An alfresco slab is the most-used surface a family pours: dinner tables, bare feet, furniture, the dog in summer. Exposed aggregate suits it because the finish carries the indoor-outdoor look without tiles, keeps its grip when the surface is wet, and never needs its colour renewed, only its sealer. This is the surface where the finer stone earns its keep.
Built as outdoor living, not as a slab
The difference between a patio that works and one that puddles is decided before the pour: falls set away from the house and the door thresholds, the slab height planned against decking boards and door sills so everything lands flush, and isolation joints where new concrete meets the home and any existing paving. All of it follows the specification, with the base compacted to suit the ground and steel mesh on chairs.
Pool surrounds
A pool surround is a patio with stricter rules: falls away from the water, drainage that leads somewhere deliberate, and a surface that grips wet feet. The washed stone texture does the grip work naturally, and the sealer system is chosen to keep it, penetrating for a natural look or a film system with grip additive where a wet look is wanted. Surrounds are quoted as part of the patio scope, priced at the same range.
Stone for living on
Driveway blends are chosen for the street; patio blends are chosen for skin. The finer 7mm stones at a shallower exposure keep the decorative read while sitting comfortably underfoot, and lighter pastes keep the surface cooler in the sun than charcoal. The colours and stone guide covers how the same stone reads differently across paste colours, and samples are viewed wet and dry on site before the mix is confirmed.
What it costs
$140 to $195 per m² supplied and laid, sealed after cure. Pairing the patio with a path or pouring it alongside a driveway shares the mobilisation and buys the finish cheaper; the cost guide explains why small pours carry a higher metre rate, and the calculator gives a range for your size in seconds.
Where we pour exposed aggregate patios and alfresco
Balwyn North, Bentleigh, Blackburn, Box Hill, Brighton, Camberwell, Doncaster, Glen Waverley, Hampton, Mentone, Mount Waverley, Templestowe and nearby: where we work.