Concrete patios and alfresco floors in Rosebud VIC

Outdoor living by the bay

Summer on the peninsula is lived outdoors, and the patio is where it happens. Whether it is a covered alfresco attached to the house, an open entertaining area by the pool, or a pad for an outdoor kitchen and barbecue, the concrete needs to be level enough for furniture, fall gently to drain, and finished to be comfortable underfoot.

Planning levels and drainage

A patio that meets the house must sit at the right level below the floor and door sills, with a fall away from the building. Where it adjoins a covered area, roof water and gutter overflows need somewhere to go. We set falls toward lawns, garden beds, strip drains or pits connected to stormwater, and keep weep holes and termite zones clear.

Finishes for patios

Honed concrete, where the surface is ground lightly to reveal a fine aggregate, is popular for alfresco floors. It is smooth enough for bare feet and furniture but not as slippery as polished concrete, especially when sealed with an anti-slip additive. Exposed aggregate suits open, sunny areas. Coloured and stamped finishes give a paved look. We help you choose based on how the space will be used.

Outdoor kitchens and showers

Outdoor kitchens need a slab that supports benches, a sink and sometimes a heavy pizza oven, with conduits for power and gas laid before the pour. Outdoor showers, almost standard on beach houses, need a fall to a floor waste and a non-slip surface. We coordinate with your plumber and electrician so services are in place before the concrete goes down.

Pergolas and covered areas

If a pergola or roof is going over the patio, post footings and their positions should be planned before the pour. We can pour footings at the same time or leave set-downs where your builder needs them.

Rosebud sand, bay weather and Mornington Peninsula Shire rules

Rosebud and its neighbours sit on a strip of old wind-blown dunes between the bay and the higher country behind. Most blocks are sand, sometimes clean and free-draining, sometimes mixed with organic topsoil, builder's fill or shell. Sand drains well but moves if it is loose or wet, so we strip soft material, compact the base in thin layers and keep water from washing out the edges. Toward Tootgarook and Boneo the land drops and the water table rises in winter, which changes how deep we dig and how we drain. Up the slopes of Arthurs Seat behind McCrae and Dromana, decomposed granite and rock take over, and the challenge becomes steepness, retaining and runoff rather than soft ground.

Salt air reaches every street within a few kilometres of the water. It finds poorly covered steel and attacks cheap sealers, so we keep reinforcement properly chaired with good cover and recommend sealers that stand up to UV and salt. Inside your boundary most concreting needs no permit, but anything crossing the nature strip, footpath or kerb requires a Mornington Peninsula Shire permit for works in the road reserve, and frontages on Point Nepean Road also involve the state roads authority. We lodge the paperwork and build to the approved standard.

How a Rosebud Concreters quote is laid out

Every quote follows a walk around the block with a tape, a level and a probe rod pushed into the sand. What lands in your inbox is broken into the stages a careful buyer would question: demolition and removal of any existing slab, pavers or rock; how far down we dig and why; the depth of compacted base; slab thickness and reinforcement; the chosen surface and tint; joint layout; any strip drains or pit connections; the Shire permit if a crossover is involved; and sealing if you want it. Each line can be compared with anyone else's quote, which is the point.

Square-metre rates do not appear anywhere on this site. Peninsula ground changes too much within a few streets for one number to mean anything. A block on firm old dune sand near the foreshore, a low lot near the Tootgarook wetlands with water sitting a spade-depth down, a granite hillside in McCrae, and a holiday house where the truck cannot get past the carport are four different jobs on paper that looks the same. Seeing the site first is how we keep the price honest.