Concrete patios and alfresco areas in Ferntree Gully

Outdoor rooms with a view of the hills

Many Ferntree Gully back yards look toward the Dandenongs or into a canopy of tall gums and tree ferns. A concrete patio or alfresco turns that view into a usable outdoor room, keeps winter mud from the back door, and gives the family a place to eat and gather.

Planning

– how will you use it: dining, barbecue, outdoor kitchen, fire pit or spa? – will it be roofed now or later? – where does the sun fall in summer and winter? – how does it connect to the lawn, garden and paths?

Meeting the house

The patio sits below floor level, door sills and weep holes, falls gently away from the walls and is separated from the house slab with an isolation joint. On blocks that slope toward the house, a grated drain along the edge catches runoff.

Sloping back yards

Where the yard falls away, a patio may be built up on fill with a retaining edge, or stepped down in levels. Broad steps double as seating.

Finishes

Honed concrete suits covered alfresco floors. Fine exposed aggregate or broom suits uncovered areas. Coloured and stamped finishes add warmth and pattern.

Outdoor kitchens and barbecues

Gas, power and water lines go in conduits before the pour, and bench positions may need a thicker slab.

Spas and fire pits

A filled spa weighs several tonnes; the slab is designed for it and set level. Fire pits need non-combustible surrounds and clearance from timber and trees.

Pergolas and roofs

Footings for posts are poured with the slab or allowed for. A roof over a patio usually needs a building permit.

Leaves, shade and moss

Tall trees bring shade and leaf litter. Good falls, a grippy finish and a sealer make the space easier to keep clean and safe.

Quotes

After a free visit we send an itemised written quote.

Planning the space

Think about how many people you will seat, where the barbecue and outdoor kitchen will go, how the space connects to the kitchen or living room, and where the sun falls through the day. Ferntree Gully's tall trees can shade a patio most of the afternoon, which is pleasant in summer but means slower drying in winter.

Level with the house or stepped down

Many people want the patio level with the indoor floor. That needs careful drainage, often a grated drain against the door, so rain does not flow inside. Stepping the patio down slightly is simpler and safer for drainage.

Footings for pergolas and roofs

If a pergola, verandah or roof is planned, footings may be poured with the slab or separately. We coordinate with the builder so post positions are known before we pour.

Finishes for outdoor living

Honed concrete gives a smooth, modern look under a roof. Exposed aggregate grips better in uncovered areas. Coloured or stencilled finishes suit traditional homes. Under trees, a mid-tone colour hides leaf stains better than very light or very dark finishes.

Linking the patio to the garden

Steps, paths and garden edges connecting the patio to lawns and beds make it feel part of the yard.

Foothill ground, rain and councils

Ferntree Gully sits where the Knox plains run up into the Dandenong Ranges. Below the lawns on the lower streets you usually find heavy grey and orange clay that holds water through winter and splits open in a hot February. Higher up toward Upper Ferntree Gully, Upwey and The Basin, the soil is a stony, brown hillside clay over weathered rock, and the slopes send a surprising amount of water downhill every time it rains. Old cut-and-fill from earlier house builds adds another variable. We dig a test hole on every property, take the soft material out, rebuild with compacted crushed rock chosen for what we found, and shape the surface so water always has somewhere to go.

Inside your own boundary, most driveways, paths and patios need no permit. The crossover, kerb and council footpath always do, and that consent comes from Knox City Council for most of our area or the Shire of Yarra Ranges for Upwey and parts of Upper Ferntree Gully, Lysterfield and The Basin fringe. House slabs, large garages and many retaining walls go through a building surveyor with engineering. Bushfire and vegetation overlays affect parts of the hills. Your quote names whatever applies.

What our Ferntree Gully quotes spell out

You will not get a single number scribbled on a business card. Our written quote breaks the job into the pieces that actually drive the outcome: the area in square metres, breaking out and disposing of whatever is there now, how far down we dig, the class and depth of crushed rock, slab thickness and the steel inside it, the finish or stone blend you chose, the joint plan, each drain, pit and length of pipe, step and edge work, sealing, and any Knox or Yarra Ranges paperwork. If the site needs a line pump, a long barrow run or protection for a neighbour's driveway, that is listed too.

We keep square-metre rates off this website on purpose. In the foothills, the work hidden below the finished surface varies hugely between two blocks in the same street: one might be firm and flat, the next steep, wet and full of old fill. Pricing sight unseen means guessing, and a guess ends up either padded or short. After a visit we can price the real job.