sits in the open so you can budget tonight, compare tomorrow and never wonder what a fair number looks like.
| Job | Per m² | Worked example | Lands around |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concrete driveways | $95 to $185 | Single drive, 45 m² | $4,300 to $8,300 |
| Exposed aggregate | $130 to $185 | The same drive in stone | $5,900 to $8,300 |
| Paths and side strips | $90 to $130 | Side path, 18 m² | $1,600 to $2,300 |
| Patios and alfresco | $100 to $180 | Entertaining slab, 24 m² | $2,400 to $4,300 |
| Shed and garage slabs | $110 to $150 | 6 x 9 m shed base | $5,900 to $8,100 |
| Removal first | adds $35 | Old 45 m² drive out | adds about $1,600 |
Every rate covers preparation, steel, concrete, the finish and GST. Shire permit fees belong to the council and sit outside them. Working rates until we measure the job; after that the written quote is the price, full stop.
The five levers inside every band
A per metre rate starts the conversation; five things finish it. Each one shows up as its own line on the quote, so the figure never arrives as a mystery.
Size. The trucks, the crew and the gear cost what they cost whether they pour 18 metres or 80. Big pours spread that overhead thin, which is why a path poured alongside a driveway costs noticeably less per metre than the same path on its own. If two jobs are on your list, tell us; sharing a pour day is the cheapest renovation trick in the shire.
Break-out. An old surface coming out first adds a flat $35 per square metre, cart-away and tipping included. It is measured with everything else, so it never appears mid-job as a discovery.
The ground. Cardinia is three districts pretending to be one. The clay flats through Pakenham and Officer move with the seasons and want a proper compacted base. The estate lots are usually fill over natural ground, so we excavate to firm material first. The old swamp country towards Koo Wee Rup and Cardinia runs deep and soft, and can need extra excavation and rock before a slab is worth pouring. The hill blocks up at Beaconsfield Upper bring slope, formwork and sometimes a pump. Where your block sits decides more of your price than the finish does.
The finish. Broom finished grey holds the bottom of each band, full depth colour the middle, and exposed aggregate the top, with the stone blend moving the number inside that premium. What lies underneath never changes; the specification is identical at every price.
The road reserve. Where the job includes the crossover, the shire’s permit, its insurance requirement and, on unkerbed roads, the culvert underneath all join the programme. Routine for us, invisible to you, itemised on the quote.
What jobs around here actually land at
The corridor’s bread and butter, a 45 m² single driveway, runs $4,300 to $5,900 in broom finished grey and $5,900 to $8,300 in exposed aggregate. Estate doubles at 60 m² land between $7,800 and $11,100 in stone. A 24 m² alfresco slab prices from $2,400 plain to about $4,400 in aggregate, and the acreage favourite, a 6 x 9 metre shed base, sits between $5,900 and $8,100 with thickened edges where the shed maker asks for them. Each firms into one written figure after a free measure.
Run your own numbers through the calculator, then read the specification to see what these rates buy below the surface.
Budget check
Put a bracket on it before anyone visits
These are the Cardinia rates our quotes are being written from right now (September 2026). Working rates until we measure the job; after that the written quote is the price, full stop.
Fair questions
Money questions, straight answers
What should concreting cost per metre around Pakenham?
Read it straight off our card: paths $90 to $130 per square metre, driveways $95 to $185 by finish, patios and alfresco slabs $100 to $180, shed and garage slabs $110 to $150, exposed aggregate $130 to $185, all laid over a prepared base with mesh on chairs. Working rates until we measure the job; after that the written quote is the price, full stop.
Why do quotes for the same slab come back so far apart?
Because the slabs are not the same, only the top of them is. Base depth, mesh grade and concrete thickness are where a cheap number hides, and none of the three can be checked by looking at a finished surface. Ask every bidder to write those figures down, then hold the lot against our specification page. That comparison takes ten minutes and protects you for decades.
Is the crossover part of the driveway price?
The concrete in it, yes. What sits outside any contractor quote is Cardinia Shire itself: work in the road reserve needs the shire’s Works Within a Road Reserve permit, and the fee is the council’s, set fresh each financial year. We confirm the current figure with your quote instead of printing one here that goes stale.
Does an acreage job price differently to an estate job?
The rate card is identical; the quantities differ. Rural blocks tend to bring bigger sheds, longer runs and sometimes a culvert under the crossover, while estate jobs are tighter on access and smaller in area. Both get measured the same way, and the written figure covers what your block actually needs, itemised so you can see where every dollar sits.
Next step
Turn the bracket into a figure
The calculator gets you close; the measure gets you certain. One visit, one written number, and it holds.
Straight to a person on (03) 6155 0209, 7am to 5pm weekdays, 8am to 1pm Saturday.