Alfresco and patio concrete in Yarragon

Space to live outside

A concrete alfresco extends the house into the yard, keeps winter mud from the back door and gives the family somewhere to eat and gather on long summer evenings.

Planning questions

– What will you use it for: dining, barbecue, outdoor kitchen, fire pit, spa? – Will it be roofed now or later? – Where do sun and wind fall? – How does it connect to the lawn, garden and paths?

Meeting the house correctly

The slab sits below floor level, door sills and weep holes, falls gently away from the walls, and is isolated from the house slab with a joint. Where the yard slopes toward the house, an edge drain catches runoff.

Roofs and pergolas

Posts need footings designed for the structure. We pour them with the slab or thicken the slab at post positions.

Finishes

Honed concrete for covered areas, exposed aggregate or broom for uncovered areas, coloured or stamped for warmth and pattern.

Kitchens, fire pits and spas

Outdoor kitchens need conduits for power, gas and water; spas need slabs designed for full weight; fire pits need non-combustible surrounds.

Extending a builder's alfresco

Exact colour matches are rare; a border or change in finish looks deliberate.

Quotes

A written price, broken into its parts, follows our visit.

Shape and size

Rectangular alfresco slabs are simplest, but curves, steps and L-shapes can follow the house and the garden. Think about furniture: a dining table for eight with chairs pushed back needs more room than people expect. Allow space to walk around the table, the barbecue and any outdoor kitchen without squeezing past.

Levels and steps to the lawn

On sloping Yarragon blocks, an alfresco may need to step down to the lawn, or be built up with a retaining edge. Steps should have even risers and comfortable treads, and broad shallow steps double as extra seating at parties. Where the alfresco sits above the yard, a balustrade may be needed.

Drainage for covered and uncovered areas

Even under a roof, rain blows in and floors get hosed. The slab needs a fall away from the house to an edge, a garden or a grated drain. Uncovered patios need slightly more fall and a grippy finish. Roof gutters and downpipes should discharge to stormwater rather than onto the slab.

Honed concrete

Honed concrete is ground after curing to expose a fine layer of sand and small stones, then sealed. The result is smooth, even and modern, and it suits covered alfresco areas next to polished interiors. Outdoors and uncovered, a honed surface needs anti-slip treatment in the sealer.

Exposed aggregate patios

A fine exposed aggregate is popular for uncovered patios because it grips in the wet and hides dirt. Matching it to the driveway creates a consistent look from the street to the back yard.

Outdoor kitchens and barbecues

Outdoor kitchens need forward planning. Gas, power and water lines, and a drain if there is a sink, are laid before the pour in conduits. Kitchen benches and stone tops are heavy, so the slab under them may need extra thickness.

Spas and hot tubs

A filled spa weighs several tonnes. The slab must be designed for that load, perfectly level where the spa sits, and have power provided by an electrician. We confirm the spa maker's requirements before pouring.

Fire pits and fireplaces

Fire pits need a non-combustible surround and clearance from timber decks and furniture. Freestanding fireplaces and pizza ovens need a slab or footing to carry their weight. Check council rules on open fires.

Pergolas, verandahs and roofs

If a roof is planned now or later, footings for posts should be placed with the slab or allowed for. Some roof designs fix to the house and need only a few post footings; larger freestanding structures need more. We can pour footings to the roofer's or engineer's details.

Using the space year-round

Yarragon winters are cool and damp, so many families add a roof, side screens, outdoor heating or a fireplace to use the alfresco through the colder months. Planning for those additions at slab stage saves cutting into concrete later.

Timing an alfresco for summer

Spring is the busiest period for alfresco work as people prepare for Christmas and summer gatherings. Getting in touch in winter or early spring gives more choice of dates.

Linking the alfresco with the rest of the yard

Paths from the alfresco to the lawn, the vegetable garden, the clothesline and the side gate help the area work day to day. Using the same finish for paths and patio gives a consistent look, while a change in finish can mark different zones.

Lighting and power

Outdoor lights, ceiling fans, heaters and power points under a pergola need wiring. Conduits laid under the slab before the pour avoid trenching or surface cabling later. Talk to your electrician early so conduits are in the right places.

Privacy and wind

On open Yarragon blocks, wind can sweep across an alfresco. Screens, hedges or a solid wall on the windward side make the space more usable. Footings for screens can be poured with the slab.

Adding to an existing patio

Older homes often have a small patio slab that the family has outgrown. We can extend it, joining new to old with dowels and a clean joint line. Because exact colour matches are rarely possible, a border, a change in finish, or resurfacing the old section gives a consistent result.

Covered versus uncovered finishes

Under a roof, honed, smooth, coloured or stamped finishes work well. In the open, choose grippy finishes such as fine exposed aggregate or broom, and add anti-slip additive to the sealer.

Easy care

Sweep and hose regularly, clean food and grease spills promptly, and re-seal every few years.

Shade and orientation

North-facing alfresco areas catch winter sun but need shade in summer; south-facing areas stay cool but can be damp and mossy. A pergola with adjustable louvres, a shade sail or deciduous planting can balance the seasons. We consider orientation when suggesting finishes and falls, since shaded slabs dry more slowly.

Soils, slopes and permits around Yarragon

The village and its estates sit low between two ranges: the Strzelecki hills climb to the south toward Thorpdale and the Baw Baw foothills rise to the north toward Shady Creek. Underfoot on most town lots is dense, sticky clay, mottled yellow and grey, which puffs up after weeks of autumn rain and pulls apart into cracks by February. Near the Moe River and the creeks feeding it, the ground is a soft, wet silt. Up in the southern hills you strike crumbly red volcanic loam that drains freely until it is waterlogged, then turns to slurry on a slope. We open a test hole on each property, strip back to solid ground, rebuild with rolled crushed rock suited to what we find, and grade the surface so rain runs off it.

Work inside your own boundary seldom needs a permit. Anything over the nature strip, kerb or council footpath does: Baw Baw Shire handles Yarragon and most surrounding towns, while Moe sits with Latrobe City. Entrances onto main roads may also need the state road authority to agree, and dwellings, garages and big sheds go through a building surveyor with engineered drawings. If any of these apply, the quote spells it out.

Inside a Yarragon Concreting quote

Our quotes arrive as a written list rather than one lump figure. Each line names a piece of the job: measured square metres, demolition and carting of any old slab or gravel, excavation depth, the rock we will bring in and how thick it goes down, slab depth and reinforcing, the chosen finish and blend, where saw cuts will run, every pit, grate and pipe, edging and step work, sealer, and any paperwork with Baw Baw Shire, Latrobe City or a building surveyor. Pump hire, tight access or a temporary track for the truck get their own line.

There are no square-metre rates on this site, and that is deliberate. Around Yarragon, the hidden work under the surface swings a lot from one property to the next, so a rate quoted blind would either be padded or wrong. Once we have stood on your block, we can price what it really needs.