Exposed Aggregate and Landscaping Costs in Adelaide: 15 Worked Examples

How much does exposed aggregate cost in Adelaide? What does a landscaping job come to once the retaining, paving, lawn and irrigation are added up? The honest answer is that it depends on the site, so instead of one number we have priced 15 typical Adelaide jobs the way we price real ones: line by line, with the square metres, the unit rates and the total. Read them and you will know what a fair quote looks like before you get one.

 

About these figures. The 15 examples below are illustrative sample quotes prepared in our quote format to show how a job is built up and priced. They are not real client jobs: the suburbs, sizes and totals are sample figures typical of the work we do across Adelaide. Unit rates are ex GST, totals include GST, and every real quote we give is a fixed price after a free site visit.

 

The short answer

 

Exposed aggregate. Across the eight examples, the concrete itself (supply, pour, wash and cut) runs $128 to $170 per square metre ex GST. The finished job, with removal of the old surface, excavation, compacted sub-base, drainage and sealing, comes to $240 to $310 per square metre including GST: around $245 to $255 for a straightforward driveway, and $295 to $310 for a small path or entry with tight access, where the fixed costs are spread over fewer metres.

 

Landscaping. The seven landscaping examples run from $13,845 for a private courtyard to $40,700 for a full new-home landscape, with the family backyards landing between $20,000 and $31,000 including GST. Hard surfaces (paving, concrete, retaining) are always the biggest line; lawn, irrigation and planting together are usually a quarter to a third of the total.

 

Exposed aggregate costs in Adelaide: eight worked examples

 

1. Exposed aggregate driveway, Newton. 42 m². $10,718 inc GST ($255/m²).

Site establishment $300. Remove existing paving 42 m² at $28. Excavation and compacted sub-base 42 m² at $34. Exposed aggregate concrete 42 m² at $135. Channel drain at the garage 5 lm at $150. Sealing 42 m² at $10. Subtotal $9,744 ex GST.

 

2. Double driveway upgrade, Athelstone. 78 m². $19,142 inc GST ($245/m²).

Set-out and site establishment $500. Excavation 78 m² at $30. Compacted sub-base 78 m² at $32. Exposed aggregate concrete 78 m² at $132. Channel drain 6 lm at $165. Sealing 78 m² at $10. Subtotal $17,402 ex GST.

 

3. Alfresco pad, Magill. 36 m². $8,703 inc GST ($242/m²).

Access setup $400. Excavation and sub-base 36 m² at $36. Exposed aggregate concrete 36 m² at $145. Channel drain 4 lm at $150. Sealer 36 m² at $11. Subtotal $7,912 ex GST.

 

4. Side access path, Norwood. 28 m². $8,675 inc GST ($310/m²).

Site establishment $350. Break up and remove old concrete 28 m² at $38. Restricted-access excavation 28 m² at $48. Exposed aggregate concrete 28 m² at $155. Two stormwater pits at $240. Sealing 28 m² at $11. Subtotal $7,886 ex GST. The highest rate per metre of the eight: tight side access means hand work and small machinery, and the fixed costs sit over only 28 m².

 

5. Pool surrounds, Mitcham. 62 m². $16,636 inc GST ($268/m²).

Pool protection and access $650. Excavation and sub-base 62 m² at $35. Exposed aggregate concrete 62 m² at $148. Pool edge interface 18 lm at $38. Channel drain 8 lm at $165. Sealer 62 m² at $12. Waste removal $380. Subtotal $15,124 ex GST.

 

6. Front entry path with feature border, Unley. 24 m². $7,106 inc GST ($296/m²).

Set-out $250. Remove existing surface 24 m² at $24. Excavation 24 m² at $35. Exposed aggregate concrete 24 m² at $155. Decorative border 18 lm at $45. Sealing 24 m² at $11. Subtotal $6,460 ex GST.

 

7. Driveway and connecting entry paths, Campbelltown. 108 m². $26,437 inc GST ($245/m²).

Set-out and establishment $650. Excavation 108 m² at $29. Sub-base 108 m² at $31. Exposed aggregate concrete 108 m² at $128. Channel drain 10 lm at $155. Path and driveway interface detailing $450. Sealing 108 m² at $10. Subtotal $24,034 ex GST. The lowest concrete rate of the eight, because 108 m² is poured and washed in one run.

 

8. Garage apron and visitor parking, Marion. 54 m². $13,648 inc GST ($253/m²).

Site establishment $400. Remove gravel and paving 54 m² at $26. Excavation and sub-base 54 m² at $34. Exposed aggregate concrete 54 m² at $138. Channel drain 5 lm at $155. Sealing 54 m² at $10. Subtotal $12,407 ex GST.

 

What moves the price of exposed aggregate

 

Size. The concrete rate falls as the job grows: $155/m² on the 24 and 28 m² paths, $128 to $132/m² on the 78 and 108 m² driveways. Pump, crew and set-up cost about the same whether you pour 30 m² or 100 m², so a bigger pour is cheaper per metre.

 

What is there now. Lifting pavers or gravel costs $24 to $28/m² in these examples. Breaking up and carting away old concrete is $38/m². Bare earth costs nothing to remove but still needs excavating.

 

Access. Open-front excavation is $29 to $36/m². Restricted side access, where machinery cannot get in and the spoil goes out by hand, is $48/m².

 

Drainage. Channel drains run $150 to $165 per lineal metre and stormwater pits $240 each. We never leave drainage out of a quote, because water sitting against a slab on Adelaide's reactive clay is what cracks it.

 

Extras. Decorative borders $45/lm, pool edge detailing $38/lm, pool protection $650, waste removal $320 to $600 depending on volume.

 

Sealing. $10 to $12/m², included in every job. It locks the stone in and keeps oil and leaf stains out.

 

GST. Our line items are quoted ex GST with the 10 per cent added at the bottom, so you can see exactly what each stage costs.

 

Landscaping costs in Adelaide: seven worked examples

 

9. Front garden upgrade, Prospect. $17,791 inc GST.

Site clearance and preparation $1,850. Paving 20 m² at $165. Turf 80 m² at $34. Garden beds with soil preparation 35 m² at $58. 60 plants at $38. Edging 28 lm at $48. Irrigation system $2,250. Waste removal $400. Subtotal $16,174 ex GST.

 

10. Family backyard renewal, Hectorville. $24,974 inc GST.

Clearance $2,200. Paving 35 m² at $175. Turf 120 m² at $34. Garden beds 45 m² at $55. 75 plants at $36. Irrigation $2,850. Edging 38 lm at $48. Waste $450. Subtotal $22,704 ex GST.

 

11. Private courtyard, Kent Town. $13,845 inc GST.

Clearance $1,200. Paving 28 m² at $195. Garden beds 10 m² at $66. 24 plants at $42. Timber privacy screen 8 lm at $360. Drip irrigation $650. Decorative gravel 6 m² at $68. Waste $320. Subtotal $12,586 ex GST. Small courtyards carry a higher paving rate because of the cutting and hand access.

 

12. Tiered garden and retaining works, Mount Barker. $36,317 inc GST.

Design and set-out $1,800. Earthworks $3,800. Concrete sleeper retaining walls with drainage 18 lm at $765 (under 600 mm high, so no engineering or approval needed). Paving 30 m² at $175. Turf 75 m² at $35. 30 m² of garden beds with 45 plants $3,270. Irrigation $1,950. Waste $550. Subtotal $33,015 ex GST.

 

13. New home landscape completion, Lightsview. $40,700 inc GST.

Establishment and earthworks $3,800. Exposed aggregate driveway and paths, base, concrete and sealer 82 m² at $165. Turf 140 m² at $32. Garden beds 55 m² at $58. 100 plants at $34. Irrigation $3,500. Edging 50 lm at $48. Privacy screen 6 lm at $350. Waste $600. Subtotal $37,000 ex GST.

 

14. Low-maintenance garden conversion, Glenelg. $20,107 inc GST.

Clearance $1,500. Stepping-stone paving 14 m² at $175. Decorative gravel 50 m² at $68. Garden beds 45 m² at $55. 90 plants at $34. Three feature trees at $280. Drip irrigation $1,850. Edging 48 lm at $48. Waste $400. Subtotal $18,279 ex GST.

 

15. Backyard entertaining area and landscape, Mawson Lakes. $30,311 inc GST.

Clearance and earthworks $3,000. Exposed aggregate entertaining area 48 m² at $170. Turf 95 m² at $33. Garden beds 40 m² at $58. 65 plants at $38. Privacy screen 10 lm at $350. Irrigation $2,750. Edging 36 lm at $45. Waste $600. Subtotal $27,555 ex GST.

 

What moves the price of a landscaping job

 

Hard surfaces come first. Paving is $165 to $195/m² and exposed aggregate $165 to $170/m² all-in on these jobs. Whatever you pave or concrete is the biggest line on the quote, so the fastest way to bring a job to budget is to reduce hard surface, not to skip drainage or irrigation.

 

Retaining. Low sleeper walls with drainage are $765 per lineal metre here. Walls over one metre need an engineer's design and usually council approval, which we price separately. See our Retaining Walls page for how they are built.

 

Lawn and irrigation. Turf is $32 to $35/m² supplied and laid on prepared soil. Irrigation runs from $650 for drip lines in a courtyard to $3,500 for a full controller system on a new-home block. It is the item people are tempted to cut and the one they regret in January.

 

Planting. $34 to $42 per plant including soil preparation and planting, $280 for a feature tree. Garden beds are $55 to $66/m² for soil, gypsum and mulch.

 

Screens and edging. Timber privacy screens $350 to $360/lm, edging $45 to $48/lm.

 

Clearance and waste. Clearing the existing yard is $1,200 to $3,800 depending on what is there and whether the levels change. Waste removal is $320 to $600.

 

How to read a Trendscape quote

 

Every quote we issue is laid out like the examples above: a line for each stage with the quantity, the unit rate and the amount, an ex GST subtotal, GST, and a fixed total. Nothing is provisional except items we say are, such as an engineer's design where the council requires one. If a quote you are comparing does not show quantities, slab thickness, mesh, drainage and sealing, ask for them. The cheapest number on the page is usually the one that left something out.

 

Get a fixed quote for your job

 

Call 0411 555 359 or use the contact page to book a free site visit anywhere in metropolitan Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills. We measure, check levels and access, and give you a fixed written quote in this format, with a 3D plan for landscaping jobs. See what is included on our Exposed Aggregate, Landscaping and Retaining Walls pages.