As I mentioned in the previous post, at this stage of building a lot of aspects rely on other tradespeople completing their work before the next one in line can start. Before the landscaping could start the driveway needed to be poured. The driveway and crossover are now done, and the early stages of the landscaping have also started. We have commenced the landscaping now to give the plants the best chance to establish roots before the summer comes.
We decided on exposed aggregate for the driveway (the colour we chose is called Promontory Bianco).
Before deciding we looked at heaps of driveways, and considered using crushed and compacted rock/stone. One of the things that put us off the stone driveway was that we had floorboards inside, and the stones would get caught in shoes and scratch/dent the floorboards. The other consideration was that the rain would create channels in the crushed rock as it runs off the driveway during a downpour. Also, there were only about two other driveways at the Sands that had used it – we figured that was telling us something!
We also considered embedded sleepers – it looks great, but again needs to be set into crushed stone:
We drove around the area looking at all the driveways trying to decide what colour we liked, and also what would compliment the house well:
We didn’t want the driveway to be too grey, but also didn’t want it too sandy coloured. It didn’t need to be a feature of the design, we wanted it to blend in. The next step was to visit the concrete supplier (luckily they were nearby) and view all their colours side by side to help us decide. We chose Promontory Bianco that had a good mix of light and dark:
The process to end up with exposed aggregate was quite interesting. Below is a photo after the concrete had been poured, it just looks like smooth, grey concrete. They then sprayed sugar and water over the top, this stops the top setting. When the rest has dried, that layer is then washed off to reveal the exposed stones…
Concrete poured…
Spraying with sugar and water…
Left with the exposed stones after washing (not sealed yet)…
Sealing the driveway…
The finished driveway has come up looking like this after sealing, bringing out the colours of the stones.:
The crossover colour is standard, and set by The Sands…
We are really happy with the driveway colour and finish, it looks great with the exterior house colours. The company we used is called Cormack Concreting (0408 994 043). The builders arranged it all for us, and added the cost in as a variation to the contract price.
Since the driveway has been completed the early stages of the landscaping has begun…
Meanwhile the painter is working hard indoors to finish to allow the tiler to start, I’m looking forward to seeing his work inside.
Cheers,
Bernice
www.heybernice.com
LOT 271 