Prepare the ground beneath slabs, paths and hardstands before the concreting crew arrives.
Good concrete starts before the pour, and Sutherland Shire Concrete Preparation sets the ground up properly. We excavate, level, compact and shape the base so your concreter can place slabs, paths and driveways with confidence.
Send us your plans, area dimensions and finished levels. Accurate preparation, including drainage falls and edge formation, helps prevent cracking, pooling and costly corrections after the pour.
Across Gymea, Caringbah, Woolooware, Miranda and Cronulla, tight access and sloping blocks are common. Careful machine selection and tidy site practices give your concreter a clean, accurate base ready to go.
Explore the scope ↓We excavate to the required depth and level the ground accurately, removing soft spots, roots and organic material that could settle, creating a consistent base so your concrete slab, path or driveway is poured to the correct thickness every time.
The base is compacted and shaped with proper drainage falls, using crushed rock, road base or sand bedding where required, reducing the risk of cracking and pooling and extending the lifespan of your finished concrete, saving you expensive repairs later.
We prepare edges and set the ground so your concreter can place formwork and pour confidently, with clear access kept for the concrete truck or pump, saving time and avoiding costly corrections after the concrete is placed, every single time.
Lodge Dial Before You Dig and check for private lines such as stormwater, irrigation and old sewer runs. Mark anything found inside the slab footprint, because beam trenches go deeper than the pad and are the most likely to strike a buried pipe.
The builder or surveyor marks the edges and finished floor level. The excavation is trimmed to leave the right depth for base and slab. Edge and internal beams are dug deeper, to widths and depths shown on the engineer's drawings.
Soft or loose areas are removed or compacted. Fill needs thin layers and the right material, especially under a house slab. Where fill is deep or engineered, the certifier may want compaction test results, so ask before bedding goes down.
An open pad and beam trenches collect runoff fast. Divert water around the excavation, give low trenches a way to drain or be pumped, and keep sediment fencing in place so mud from the pad does not reach the gutter or neighbours.
Sand or crushed rock goes down to level the surface. The type is chosen by the design, because both behave differently. It is screeded to an even thickness so slab depth stays consistent and concrete is not wasted filling hollows.
A plastic vapour barrier goes over the bedding, with joins lapped and taped, and kept free of holes. Pipe and conduit penetrations are carefully sealed with tape or collars, and the membrane is turned up at the edges as specified.
The concreter or builder fits formwork, plumbers lay under-slab pipes and the steel is placed on chairs so it sits within the concrete and not on the ground. Termite protection and electrical conduits are typically installed at this stage too.
An engineer or certifier may need to inspect the base, steel and levels before concrete is placed. Allow for it in the schedule. Book the concrete once inspection is confirmed, because a failed check means cancelling trucks and the pump.
A slab poured over loose fill will crack and settle. Compaction under a house slab is generally verified, so do not skip it. Old pool, tank or trench backfill on a demolition site is a common culprit worth locating early.
Sand is fine for some slabs but wrong for others. Follow the design and let the engineer decide. Swapping material because it is cheaper or on hand changes drainage and support under the slab, so get substitutions approved in writing.
Torn plastic lets moisture rise into the slab. Check it once steel is placed, because boots and trolleys make holes. Patch small tears with tape and offcuts before the pour, rather than dealing with damp floors and lifting coverings later.
Reinforcement lying on the ground rather than on chairs does little. The steel needs to sit at the right height within the pour. Chairs on sand need bases so they do not sink, and spacing close enough to stop sagging.
Pipes cut into a poured slab are a costly fix. Services should be in, tested and signed off before the pour. Check floor waste, toilet pan and conduit positions against the plans, because even small errors become fixed in concrete.
Crumbs of soil left in the bottom of edge and internal beams, or knocked in during steel fixing, weaken the bearing. Trenches should be cleaned out to firm ground and checked against the drawings for depth and width before inspection.
Great concrete starts well before the pour, and our preparation experts set your ground up for success. We excavate, level and compact the base, shape drainage falls and prepare edges so your concreter can place formwork with confidence. Accurate preparation reduces cracking, pooling and costly corrections after the pour, and clear coordination with your concreter keeps everything on schedule. Compact machinery protects tight sites and neighbouring areas. With local knowledge of Sutherland Shire sloping blocks and access limits, we deliver clean, level, accurate bases for slabs, paths and driveways that help your finished concrete look better and last much longer.
Talk to our team ↗ Slab design, finished levels and service penetrations.
Ask us about your project ↗Ground preparation and concreting are separate trades. The earthworker prepares the subgrade and the concreter forms, places and finishes the slab. Confirm who does what.
It depends on the slab type and the design. Follow the engineer or builder documents, because the wrong choice can affect performance.
Very. For a house slab, levels are tied to a finished floor level and the stormwater falls. A surveyor or builder normally supplies the benchmark.
It can, but rain, foot traffic and animals can disturb it. Expect a re-check just before the pour.
Share the address, the access and the result you need.
Details first. Then a plan that suits the site.