New Farm is mostly body corporate work: unit block driveways, basement ramps, bin bays and shared courtyards, plus small private courtyards behind character houses. Jobs are quoted with resident access built into the program and staged so nobody is locked in or out. Slip rating on ramps is the usual driver.
What we do here
New Farm has a higher density of units than almost anywhere else we work, and that shapes the job list. Instead of one household and one driveway, it is a body corporate, twenty cars, a ramp, a bin bay and a shared path — all of which have to keep working while the surface is replaced.
The rest is small private work behind character houses: courtyards, side paths, and thresholds where a renovated interior meets an outdoor slab.
- Unit block driveways and basement ramps
- Bin bays and service areas
- Shared paths and common courtyards
- Private courtyards and side paths
- Line marking and bay reinstatement
- Slip-rated finishes on ramps and entries
What the slabs are like in New Farm
Ramps are the technical problem here. A basement ramp is steep, often wet, and used at low speed by tyres that scrub — which is hard on both grip and the surface itself. We specify a coarse, mechanically keyed finish on ramps rather than a decorative one, because the priority is traction and wear, not appearance.
The older unit stock has slabs that carry years of oil and rubber. Contamination has to come out before anything is laid, otherwise the overlay bonds to the oil rather than the concrete. That means a proper degrease and grind, not a pressure wash, and it is the step most often skipped by a cheap quote.
Being close to the river, parts of New Farm sit low, and shared driveways frequently drain badly by design rather than by fault. Where the fall is wrong we will say so, because a new surface will not fix ponding and will show it faster than the old one did.
Licensed concreting contractor, fully insured.
On site, with the slab tested before anyone quotes a finish.
Foot traffic at 24 hours, vehicles at 72 on most finishes.
Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, Redlands and both coasts.
How we schedule New Farm work
Body corporate work is quoted with access built in. We stage a shared driveway in halves so residents can always get in or out, and we agree the sequence with the committee before we start rather than negotiating it in the driveway on day one.
Notice matters more than speed. Residents need to know when their bay is unavailable, so we work to a program that can be circulated in advance, and we hold to it.
Services in this area
What goes down most often here
Covercrete / Covacrete
A trowelled cement overlay stamped or stencilled into pattern. Two to four millimetres over a sound slab.
See finishExposed aggregate
Washed back to reveal the stone. The South East Queensland driveway default, and the most forgiving surface underfoot.
See finishFlake flooring
Vinyl flake broadcast into resin and sealed. The garage and laundry floor that hides dust and shrugs off tyre marks.
See finishThe questions we get asked in New Farm
Can residents still use the driveway while you work?
Yes. We stage shared driveways in halves so there is always access. The sequence is agreed with the committee and circulated before we start.
What finish do you use on a basement ramp?
A coarse, mechanically keyed slip-resistant finish, not a decorative one. Grip and wear resistance come first on a ramp.
The slab is covered in oil stains. Does that matter?
Yes, a great deal. Oil has to be degreased and ground out or the overlay bonds to the contamination instead of the concrete. It is the step a cheap quote skips.
Do you provide documentation for the body corporate?
Yes — QBCC licence, insurance, the specification and the staging program, all in writing before work starts.
Worth reading first
Others in Brisbane City
Send a photo of the slab.
We will tell you whether it can be resurfaced, what finish suits it, and what it costs — before anyone turns up with a grinder.